Embassy Silence Could Be a Sign Of ”No Kenyatta Day”
If one is gender biased or a practicing male chauvinist, one could easily blame the silence of the Kenyan Embassy over this year’s Kenyatta day bash to “female cowardice” by the feminine-inclined leadership at the Embassy pitting Ambassador Purity Muhindi on the one hand and her Deputy, Jenipher Awuor on the other.
However, intelligence filtering from the Embassy tells a totally different story. According to a source, money for this year’s Kenyatta day has been scarce because it was either not allocated in the budget or diverted. In other words, the Embassy might not be in a position to throw this year’s Kenyatta day bash because there is no money to finance the event.
Instead of boldly coming out with information at the Embassy website that Kenyans should not expect anything from the Embassy during this year’s Kenyatta day, our Ladies sitting on top of the Mission have chosen silence as a way of communication. According to a source, the problem is that last year’s Kenyatta day bash was thrown because it was part of PNU’s election strategy and now that elections are over, Kenyatta day celebration to appease a critical Kenya-Stockholm Diaspora is also out of tune.
According to information gathered by KSB, the Ambassador’s strategy was to “keep silent” on the Kenyatta day bash hoping that Kenyans will not be able to raise the issue and then as the day passes quietly in Stockholm, the Embassy begins to raise prospects of Jamhuri day bash slated for 12th December to divert attention from the missed Kenyatta day.
Another problem is that the Ambassador has already lost interest in the Kenya-Stockholm environment because she is on her way to Kenya and the last thing she is keen on doing is wasting her remaining time on a permanently critical gang of Kenyans in Stockholm. It is reported that the Ambassador is more keen on spending time on stuff that will advance her personal interest as she packs her bags and hosting Kenyatta day is not one of her favourite priorities just now.
The question that remains is whether the Kenyan Embassy is a private institution where information is distributed at the whims of the Ambassador or whether it is a public institution where public servants are expected to adhere to codes in the Constitution which guarantees the public’s right to know.
WAS THE LAST GENERAL ELECTION IN KENYA HELD IN 2002?
For example, Embassy staff have been economic with information about the Mission’s annual budget making it difficult to establish the exact fate of Kenyatta day or to establish the truth about any explanation that might be given by the Embassy for not hosting the event.
We are in a situation where the Ambassador, her Deputy and her third in command are allergic to the telephone whenever a critical question pops up. Is it in order for a public official at such an important institution like the Embassy to dodge phone calls or even refuse to return calls after a message has been left behind and recorded by juniors manning phones? Shouldn’t the Ambassador and her followers like Awuor be reported to Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with recommendations for a recall on grounds that they are dysfunctional?
As I wrote earlier, the Embassy’s web site is dead. To drag the point home, the site still has it that the last election took place in December 2002 when Kibaki took over from Moi. Raila Odinga, and his Office of Prime Minister, is not in the map as far as the government which Purity represents is concerned. At the “Kenya government” link at the site you find the following information:
“The Executive power is held by the President who is elected by direct popular vote for 5 years. The President is usually assisted by an appointed Vice-President and a Cabinet. The winning candidate at Presidential elections must receive no less that 25% of the votes in at least five of Kenya’s eight Provinces. The current President is H. E. Mr. Emilio Mwai Kibaki who took over the Presidency on 30.12.2002 from ex-President Daniel T. arap Moi after the 2002 General elections“.
Since responsible Embassy top brass have fled from their phones, there is no option but to communicate to them through the blog even if this is embarrassing. The above error at the site needs to be corrected urgently because it is misleading and inaccurate on a critically important matter pertaining to Kenya’s leadership.
The only hope is that a new leadership at the Embassy after Purity will be more responsive during this era of Grand coalition government in our country. Kenyans in Stockholm would like to make contributions which would add to quality of service at the Embassy but the decay of the current leadership at the Mission does not make this possible. The case of Purity and her cohorts is just hopeless to say the least. KSB will wait and see what happens with Kenyatta day.
Okoth Osewe
Andrew Mwangura Released
A seafarers association official charged with issuing an alarming statement over the hijacked Mv Faina ship has been released. Seafarers Assistant Programme Co-ordinator Andrew Moningeti Mwangura was on Tuesday released on a surety bond of Sh200,000.
Mr Mwangura now wants the Mombasa court to refer his case to the Constitutional Court. Through his lawyer, Mr Francis Kadima, Mwangura claimed police violated his constitutional rights by illegally detaining him.
He was in police custody for five days after being charged last week.
Mr Andrew Moningeti Mwangura, who was arrested for publishing a false statement concerning cargo aboard the hijacked Ukranian vessel, MV Faina. He has been released on bond. Photo: File/Standard
Kadima told Mombasa Principal Magistrate Teresia Mwangi police had applied that his client be remanded at Central Police Station in Mombasa for five days, to enable them make more recoveries at his house and other areas, but failed to do so.
When the case came for mention on Tuesday, the prosecution was to ascertain to the court whether they had concluded their investigations or not. Prosecutor Joseph Bahati said the police had concluded their investigation. He did not object to Mwangura’s release on bond.
Mwangura is also facing a charge of being in possession of four rolls of bhang (cannabis sativa) with a street value of Sh200.
Violated rights
Mwangura, who was arrested by police at The Standard offices in Mombasa, was charged that on September 28 this year at Diamond Trust Arcade, along Ngong Road, he published a false statement in The Standard. It said that the military hardware on the MV Faina was destined for Southern Sudan.
Kadima had said the police had become malicious in their charges.
“Never at any time did my client go to Changamwe, since he has been in police custody all along. I read mischief in the second charge,” he said.
Bahati said the police application to detain Mwangura was merited and denied that his rights had been violated.
The magistrate said she needed more time to read the details, since the matter was being mentioned in her court for the first time. She will rule on the case on October 13.
Lifted from The Standard
Kenyatta Day Bash: Word Awaited From Embassy
Kenyans in Stockholm have been making enquiries at KSB as to where Kenyatta day will be
Purity: Out of Office
celebrated this year. Unfortunately, the Ambassador was in a meeting (out of Office) while Jenipher Awuor, her Deputy, was also attending another meeting (out of Office). Daniel Kotutt, whom, KSB was told, is in charge of the event was also out of Office. It could not b established whether he too was in a meeting or whether he had gone out in the streets kurandaranda.
So far, nothing has been posted at the Embassy website which has been dead for some time without a single update for months. When it was launched in Kista, Stockholm, at the last Kenyatta day, Purity said that the Embassy will be using the site to communicate to Kenyans in Stockholm but so far, the site has remained cold.
Although the Ambassador is reported to be attending several meetings, her only speech posted at the site is the bit she delivered on 20th October last year at Kenyatta day. One may wonder
Jenipher: Out of Office
whether she ever gives speeches at these meetings and why (if any) they are never posted at the site so that Kenyans can follow her work through the web site. Anyway…
I left a message that H.E Ambassador Purity, Jenipher or Kotutt should call KSB as soon as they report back to Office and as a matter of urgency. That was yesterday and as at 11.00 hrs Thursday October 7th 2008, the Embassy had not made any contact.
As both Kenyatta and Jamhuri days approach, focus is turning to Kenya Embassy which might begin to get back on the news after a long period of time.
Last year, a 2 hour Kenyatta day bash was held at a Restaurant in Kista. Many Kenyans would like to know the schedule in advance so that they can organize time-out at their work places to be at the event. Let us hope that Lady Purity (or her work mates at the Embassy) will rise to the occasion by giving direction on Kenyatta day.
Okoth Osewe
Hijacked Ship: ODM-S Welcomes Intervention By Parliament
The Orange Democratic Movement in Scandinavia (ODM-S) welcomes the announcement by the
Hijacked Ukrainian Ship
Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations that it would intervene to establish the truth regarding the hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying heavy load of weapons whose destination has been the subject of deep controversy.
We welcome the move by the Committee’s Chairman Adnan Keynan to get to the bottom of the matter by summoning everybody who might be in a position to throw more light over the crisis with a view to resolving key issues surrounding the ship and its cargo.
Among those the Committee intends to summon are: Defence Minister Yusuf Haji, Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula, former Defence Minister Njenga Karume, his former PS Zachary Mwaura and Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Majok Guandong.
Most importantly, ODM-Scandinavia welcomes the move by the Committee to travel to Southern Sudan, the alleged destination of the ship’s cargo, as part of its investigation together with its planned trip to Ukrain, the origin of the ship. The Committee has indicated that it will also summon officials of the Kenyan Chapter of the East African Seafarers Association led by Mr. Andrew Mwangura in a bid to establish the truth about the ship and its cargo.
ODM-Scandinavia believes that this is the way to go. In an earlier statement, we had called for the exploitation of Mr. Mwangura’s knowledge over the issue to try and understand the pattern of piracy in the Indian Ocean region.
The reputation of Kenya is at stake because of what could turn out to be the work of corrupt and criminal officials who might have been involved in the transaction. So far, and despite repeated appeals, the Kenyan government has failed to produce documents to prove that the cargo of arms aboard the ship belongs to Kenya. This failure had lent credence to suspicions that the government, through its Spokesperson Dr. Alfred Mutua, may not be telling the truth on the matter.
The arrest of Mr. Mwangura, who was the only official shedding light over the issue and who was the first to raise possibilities that the ship’s cargo was destined for Southern Sudan despite an International arms embargo, was the most telling action that the State was itself, in a state of panic regarding the military hardware aboard the ship.
Now that Parliament has taken a bold step to intervene on the matter, ODM-Scandinavia believes that Mr. Andrew Mwangura should be released forthwith, not just because he forms part of the investigation by Parliament but because his arrest was illegal, unnecessary, thoughtless and totally unjustified. Because of deprivation of freedom, mental and psychological torture, arbitrary separation from family and other ills Mwangura may have suffered, he should be compensated while officers who ordered his arrest should be made to account.
In arresting Mr. Mwangura, ODM-Scandinavia believes that the Kenyan police overreacted on a matter of national importance. If it is established that the ship was headed for Southern Sudan with military cargo that was destined to traverse through Kenyan territory and with the conniving of State officials, ODM-Scandinavia believes that all State officials who may have been involved in the racket should be made to face Justice for bringing the country’s tattered reputation into further disrepute.
WHY SHOULD KENYA BE STOCKPILING HEAVY WEAPONS?
The kind of irresponsible response from the State that was witnessed after suspicions about the hijacked ship were raised could have been expected from the regime of former dictator Daniel arap Moi which operated above the law, not the Grand coalition government which is expected to be more transparent, democratic, sober and accountable.
ODM Scandinavia wishes to remind Parliament that the case of the hijacked ship is not the first incident when arms are alleged to have passed through Kenya to Southern Sudan. Evidence exists to the effect that on 2nd November last year, 17 T-72 tanks that were allegedly headed for Southern Sudan derailed at Kokotani, about 30km from Mombasa, an accident that damaged five tanks. Then, on January 25th, 33 more tanks were ferried to Southern Sudan by train after the cargo arrived at Mombasa.
Secondly, Kenya is known to purchase arms from Western imperialism, not from the former Soviet Republics. The purchase of arms by a government is a long drawn out process that includes budgeting, tendering through competitive bidding, testing of equipment, training of staff to handle the new equipment, award of tender among other requirements. The whole process is backed by heavy documentation that should be available to prove that the arms cargo belonged to Kenya. In digging into the bottom of the matter, the view of ODM-Scandinavia is that part of the work of Parliament should be to establish who owns the cargo aboard the hijacked ship.
If the cargo belongs to Kenya as Dr. Alfred Mutua said in a Statement and was paid for by tax money, what Parliament needs to establish is why the Kenyan government is not involved in any way in negotiations to secure the ship’s release and why the ship was not under escort by the Kenyan Navy especially when it was passing through dangerous pirate infested waters along Somali coastline.
Another issue for Parliament to dig is why Kenyan has not responded militarily to the crisis. The United States has a battle ship watching “every move” of the pirates to ensure that the pirates do not off load its cargo while a Russian battle ship is reportedly on its way to monitor the ship. Through France, the European Union has decided to be patrolling the Indian Ocean region as a counter to pirate activities. If the military cargo belongs to Kenya, why is the Kenyan military asleep when arms purchased by the tax payer are under the control of a rag tag conglomeration of pirates demanding ransom?
Another question which Kenyans need to be told is why the government is stockpiling heavy weapons when the country is broke and depends on Western handouts to finance the budget. The Office of Prime Minister is running on money donated by the Americans, hospitals have no drugs, schools have no books while millions of Kenyans have no food to eat. The country is not at war while it is allegedly spending money on old second hand T 72 Soviet tanks. Why?
Lastly, ODM-Scandinavia believes that the investigation by Parliament should not be limited to the hijacked ship but should be extended backwards to include other suspicious shipments which may have been shady. We hope that the planned investigation will get to the bottom of the matter and put it to rest once and for all.
Martin Ngatia
Vice Chairperson
Orange Democratic Movement – Scandinavia
“Release Mr. Andrew Mwangura” – ODM-Scandinavia
Mr. Andrew Mwangura, the Program coordinator of the Kenyan chapter of the East African
Mr. Andrew Mwangura
Seafarers’ Assistance Program, was arrested by Kenyan police on Thursday, 3rd October 2007 and charged with issuing “alarming statements” in connection with the hijacked Ukrainian freighter, Fina, loaded with 33 Soviet made T-72 tanks, Rifles and heavy weapons.
Mr. Mwangura, who was the first person to announce that the hijacked Ukrainian ship was carrying tanks and other weapons headed for Southern Sudan, was arrested as the Kenyan government issued a Statement through Dr. Alfred Mutua, the government spokesman, that the arms cargo belonged to the Kenyan government. Mutua told journalists that Mr. Mwangura was arrested because “He appears to be their [the pirates’] spokesperson, especially when pushing for ransom to be paid,” to the estimated 50 Pirates who had demanded a ransom of US$ 30 million for the release of the ship
The arrest of Mr. Mwangura is disturbing because it appears to be a cover-up of Kenya government’s role in breaking an International arms embargo on Southern Sudan as a result of the genocidal war in Darfur.
Officially, the Kenya Seafarers Assistance Program, which Mr. Mwangura heads, is a piracy-monitoring group whose responsibility also includes advocacy of safety of crew members of hijacked ship, contacts with family members of crew in hijack situations and assistance towards the safe release of crew members in such dangerous situations.
According to the Kenyan police, Mr. Mwangura was arrested because “he knew too much” about the hijacked ship and its cargo. Kenya government officials have been cited in the local media as saying that Mr. Mwangura is the “chief negotiator” of the pirates because he had proposed that the pirates be given what they wanted for the sake of safety of the 21 Fina crew members.
Mr. Mwangura is an expert in his field of work and certain ODM-Scandinavia officials have had good contacts with him for the last seven years including the period when he was on a six-month study vacation in the United Kingdom about two years ago.
By virtue of his work, Mr. Mwangura has to be in a position of knowledge about hijacked ship in his area of jurisdiction and, for the Kenyan government to claim that he knew “too much” about Fina and its cargo is to deliberately avoid the reality in regard to Mr. Mwangura’s situation because the government has something to hide.
HIJACKED SHIP CARRIED THIRD CONSIGNMENT OF ARMS
Secondly, to suggest that Mr. Mwangura could be working for the pirates is to expose the degree of disparity of the government in a case in which an arms smuggling racket abetted by the Kenyan State may be in the process of exposure.
The view of ODM-Scandinavia is that Mr. Mwangura was taken into custody so as to give the government an opportunity to claim (without challenge) that arms cargo in Fina was not headed for Southern Sudan as Mr. Mwangura had claimed.
Our view is that the arrest of Mr. Mwangura represents a violation of freedom of speech and information by the Grand coalition government and we call upon President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to intervene directly in the case so that Mr. Mwangura could regain his freedom. ODM-Scandinavia also calls for the dropping of all charges facing Mr. Mwangura because they are fabricated, fake and untenable.
Instead of arresting Mr. Mwangura, the Grand Coalition government should use its Intelligence apparatus to track down culprits in government who may have been part of the conspiracy to smuggle arms to Southern Sudan at a time when the country was facing an arms embargo.
A patriotic and courageous Kenyan citizen of Mwangura’s caliber should be used by the State to understand the patterns of piracy in the Indian Ocean region instead of arresting and arraigning him in court on trumped up charges.
ODM-Scandinavia challenges the Coalition government to release details proving that the arms aboard Fina were purchased by the Kenyan government. According to media reports, the hijacked ship carried the third consignment of military hardware destined for Southern Sudan, the first shipment having taken place on November 2nd last year when 17 T-72 tanks derailed at Kokotani, about 30km from Mombasa damaging five of them.
Hijacked Ukrainian Ship Fina
On Januray 25th this year, 33 more tanks were ferried by train to Southern Sudan from the port of Mombasa. These revelations are evidence that the arrest of Mr. Mwangura allegedly for releasing “alarmist statements” were baseless because the Kenyan government has been involved in arms smuggling to Southern Sudan.
ODM-Scandinavia therefore calls for the unconditional release of Mr. Mwangura whose illegal arrest and detention elevates him to the status of the Grand coalition’s first political prisoner.
It is a big shame that at a time when millions of Kenyans thought that illegal arrests and detentions of Kenyan citizens ended with the defeat of the Moi dictatorship, the Grand coalition government is taking the country backwards in the democratization process. ODM-Scandinavia will continue to follow Mr. Mwangura’s case with keen interest to ensure that he is released from custody.
Martin Ngatia
Vice Chairperson
ODM-Scandinavia
”Odiangabuks” Is Not An English Word
If you are a customer at KSB, you will admit that I have been using the word “Odiangabuks” for quite some time now. However, some readers have now decided to go “that extra mile” by combing up the word in dictionaries while others have been trying to google it in a desperate bid to establish the word’s meaning or legitimacy.
When they failed, some of them gave up and sent me mail seeking for any information about the word. What I would say is that it is not an English word. I picked it from my Uncle when I was growing up in Kisumu district in Kenya. Later, I continued to hear it being used several times within the context of Luo language.
The real meaning of “Odiangabuks” could be wide ranging, from numskulls, nincompoops to mavi ya kuku and other washenzi who keep upsetting you when you need some peace of mind. An Odiangabuk could be someone who is uninformed.
For example, when the Kenyan Ambassador to Scandinavia H.E Ambassador Purity Muhindi was posted to Stockholm, she decided to surround herself with Kenya-Stockholm Odiangabuks instead of getting close to “Opinion leaders”. These are the people who mislead the Ambassador that Kenyans in Stockholm ni walevi, prompting the Ambassador to begin distancing herself from Kenyans.
I am not an opinion leader myself but a trouble maker at KSB. However, I know Kenya-Stockholm opinion leaders who could have helped the Ambassador understand the political terrain in Kenya-Stockholm but whom she kept at a safe distance.
The problem with these Odiangabuks is that once they have met the Ambassador, they feel big and begin to call KSB to reveal what they have been doing with the Ambassador. They are Odiangabuks because they don’t understand that a conversation with KSB that may appear perfectly normal could also lead to significant “Intelligence gathering” about the Embassy and when they begin to ropokwa, one gets to know how deep they are in the pit of Odiangabuks.
I mix the word “Odiangabuks” with English because I am trying to promote it to see if it could, in future, be smuggled into other world languages. The word is already gaining acceptance among Wakenya in Stockholm and this is good progress. Don’t get me wrong.
You can be a Professor but still an Odiangabuk in certain circumstances especially if you begin to act in a way that is not compatible with your Professorship. You could also be treated like an Odiangabuk (even if you are not) because someone wants to embarrass you in a given situation. For example, an Alkizz could tell you in front of people that “wewe ni jinga kabisa”, probably because you disagreed on something.
The word Safari is derived from Swahili language but over time, it has gained acceptance as an English word and now, it is found in English dictionaries. To get it closer, there are words like Gichagi (with shags or oshago variants) and Wira drawn directly from Kikuyu lannguage but among Wakenya, these words have been accepted within the Kenya Sheng community as legitimate.
I was once told by a Luo contact many years ago that the bit “buks” in “Odianga-buks” means that the subject never went through any books. I am still researching the origin or meaning of the “Odianga” part of the word and anybody out there is welcome with an explanation.
Recently, words like Obamanomics, Obamamania, Obamology, Obamanize, Obamanization and Obamatic have all been trying to get their way into the English dictionary.
At the future “Obama University” at Kogelo village, it is possible that Obamanomics will become a key field of study although some odiangabuks and their nincompoop friends might dismiss this thesis as an absurd theory based on the on going obamanization of the world especially among obamamaniacs in the United States of Obama. If you are a true obamacon, then you obamastand what I am obamaring (saying) within the framework of obamarythmics and that is just obamatastic! Cheers!
Okoth Osewe
Family Clarifies Exclusion Of Kenyans From Wedding
The family that was involved in a wedding in which Kenyans who attended the Pre-wedding Party failed to get invitation to the main wedding has clarified the matter.
Speaking to KSB, a family member said that it was unfortunate that some Kenyans felt left out of the wedding because this was not the intention. According to the family member, information had been relayed at the Pre-wedding Party to the effect that the evening’s event was the “Kenyan part” of the wedding but that not everybody seem to have received this information.
The family member said that by the time the Pre-wedding was organized, the date and other details of the main wedding had already been fixed. According to the family source, the position of the family is that the Pre-wedding was the end as far as Kenyans and the African community were concerned because the general understanding was that the main wedding would be a private affair.
The family source said that there appears to have been a big “break-down in communication” that could have led to the misunderstanding that everybody who was at the Pre-wedding would be invited to the main wedding.
The family appeared very concerned about the reaction of a cross section of Kenyans who expected to be invited to the wedding although the family blamed the hitch on “communication breakdown”.
Angry Kenyans who were at the Pre-wedding but who failed to get invitations called KSB to express their anger. They found it strange that the family sent clear information through public channels about the Pre-wedding but failed to do so about the main wedding, leading to feelings that they had been left out of the main wedding.
The issue has provoked heated debate among Kenyans in Stockholm about pre-weddings, fund raisings and economic exploitation of the Kenyan community in Stockholm.
Okoth Osewe
Deep Condolences To The Ngatia Family
Mrs Nyambura Ngatia, a Kenyan resident in Stockholm, has lost her brother in Kenya. The brother died abruptly. KSB sends deep condolences to the family of Mr. and Mrs Ngatia during this time of great shock and sorrow. We hope that the family will have the courage to go through this difficult moment. Friends, relatives and well-wishers are gathering at the Ngatias in Norsborg to condole with the bereaved family.
Okoth Osewe
“Itega” In Stockholm For Mr. Paul Njenga
Mr. Paul Njenga is in involuntary camp here in Sweden. Friends have organized an Itega (a show of solidarity) with Njenga and you are invited to the function which will take place tomorrow Friday, 26th September at Friggsvägen 15 (opposite Hallunda Riksteatern) from 16.00-22.00. Tube station is Hallunda. There will be food, drinks and discussions. You are all welcome. Info: 0736779031.
Okoth Osewe
Odiangabuks Excluded From Kenya-Swedish Elite Wedding
Whoever said that Kenya-Stockholm is a complicated arena may have been right. In a case that has stunned a cross section of the community, Kenyans who have been waiting patiently to attend a wedding that was held last Saturday were strategically excluded from the function because they were considered Odiangabuks.
If you are new inna-de area, Odiangabuks are ordinary and worthless people, sometimes considered uncouth and unworthy of attention. They are the kind of people whom President Mwai Kibaki could call Mavi ya kuku (Chicken shit) or pumbaf.
A few weeks before the wedding, the lucky couple and their friends had thrown a Pre-wedding Party that was not just well attended but that gave a clue as to what to expect at the real wedding that was expected in a few weeks.
It was a big shock when some Odiangabuks (who did not even know their status in relation to the wedding) got the breaking news from BBC-Stockholm that the wedding had already taken place. Unlike during the pre-wedding when the “Organizing committee” sent an SMS to Wakenya while a notice was also placed at KSB, there was no single announcement about the wedding as the date and venue were converted into a “top secret” that even the FBI or the M16 could not have cracked.
Since the Muraya and Lissa wedding in September last year, Kenyans have been starved of public weddings and when news went around that a Kenyan man and a Swedish woman had called a pre-wedding Party, both men and women, boys and girls walijiseti and they landed at the pre-wedding in style.
A big factor at the Pre-wedding was that there was a “contribution book” where wedding-lovers could register their names together with the amount they had coughed towards the big day. A Kenyan bachelor who called KSB lamented that after undergoing a serious financial stress to make it known that he was one of the contributors towards the big day, it was a “fore-gone conclusion” that he would be invited to the wedding, so he thought in his amorous bachelor brain.
He was one of the Odiangabuks who was left out and another problem was that the miss cost him a precious opportunity to get close to a cute Kenyan lady he met at the Pre-wedding because they had an agreement that they would deepen their contacts at the wedding where they both expected to be invited. He never took her number and now, she is gone, may be, not for ever.
What has stunned Kenyans especially those who attended the pre-wedding is that when the couple needed their money to organize the wedding, they were treated like Kings and Queens with SMS messages making it to their mobile phones but once the money was in, the couple disappeared to organize a secret wedding somewhere in Stockholm.
PRE-WEDDING COMMITTEE SHOULD ACCOUNT
According to a KSB agent who did make it at the wedding albeit incognito, the event was packed with Swedes with only 5-10 Kenyans blackening the white faces in the crowd.
The situation was serious because even some committee members who were seen working overtime at the pre-wedding appear to have been kept out for unknown reasons. A Kenyan DJ who entertained the audience the whole night during the pre-wedding was among Odiangabuks who were kept in the dark about the event.
The KSB agent posted at the event said that according to information he gathered, the wedding “had been taken over” by the Swedes who organized it according to the “Swedish culture” which has it that only close friends and relatives are entitled to attend such events. “It is possible that this kind of classification could have rendered many Kenyans “strangers” in the situation”, he theorized.
It was even rumored that the Committee which organized the Pre-wedding and which raised funds for the event was given “five slots” ie, allowed to invite only five people. This could be true or false. In case it is true, then the next question that arises is why a group of Kenyans had decided to go public with a Pre-wedding Party to raise funds without informing the audience that they might not be invited to the main wedding because of circumstances.
Kenyans who contributed cash and who were excluded from the wedding without explanations told KSB that the pre-wedding fund-raising might have been a fraud because they cannot understand how the Swedes could have taken over the event to an extent that they decided to keep away people who had contributed money that was being spent at the wedding and without any information whatsoever.
“There is need for an investigation into fake fund-raisings among Kenyans in Stockholm because the matter is getting out of hand”, a Kenyan who contributed at the harambee told KSB.
He is convinced that the Committee walikula pesa, arguing that if it was a Swedish thing as is being propagated in some quarters, the Swedes could not have sent a group of Kenyans to fund raise for them among Wakenya. Many theories by “Kenyan experts” have began to emerge to explain what may have happened and KSB might be full the whole week!
“The Committee of Kenyans which was behind the pre-wedding should not just account for public funds contributed at the event but should also give Kenyans an explanation why people who had contributed money were left out of the main wedding and without a single explanation”, said the Kenyan.
A lady who was at the pre-wedding was so much affected because the people who were behind the pre-wedding “are learned people” whom she respected. “I cannot force myself to someone’s wedding but since I was invited at the fund raising, I deserved an explanation if I was going to be left out of the main wedding after contributing my money. I now feel cheated and exploited”, she said, adding that she will have to be more careful with Kenya-Stockholm harambees.
KSB has gathered that invitation cards were sent to a “special selection” of people although the criteria of selection could not be established. It looks like in future, Kenyans may have to enter into a legal agreement that if a Kenyan attends a pre-wedding Party and contributes, there must be an invitation to the main wedding.
In the meantime, it might take time for some Kenyans to recover after they discovered that they could easily be converted into Odiangabuks after responding to a call to help raise funds so that some young couple could get married.
Okoth Osewe
“Sound Of Blackness” To Boom At Africa Night – Sätra
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Download: Data Analysis Of December 2007 Election
Part of the Kriegler Report is the Data Analysis which is also ready for download
Download: The Kriegler Report On 2007 Election
The Kriegler Report on the December 2007 Election in Kenya is ready for download in pdf.
Okoth Osewe
Video Explosion By Kenya-Stockholm Artists – 3 (Latest)
Africa Unitez, a Kenyan music group based in Stockholm, is the latest sensation to have hit the music scene with this brand new Video. The group features Jay-Jay, Daty Natz and Jo, three young artists with big ambitions. Jay-Jay has no relationship with J-Jay, another prolific Kenyan artists also linked to the group, “Vibetricks”, which also released a video recently. It seems like a younger generation of Kenyans in Stockholm are leaving nothing to chance. They have started exposing their talents and it will be interesting to follow their developments. KSB will continue to expose them to readers of the blog. Watch out for you never know when another bang will hit the KSB Music headlines. For now, it is Africa-Unitez that is booming.
Okoth Osewe
About KSB
New Book On Kenya December 2007 Election Crisis: In Circulation
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Brayo on Uhuru Kenyatta Hague-Boun… Sabota on Decoding The National Alliance… funkee on Decoding The National Alliance… Charles Andrianasoav… on Decoding The National Alliance… Rita marley on Decoding The National Alliance… NEW: COUNTRY STATS
