The Shame of the Kenyan Flag at Purity’s Embassy
The Kenyan Flag at the Embassy: A source of shame
It looks like Ambassador Purity Muhindi at the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm is failing in almost everything. The Kenyan flag is a national symbol and pride of the Nation. It is supposed to be respected and treated with dignity. This is why when you want to register your outermost disgust against a country, you publicly burn the flag of that country. It is the worst action you can take to show a country’s nationals or leadership that they suck.
The National flag flies outside every Embassy. In the case of Kenya Embassy in Stockholm, it serves as a mark of identification of the Embassy as the seat of power as far as the Kenyan government is concerned. These are powerful features of the flag which Ambassador Purity does not recognize because for her, the flag is just another piece of cloth hanging outside the Embassy. Just as the flag is in “disorder”, the Embassy is equally in total chaos.
The picture of our national flag folded around the mast was sent to KSB by a concerned visitor who was searching for the Embassy. He wasn’t sure whether he had arrived at the Kenyan Embassy because something was wrong with the flag and he couldn’t recognize it. Since a picture tells a thousand words, there is no need of going into detail. One certain observation is that as it is, something is wrong with the flag because it is not flying as it should.
The strange aspect of the situation is that the Ambassador is not alone at the Embassy although the flag has been flying in the wrong direction for months. Top personnel who could have helped her straighten the flag or who could have reminded her that something is wrong with the flag are equally blind. It is not therefore strange that when Kenyans come for help at the Embassy when they have been freezing at the Central Station, they are chased away.
We have people like Arthur Amaya Andambi, First Counsellor, who was posted at the Embassy last year. This brother should have been a soldier instead of a diplomat because when you talk to him on the phone, he sounds very militant, as if he wants to beat someone. He probably thinks that he can scare Kenyans with “tough talk” on the phone. Interestingly, when you meet him in person, he is always in a hurry to go and, just like the Ambassador, he doesn’t like mingling with Kenyans.
When he attended the Maina Kiai meeting, we didn’t even know when he sneaked out after the meeting as Kenyans congratulated Kiai for a documentary well done. At the Githongo meeting in Uppsala, Bwana Andambi was so secretive that no one even knew that a top Embassy official was at the function. Naturally one expected him to register his presence with the organizers so that his presence at the function could be recognized and Kenyans who did not know him could take contact.
I had to introduce him at the end of the meeting before he slipped away and left for Stockholm. If you study Andambi’s demeanor carefully, he behaves more like a Security officer than a typical diplomat. He is the second in command but unfortunately, there is nothing new he brought at the Embassy because nothing has improved. Andambi is one man who should remind his boss Lady Ambassador that the Kenyan flag is not flying correctly and that something should be done.
We also have this guy called Daniel Kipkemoi Kottut, the Second Counsellor who was posted at the Embassy in 2007. When he came, there was a lot of hope and expectation that as a young educated man, he would try and pump some sense in the head of the boss but so far, the situation has grown from bad to worse.
“Collective Amnesia”
Kottut had a fantastic introduction to Kenyans by his predecessor, Mr.George Kinywa, but as soon as Kinywa left for Canada, Kottut began to degenerate. He retreated from Kenyans as he began a life of isolation from his people. His problems began after the post election violence.
Although he was initially “attached” to the Bagarmossen Church where Kinywa left him, he fled from the church as Kales began to slaughter Wakikuyu in the Rift Valley following the stealing of Raila Odinga’s Presidency. As a member of the Kalenjin, he could have employed both diplomacy and PR to counter accusations that his people were killing the Kikuyu instead of abandoning the Church.
The Church was mainly dominated by members of the Kikuyu but as the killings continued, Kottut found the heat “too much” and he disengaged. This was the beginning of his isolation from Kenyans in Stockholm because he never recovered. Today, he is miles away from Wakenya although his hands are tied because he also fears his boss, the Ambassador.
He cannot therefore tell her that something is wrong with the flag because Purity might call the real First Lady, Lucy Kibaki, who may instigate Kottut’s exit from the Embassy. Just like other members of Embassy staff, it boils down to the philosophy ya kuchunga unga isimwagike. They pass under the flag at the Embassy on a daily basis but they have never noticed that something is amiss. This is what Sam Pippo call “collective amnesia”.
If the flag issue was falling under Administrative Affairs, the person who could have taken the blame could have been Mrs Anne K.M. Kesekwa aka Mwana wa ingo. She is the Third Secretary in charge of Administrative Affairs, very quiet and underground. If you want to see her outside the office, you have to wait for the two-hour drinking spree at Jamhuri reception and that is once a year. She dabbles as the Ambassador’s Secretary although she gets better marks than her boss because she understands her tasks while she has a good PR strategy. On the phone, she is always very polite, a sign that she has some level of diplomacy.
Then we have Mrs Habiba Gabo Wako aka Msomali Lady whom many Kenyans have complained about. She doesn’t speak good English and as an Attaché in charge of Immigration, she is the person to deal with when you need your Passport issue fixed. If you want to measure the degree of her rudeness, call her and say that you have a problem with your Passport which you need fixed and that’s it.
You will get your doze of rude responses until you begin to scratch your head wondering how a person with such horrible approach on the phone could be posted at the Embassy as an Attaché. Be careful because you may puke at the crude combination of rudeness and bad English coming from a diplomat. If only she could convert her rudeness into a weapon directed against the Ambassador to sort out the problem with our national flag outside the Embassy, she could be more productive.
Despite her informal style and her almost semi-illiterate mien, the processing of passports has actually improved at the Embassy. Now it takes 3-4 weeks to get a passport renewed compared to 6-12 months in 2004. It is a rare occasion when KSB has to give the devil her dues.
Okoth Osewe
Plans for Cucu Damaris Harambee Complete
The late Cucu Damaris
The family of the late Damaris hereby announces to Kenyans, friends and well-wishers that a fund raising meeting to help transport the body of the departed Damaris will be held on Saturday 26th December at St Eugenia Church located at Kungsrädgården 12 (Tube station Kungsträdgården) from15.00 hrs.
A Bank Account has been opened for those who might be unable to attend the funds drive but who are willing to chip in. Details of the Account are as follows:
Bank: Handelsbanken: 6107- 736 692 762
Account holder: George Thugge
IBAN: SE53 6000 0000 0007 3669 2762
SWIFT: HANDSESS
The family would also like to mention that the late Cucu Damaris is survived by several grandchildren resident in Sweden. They are: Lucy Nilsson, Nancy Dolfe, Mary Thugge, Grace Pettersson, Nicholas Maina and George Thugge.
In the meantime, the family informs the public that due to Christmas celebrations, they have cancelled the “Open House” scheduled for the 24th and 25th December. For further information, contact Pastor Samson at 070-4523798.
Rescued Kenyans “On the Verge of Starvation”
A group of six Kenyans who were rescued from cold winter at T-Centralen by a Kenyan are doing well in their new abode. Although the situation is tight because they are crammed in a one roomed flat, they are out of the cold and good Samaritans continue to pop in to help. Their most urgent requirement is food because the Kenyan putting them up at the moment is experiencing a lot of difficulties in feeding them. To be precise, “The economic situation is worsening by the minute”.
So far, one of the Kenyans has been taken by another good Samaritan from Kenya while another Kenyan lady has promised to take yet another one in her flat during Christmas. The Kenyans are still in bad need of help and members of the Kenyan community are kindly asked to show solidarity with these Kenyans at this very difficult time. The fellow countryman housing them in his one roomed flat should be pronounced a hero. His incredible intervention should stimulate others to act.
On Thursday, a Kenyan popped in and contributed 100 kr so that they could take breakfast because the situation was acute. The latest hope is that another Kenyan has promised to pop in with a load of food on Friday or Saturday. KSB is mobilizing the humanitarian assistance and we appeal to Kenyans and other well-wishers for help during this Christmas which has turned out to be hell on earth for these innocent young Kenyans.
The Kenyan six have been abandoned by the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm which left them to freeze in the cold at the Central Station before they were rescued. At the time they were saved from sub zero temperatures, they had began to suffer from hypothermia after spending two days in the cold. They looked weak, hungry and tired after two days sleeping on the cold floor at the Central Station without food, shower and contact.
When the Station closed at around 1.00 hrs, they had to sleep outside in the street after being chased out by security guides before returning to the station at 5.00 hrs when the station doors opened. The least one could have expected from the Embassy was to accord them accommodation as they waited for Monday when their problems could be looked into.
The Ambassador lives in a huge villa at Nacka paid by tax payer with several empty rooms where they could have been accommodated but because she doesn’t care about the plight of Kenyans in Stockholm, the Embassy chose to chase them away because the Ambassador was “going on Christmas holiday”.
As Kenyans, we are in serious problems if our Ambassador can act in this way when it is clear that the lives of a group of Kenyans are threatened. The question that arises then is why we still need an Embassy in Stockholm when the Ambassador cannot meet even the most basic expectation when a Kenyan is in dire need. If the Kenyans were Swedish citizens stranded in Kenya, they could have been sleeping at a five star hotel before being flown to Sweden.
Since they had already been screwed by a Kenyan woman in Finland, there isn’t much the Embassy was expected to do apart from offering them accommodation then helping them to return to Kenya. However, by abandoning them at the Central station, Ambassador Purity Muhindi has shown her worst side when it comes to barbarism and animalistic behaviour for how do you abandon Kenyans to freeze in the cold without food to eat during one of the harshest Swedish winters? It is even more painful that the only reason was that the Ambassador was going on holiday!
Feeding on handouts
We take this opportunity to congratulate Kenyans who have taken these fellow citizens in during this trying moment. Four are still crammed in a room and we further appeal to well wishers to come to their rescue by taking in more of them. There is a vibrant Christian community in Stockholm and this is the right time for them to show compassion because Christians are celebrating Christmas.
How do you thank the Lord for all the things he has done for you and what do you say to the Almighty God when you are at home eating “Chickling” for Christmas and some countrymen are starving after being rescued from winter? You believe in Jesus but you have not even tried to get in touch to look into the plight of these Kenyans here on earth so why should you preach that people should love others as they love themselves? Surely, it is time for self re-examination and if you claim to be a Christian and you behave like our nasty Ambassador, then you should stop quoting from the bible. This is how I see it.
If you are not in a position to offer accommodation, you can pop in with some food because the situation is extremely desperate. Go to some food store like ICA, Konsum or Vivo and buy Manner-Gryn for ugali, some chicken wings for lunch, bread and milk for breakfast, some eggs if possible and some ribs which can be chomad in the oven to make these Kenyans feel good during Christmas. Don’t just sit there reading KSB and doing nothing because then, you begin to behave like the Ambassador.
Kenya Embassy is not providing food for the Kenyans and the risk is that although they are safe from the cold, they may starve to death if the current supplies run out. In fact, they are feeding on hand-outs so don’t just sit there with your whisky or mikebe celebrating Christmas when your own people are on the verge of starvation after being abandoned by a hopeless Ambassador who is supposed to be representing your country in Sweden. In case you can help or in case you want to meet these suffering countrymen (there is also at least one very intelligent girl), contact KSB for further instructions on how you can intervene.
From this latest example, it is evident that the Kenyan Embassy has failed in its responsibilities of taking care of Kenyans in distress abroad, a basic obligation and a Constitutional right. If the Kenyans had not taken contact with the Embassy, the Ambassador could convincingly argue that she did not know about their plight. We are in a situation where the Embassy was well aware that they were freezing at the Central station but chose to chase them away like rabid dogs. Two of the Kenyans went to the Embassy personally but they were chased away. The case of these Kenyans is further evidence that our Ambassador has failed her own people and that she is ripe for recall.
Despite frustrations from the Embassy, members of the Kenyan community should not follow the Embassy’s example and abandon these young and energetic Kenyans whose only crime is that they have been duped by a Kenyan crook in Finland. As has already been stated, their most urgent need is humanitarian and as you celebrate Christmas, think about them sitting in a room with a hopeless future after they were fooled by a stupid con woman who conned them out of their money before disappearing into thin air, leaving them freezing and starving at the Central Station.
Unlike the Ambassador, be human and get in touch to find out how you can help. Whatever your point of view, you can do something. A single Kenyan housing them is already doing more than he needs to do and popping up with a small load of food should not be so taxing during Christmas for when will you ever genuinely help someone you don’t know? More so, a fellow citizen in distress?
Okoth Osewe
Vumbi Band for X-Mass Evening at Lilla Wien
Vumbi Dekula will be performing at Lilla Wien Today Friday 25th December during a Special Christmas evening. The show starts at 21 hrs up to 1.00 hrs, time when revellers will have the option of flying to Märsta where Maison Africane will be entertaing fans until morning. Don’t forget that Vumbi will be at Sollentuna together with other African Artists performing Live in what promises to be the largest gathering of African Artists in Stockholm on Boxing day (See Artists below).
Afro-Jam Live Music on Boxing Day at Sollentuna
Afrojam Kultureförening proudly presents Afro-Exlposion Live Concert by Pablo Machine, Vumbi Dekula, Yaya Sella, Sammy Kasule, Kumbi Miguele, Blanchand, Boto, Joseph Semafunu, Apollo, Mike and more. Best DJ Malik, Rich’s. Date: 26th Dec and 1st January 2010. from 19 hrs till Late at Sollentuna Bibliotek Amorinasalen. Food and drinks will be available. Entre: 100 kr. Info: afrojam.podomatic.com. Book a VIP tabe via SMS.
About KSB
New Book On Kenya December 2007 Election Crisis: In Circulation
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