Kenya Stockholm Blog

Martin Ngatia Says “No Kenyan Should Go Hungry” in Kenya

February 22, 2012 Posted by makozewe | News & Analysis | 4 Comments

Who Was John Michuki?

Michuki had a heart attack + multiple organ failure

He is also known as “The Rattle Snake.” His Kikuyu nickname, Kimeendero[89] means, “the one who crushes” and can, according to Raila Odinga,[90] be traced back to his days in the Colonial administration where he worked as a District Officer. Michuki acquired his “rattle-snake” nickname after police raided the offices of The East African Standard Newspaper, burnt copies of the paper that were destined for distribution, shut down KTN TV station and made away with computer hard disks among other equipment. The paper came under attack after it reported an alleged secret meeting between Kalonzo Musyoka, then an ODM-Kenya Presidential aspirant, and President Mwai Kibaki at State House Nairobi.[91] After Michuki admitted that the government was behind the commando style raid, he told Journalists that, “When you rattle a snake, you must be ready to be bitten by it.”[92] The Kiruki report about the Artur brothers who commanded the raid accused Michuki “…of supporting and condoning illegal activities of the Arturs. It recommends his prosecution and ban from holding public office.”[93] In the past, Michuki has had to deny charges that he was against the Mau Mau freedom fighters[94] during the anti-colonial war for liberation when he was employed to serve his British colonial masters.

Among the fat cats who surrounded Kibaki, Michuki was initially not a key policymaker but later Kibaki had reason to listen to him after he displayed unmatched ruthlessness in dealing with Matatu operators across the country.[95] Just like Kibaki, Michuki worked with Moi in KANU then moved to Ford-People following the dawn of the Multi-party era but when it became clear that Simon Nyachae’s Ford- People (which he was a member of ) was heading into a ditch, Michuki jumped ship and joined Kibaki in NAK. However, he remains an old buddy of Kibaki who did not come into contact with the President for the first time after he left Ford-People. Read more here.

February 22, 2012 Posted by makozewe | News & Analysis | 37 Comments