I believe that one day, a government which can confiscate the massive land grabbed by the Kenyatta family will come to power to write the wrongs of the past…

Despite the pomp and funfair witnessed at the launch of Uhuru Kenyatta’s new Party – “The National Alliance (TNA)” – the lavish event exposed three stark realities in Kenyan politics: the growing political emptiness of opportunist parties vying for power; the deepening political confusion in the run up to the next general elections and the inability of the Kenyan bourgeoisie to put forward a credible political alternative that could address the economic and social crisis in Kenya.  

Most importantly, the launch confirmed the need for continued pursuit of a revolutionary outfit that could pose a serious challenge to the rotten capitalist system of government to pave the way for the reconstruction of the devastated Kenyan society where millions of poor people continue to suffer untold human suffering at the hands of the wealth-grabbing political elite represented by Uhuru Kenyatta and Company.

For millions of deprived Kenyans who are unable to put food on the table, the lavish launch of TNA was a hopeless exercise, if not, a sordid public display of how millions of stolen tax payers money can be wasted by the wealth grabbers on hopeless political pursuits to maintain the status quo.

After show-casing a bunch of well-fed, well-groomed and well-dressed youths “at the helm” of TNA’s leadership, and after these youths were bamboozled into choreographed expressions of personal political ambitions vis-à-vis the political and social crisis in Kenya, it was very depressing when the 28-year old TNA’s Chairman, Mr. Johnstone Sakaja, announced, in his inaugural speech, that the youthful Party apparatchiks who had just been paraded would not vie for Parliamentary seats under the banner of the new Party. This was the first serious signal that all was not well.

The dilemma that propels Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid
What this means is that these young marionettes, who were all profiled as key agents of a “generational change” in Kenyan politics, will remain perpetual spectators in TNA. This is because their political roles will be usurped by Uhuru Kenyatta’s clowns who have been competing among themselves to sell the unsellable ethnic ideals of the moribund “GEMA monster” whose phony leaders, led by the late John “Kimendeero” Michuki, unilaterally anointed Uhuru the “King” of the Kikuyu.

It was after this coronation that Uhuru announced at a GEMA meeting in Limuru (early this year), that he would soon make public his new political bandwagon that would promote the GEMA agenda of Kikuyu hegemony in Kenyan politics. This is the brief formative history of TNA. Since his anointment as leader of the Kikuyu, Uhuru has been sailing against the anti-Kikuyu wave in Kenya as he faces stiff opposition from a cross section of prominent Kikuyu personalities opposed to the perpetuation of tribalism by the waning GEMA establishment.

Progressive Kikuyus like: Reverend Timothy Njoya; former Attorney General Charles Njonjo; Spokesperson of “Kikuyus for Change” Ngunjiri Wambugu; MPs Gitobu Imanyara, Mithika Lunturi, and Alex Mburi; former MPs Wanyiri Kihoro and Paul Muite; former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga; billionaire Kikuyu businessman, Stanley Githunguri; musician Eric Wainaina; former Chairman of the Kenya Human Rights Commission Maina Kiai; Chairman of the Kenya Red Alliance (KRA), Martin Ngatia, Coordinator of the Sweden-based “Making a Difference” Joseph Munene together with Kikuyu Academics, Civil Society leaders, Church groups  and a growing list of forward-thinking Kikuyus have all seen through the GEMA smokescreen and came out openly to oppose Kikuyu ruling class agenda of political domination of other ethnic groups in Kenya.

These progressives have consistently sent strong warning signals to their confused kindred against embracing a tribally chauvinistic, antagonistic and atavistic GEMA-conjured concept that only a Kikuyu is entitled to the seat of President of the Republic of Kenya.

Unfortunately, Uhuru Kenyatta, his family and cronies alike, have grabbed enormous wealth in Kenya such that in their narrow world-view, the preservation of this stolen wealth can only be guaranteed by a Kikuyu president. This dilemma is the sole propeller of Uhuru’s Presidential bid. The TNA scheme is simple. In this anti-democratic mission, the filthiness of the tactics and the absurdity of the strategy is of no significance.

Can the “new generation” be led by a suspected war criminal?
Uhuru Kenyatta is seeking to camouflage the GEMA agenda under the cloak of a more fashionable “politics of generational change” as a spring-board to State House and, in this strategy, the hastily constituted TNA ramshackle is the perfect construction for this catastrophic journey that has just began. In his typical naiveté, born out of spoon-feeding since childhood, Uhuru believes that with the politically attenuated leadership of the new party, TNA is the magic wand which will help mesmerize the Kenyan youth “en masse” to deliver him the Presidency.

In fact, if Uhuru does manage to gather a formidable following outside the known bracket of the lumpen Kikuyu youths who were mobilized to form a crowd for the Media outside KICC, it will be safe to conclude that Kenyan youths have become politically bastardized and depraved, if not, perverted and confused. This is because with his land grabbing family background, history of mega corruption scandals in government and alleged blood on his hands following the 2007 Post Election Violence, Uhuru Kenyatta is the last Presidential candidate any sane youth can vote for. His station is in the ICC, not State House. What is more?

TNA’s hastily assembled leadership is packed with “political babies” who have been “silenced in advance” through guaranteed pampering using the billions of Kenyan shillings Uhuru has been stealing from the Treasury as Finance minister since he abandoned his role as Leader of Official Opposition to enter into a dirty pre-election pact with octogenarian Mwai Kibaki who stole elections in 2007 before rewarding Uhuru with the DPM’s post and a Cabinet position to boot.

Unless the crisis of capitalism in Kenya has wiped out all intelligence of “progressive Kenyan youths” seeking a real “generational change” in Kenya’s political leadership, it is impossible to understand how a new breed of youthful leaders could construct a brand new political Party to vie for power, register it officially then hand it over on a platter to a suspected war criminal who has officially been indicted by the ICC to face charges of crimes against humanity at The Hague, a serious case built on evidence of a macabre massacre of more than 1,500 Kenyans in the name of installing a Kikuyu as Kenya’s president in 2007.

The situation is even more flabbergasting when the leader of the new Party has been confirmed as an intolerant, corrupt, and arrogant ethnic chauvinist who happens to be the son of a former iron-fisted dictator known to have been a top land grabber who frustrated, tracked down, arrested, silenced, imprisoned, detained, crippled, maimed and routinely assassinated his opponents in the process of converting Kenya into an autocratic one-Party State, all in the name of confining political power in Kenya within “The House of Mumbi”. Surely, is there any sane Kenyan who can still be hood-winked by Uhuru Kenyatta’s out-dated antiques into voting for him in any election, presidential, senatorial, gubernatorial, parliamentary or otherwise?

TNA launched without a Political program
In any political Party, the most valuable asset is not memories of a pompous launch using stolen money but a well pampered political Program. Although satellite connected information systems with huge screens at strategic counties were mounted to create the impression of a “massive national Party”; and despite its profile as a “high-tech” outfit using “state of the art” technology for communication, TNA has no website where its ideas could be scrutinized. The web address that was made available during the launch is not even worth visiting for any information about the Party because there is nothing.

This is after the Party spent an estimated Ksh 150-200 million on the launch. For a glimpse of the Party’s politics, one has to glean whatever is available from the speeches of marionette Johnstone Sakaja, the Party’s Chairperson, marionette Onyango Oloo, the Secretary General and the ICC suspect himself, Uhuru Kenyatta. Even then, one still draws a blank because the speeches were loaded with slogans about “generational change”, “forgetting the past”, “upholding justice for all” “creating an enabling environment”, “empowering the youth” etc. None of the key issues at the hearts of millions of Kenyans were touched. A few examples will suffice.

Dodging the big political questions
Specifically, no speaker addressed the thorny issue of landlessness in Kenya. This was not strange because Uhuru Kenyatta’s family is the biggest land grabber in the Republic. According to the Ndungu Report, the Kenyatta family collectively owns land the size of Nyanza province, home to almost 8 million people. Consequently, Uhuru Kenyatta is not in a position to fight land grabbing in Kenya or to address the issue of landlessness across the country.

Secondly, TNA did not articulate to Kenyans how it would confront tribalism because Uhuru Kenyatta is one of the top tribalists in the Republic. He has publicly associated with GEMA, an open tribal outfit whose key tenet is that Kenya belongs to the Kikuyu ethnic group. When he was Minister for Finance, Uhuru packed members of his Kikuyu ethnic group in every key financial institution to facilitate smooth looting of the economy. In fact, key government institutions are packed with Kikuyus “from top to bottom”, and in certain instances, Kikuyu language is the official language of communication! For TNA, the question of tribalism will continue to remain a no go area because the boss is, himself, the main criminal.

Thirdly, TNA went totally quiet on how the Party will tackle the issue of corruption because according to documentary evidence in the public domain, Uhuru Kenyatta remains one of the most corrupt politicians currently with access to state power. In advanced capitalist democracies such as Sweden, Uhuru can never be allowed to run for high office because no one would vote for him.

In one corruption case, the son of Jomo carted away Ksh 7 billion from the Treasury and got away with it by claiming that the entry of the missing funds was actually the result of a computer error. In a recent case that has been well documented by Mwalimu Mati of the Mass Group, over Ksh 400 billion could not be accounted for in the Treasury between 2009 and 2010, time when Uhuru was the Finance Minister. No one has questioned the son of Jomo because as a top Kikuyu in government, he is protected. Further, when the Kenyan shilling began to depreciate last year as a result of wanton looting of the economy, Uhuru simply refused to surface in Parliament when summoned to explain the crisis and he got away with it because Kibaki, a Kikuyu, was protecting him. The failure of TNA to come up with a Program that could explain how the Party would fight corruption was therefore not accidental.

To cut a long story short, TNA was totally quiet about the Party’s commitment to implementing the new Kenyan Constitution. Why? Because Uhuru Kenyatta, its leader, is probably the record holder when it comes to violating the new Constitution followed by William Ruto. Despite being an ICC indictee, Uhuru has refused to relinquish his post as DPM in total violation of the Constitution. Even as he launched TNA, he had not resigned from KANU and this was in utter violation of Political Parties Act in the new Constitution.

Under the guise of “Prayer meetings” following confirmation of charges at the ICC, Uhuru has been moving from county to county, spreading hate speeches as a way of inciting a new civil war in Kenya before he is locked at The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity. Committing TNA into implementing the new constitution means that the Party will have to make a commitment that it will surrender its leader to face trial at ICC, a prospect that is fundamentally “mission impossible”.

Instead of circulating its Program, Kenyans were treated to spontaneous chants of “I believe”, an empty and meaningless slogan which could have more relevance within the religious community when it is chanted repeatedly in a mesmeric moment of prayer as the faithful fathom about the eventual trip to heaven where they would enjoy life after death.

Can the real “I believe” prayer be chanted please?
If Kenyans must chant the “I believe” solgan, it ought to be during those moments when they assert their belief that when the right time comes justice will eventually prevail in Kenya. The narrative would go as follows:

I believe that one day, Uhuru Kenyatta will be carted away to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity so that the souls of hundreds of Kenyans who lost their lives can eventually rest in peace; I believe that once Uhuru is carted away, and, on the basis of strong evidence available at the ICC, Uhuru will be found guilty of the alleged crimes and locked behind bars for 80 years, yes I believe…

I believe that one day, a government which can confiscate the massive land grabbed by the Kenyatta family will come to power to write the wrongs of the past; I believe that in the history of Kenya, thousands of landless Kenyans who have been evicted from their homes by the Kenyatta family will one day be settled on confiscated Kenyatta family land; I believe that the beneficiaries will include Kikuyu IDPs who have been languishing in filthy camps following the Uhuru-instigated PEV in 2007 yes I am a believer…

I believe that the huge business empire set up by the Uhuru family using stolen wealth from poor Kenyans will one day be recovered by the State to be used for building hospitals, dispensaries and schools across Kenya; I believe that workers living on starvation wages as they are exploited by the Kenyatta family will one day be compensated using resources confiscated from the Kenyatta family; I believe that the billions of Kenyan shillings stolen from the tax payer since the Presidency of Jomo Kenyatta will, one day, be tracked down and confiscated to bring to an end the Kenyatta family wealth-grabbing menace, yes I believe…

Okoth Osewe

Place:Lilla Wien”Little Nairobi”
Date:25-26 May 2012
Time:21.00-01.00
Add:Swedenborgsg.20
Pendel:Södra Station

Seen more as a dishonest traitor than a new Saint.

When Musalia Mudavadi began his campaign for internal democracy in Orange Democratic Party (ODM) I knew that something was wrong. I recalled how Mudavadi, together with Wycliffe Oparanya and Yusuf Chanzu joined ODM activists in Emuhaya had campaigned for the current MP Wilbur Ottichillo after Kenneth Marende ascended to the position of Speaker of the National Assembly. So his war of attrition against his own party, reminded me of two historical events. One during Kanu era and the other, during the era of the Mugwumps in American history in 1884.

During the Kanu era, those of us who did not like Kanu, had to fight Kanu within Kanu. Those who left after the advent of multiparty lost their jobs, while those who remained faithful to the party got cushy jobs in public service. The second historical event was the era in American history when Republicans chose to support Groves Cleveland — a Democratic candidate — during the presidential election of 1884. These Democrats switched parties because the Republican candidate, James Blaine, had been tainted by financial corruption of that time, all the while employing that the “sanctimonious or had a holier-than-thou” attitude.

Was it a farce?
It is my contention that after five years in the cold following the 2002 elections, Mudavadi held a grudge against ODM. So he joined ODM in 2007 — not because he loved the party or its ideology — but so as to destroy the party from within. After all, this is a lesson from Raila when he joined Kanu and worked closely with Moi, endorsing Kanu’s theory of ruling Kenya for a hundred years. This then explains Mudavadi’s paradox of freedom and internal democracy. According to Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek, those who want to abuse freedom most have used this strategy.

Inherent contradictions
No president has attached his name more completely to promotion of democracy than George W Bush. Yet it was Bush who attacked Iraq and escalated the war on Afghanistan under the pretext of 9/11. This reality has forced many Luhya to question where Mudavadi can be an advocate and guardian of democracy, yet he was the same one who rebuked the Luhya elders (Burundi Nabwera, Ambassador Justus Mudavadi — his uncle and Mr Wangamati) who made efforts to mitigate against the unbroken string of negative war of attrition between the Deputy Prime Minister and Raila Odinga.

Most have also forgotten the deliberate and vindictive attempt by the Deputy Prime Minister to weaken ODM in Emuhaya. For a long time, Members of Parliament from the Itamis or Emuhaya had to get permission from the late Hon Substone Mudavadi — sometimes referred to as the “King of the Mululu” — before seeking any office. And just last month, an ODM branch chief in Emuhaya “was ousted for backing Raila”. If followers of the DPM believe in democracy, why would they kick a person out of office because he expressed a political standpoint that is different?

And now that he has abandoned ODM, Mudavadi is leaving a people who looked up to him for guidance and leadership integrity. It could be that Mudavadi has been called upon by ‘Raila hate groups’ who feel that the status quo will not be maintained if Raila comes to power. These could be the landed aristocracy afraid of historical injustices in the land sector, or the monied aristocracy who fear that Raila will bring out the scandals of the past.

When economists talk about moral hazards, they mean a situation where there is tendency for one to take undue risks because the costs are not borne by the party taking the risk. A person with insurance against his house or business, for example, may be less cautious because the negative consequences of the fire are now the responsibility of the insurance company. Is Mudavadi looking for a safe haven? According to the DPM, it took him five years to realise how poor and limited ODM really is. This is plausible. But it bears remembering that all the major scandals from Ken-Ren, Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing to Grand Regency are in the hands of the ruling class.

Class of allegiance
If ODM takes power, chances are that all the historical injustices about land and scandals are likely to be exposed. It also bears remembering that the Goldenberg scandal took place the DPM was the Minister for Finance. Musalia is a child and heir apparent of status quo. He is a Western Province replica of many such symbols of ethnicity.

Mudavadi has turned out to be a force of divisive politics. No name represents the splendor and catastrophe of political division so completely and conspicuously as that of Mudavadi. He has proved to Kenyans that allegiance to class and status quo must always take precedence over allegiance to nation, as was evidenced in the push to save the Ocampo Four.

Indiatsi Nasibi
The writer is a lecturer of management and economics at USIU.

George Obor’s family members posing for a shot after the funeral. Notice Joe Goga, a close Stockholm-based friend of Obor who traveled to Kenya for the funeral, and Obor’s dad (fourth from Left).

The George Obor Committee that was tasked with raising funds for the transportation of his body to Kenya will be dissolved on Saturday, 19th May at Obor’s residence in Stockholm. It is routine in Stockholm for such Committees to be dissolved once their mission is accomplished. The Obor committee raised 40.000kr overnight to help transport Obor’s body to Kenya.

During the dissolution, Monica, Obor’s widow, is expected to brief the Committee about the funeral in Kenya while any pending issues are also expected to be tackled at the meeting.

So far, there are no controversial issues on the agenda and the meeting is expected to run smoothly. According to information obtained by KSB, Rose Adero, a Kenyan lady who lives in Uppsala and who attended the Obor harambee in Stockholm, will attend the meeting as an observer because she is not a Committee member. Rose also attended Obor’s memorial service that was held in Stockholm two days before the body was transported to Kenya. Rose has been very supportive to many Kenyans in times of both happiness and sorrow. She is well known for her generosity, hospitality and patience especially in times of crisis.

According to Jared Odero, the Chairperson of the Obor Committee, the dissolution meeting will conclude the mandate of the Committee and anybody with any issue is kindly requested to contact the Chairperson who will then be obliged to raise the issues brought before him at the dissolution meeting.

The late Obor died in March following diagnosis that he was suffering from pancreatic and liver cancer. His death shocked many Kenyans because he was not known to ail from any lethal disease. He first went to hospital on 24th December last year after which he was operated on.

After a few days, medical tests showed that Obor was suffering from pancreatic and liver cancer although, according to doctors, he could not be treated because the cancer was at an advanced stage of development. Obor passed away at Stockholm’s Sjukhem where he had been admitted for TLC (Tender Loving Care) following conclusions by Swedish doctors that he had only days to live.

Okoth Osewe

Place:Lilla Wien”Little Nairobi”
Date:18-19 May 2012
Time:21.00-01.00
Add:Swedenborgsg.20

The ICC currently has twelve detention cells in a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague. Suspects held by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are held in the same prison and share some facilities, like the fitness room, but have no contact with suspects held by the ICC. The ICC registrar is responsible for managing the detention centre. The rules governing detainment are contained in Chapter 6 of the Regulations of the Court and Chapter 5 of the Regulations of the Registry.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has unrestricted access to the detention centre.

Facilities
Each individual has his own toilet and washing area. They have access to a small gym and are offered training with a physical education instructor.

Detainees are provided with meals, but they may also cook for themselves, purchase food from the prison shop, and have ingredients ordered in, i,e Mursik, waru, mokimu. Each detainee has a personal computer in his cell, on which he can view material related to their case.They are offered computer training, if required, and language courses.

Detainees’ rights
Detainees are allowed to communicate in private with their defence teams and diplomatic representatives of their countries of origin. They are permitted visits from family members, wives and partners, and spiritual advisors.

List of detainees
The following table lists all the people who have been held at the ICC detention centre since it was established in 2006. The first person ever detained by the court was Thomas Lubanga, who arrived at the detention centre on March 17, 2006.

As of January 2012, the detention centre houses six suspects, including former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor is being tried under the mandate and auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, but his trial is being held at the ICC’s facilities in The Hague because of political and security concerns about holding the trial in Freetown.

Name:Thomas Lubanga
Arrived:March 17,2006

Name: Charles Taylor
Arrived: June 20, 2006
Tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone but detained at the ICC detention centre.

Name: Germain Katanga
Arrived: October 17, 2007

Name: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
Arrived: February 7, 2008

Name: Jean-Pierre Bemba
Arrived: July 3, 2008

Name: Callixte Mbarushimana
Arrived: January 25, 2011
Released: December 23, 2011
Released because Pre-Trial Chamber declined to confirm the charges against him

Name: Laurent Gbagbo
Arrived: November 30, 2011

EXPECTED DETAINEES:

Name: Uhuru Kenyatta
Expected date of arrival: June 2012

Name: William Ruto
Expected date of arrival: June 2012

Name: Arap Sang
Expected date of arrival: June 2012

Name: Francis Muthaura
Expected date of arrival: June 2012

ICC

Seen as a genuine leader by Ngunjiri Wambugu

Two months ago I was on Kameme FM discussing issues around the ICC Kenyan situation when an interesting thing happened. Uhuru Kenyatta called into the show and asked me 11 questions, especially as regards positions that I have held that have been contrary to his. However one of the more memorable comments he made was that I must be careful about my new friend, Raila Odinga. He advised me that this man cannot be trusted and that I should be careful in putting too much faith in the man.

The Deputy Prime Minister was voicing something that has been voiced by even trusted friends around me who are concerned that I am leaning more towards Raila Odinga politically. Issues that keep coming up include whether a Raila-led government would socio-economically disenfranchise certain regions from benefiting from his government; whether he was behind the ’41 vs 1′ philosophy that ODM is believed to have rolled out as its campaign strategy in 2007; whether he was involved in planning for the kikuyu-targeted post election violence, etc.

Uhuru Kenyatta touched on some of these fears in all the 11 questions he asked me. I did not vote for Raila Odinga in 2007; in fact I spent a lot of effort circulating my thoughts about why I believed that Raila Odinga should not be President of Kenya. My primary fear of a Raila presidency was that the man was too powerful a force, and would be bad for Kenya’s democracy.

I also saw a man willing to do anything to win, and ready to sacrifice Kenya’s existence, rather than lose. My justification was that his entire campaign seemed to be driven by negative energy, revenge and hatred. I also argued that if he could cause so much trouble to an incumbent and his entire government machinery when only a mere MP (then); what could he do with the powers of a President, especially considering the constitution we had then.

My opinion of Raila Odinga has changed gradually since 2008, especially once I started getting involved in inter-ethnic discussion forums through KikuyusforChange. Unlike most of my fellow Kenyans from Central province I have had occasion to politically engage opinion leaders from the regions where the other four million Kenyans who voted for Raila in 2007 come from. In these interactions I have learnt many things, including how the leaders from amongst the four million of us who voted for Kibaki actually build Raila Odinga’s political career whenever they deal with him contemptuously.

In the close to four years since 2008 I have watched Raila work very hard to put the mistakes he might have made in 2007 behind him, especially that of being associated with a team that seemed to isolate one community from the others, and to incite those others against it for political gain.

I have understood how humbling it has been for him to accept what is essentially a powerless office, in a hostile government, and to understudy a president who was a bitter rival. I have seen a man who has realised that Kenyans are looking for a positive narrative; that any presidential candidate who hopes to win must speak to Kenyans as Kenyans; not in units of their religions, demographics, genders or tribes. I have seen a man who has accepted that Kenyans want someone who will sincerely seek to unite rather than divide Kenya, and who is striving to be this candidate.

What I have seen has impressed me and with the new constitution that makes it easy to manage any President, my vote has gone to Raila. But I am worried I could be wrong.

The reports that Raila Odinga could be seeking ways to reconcile with William Ruto concern me because I belong to the group that agrees with Moreno Ocampo, that William Ruto bears substantial responsibility for what happened in Rift Valley in 2007. I also find Ruto extremely unapologetic about all the chaos, and his comments on this terrible time border on the absurd; from it looking like a movie, to gas cylinder bursts. This is what made me wonder how Uhuru Kenyatta ever agreed to work with him in any political alliance.

However of greater concern to me is the suggestion that Raila has offered to use his international networks to save William Ruto from the ICC process; the same way as he helped Henry Kosgey! The idea that someone can remove someone else from the ICC process suggests that it is possible for such a person to put someone else into such a process.

This is a dangerous implication when viewed in the context of suggestions from Uhuru Kenyatta’s allies that their leader is in the ICC because Raila put him there! If this were true I would feel very silly after all the work I have done in support of the ICC to-date.

It would also mean that what I have seen happening to Raila Odinga in the last four years was not genuine.

Ngunjiri Wambugu

This week’s show: Monday 14th May 2012
MONDAYS 8pm-10pm
(Repeated Wednesdays 9am-11am and 12midnight – 2am)

Bolt enjoying his sweet white love for a moment

Surely the hottest ticket for this summer’s Olympic Games is the men’s 100m final where the star of the show is expected to be Jamaican world record holder and reigning Olympic champion Usain ‘Lightning’ Bolt.  In recent years Bolt has ascended to become one of the most (if not the most) recognised sports star on the planet, enhanced by his inclusion in numerous high advertising campaigns.

However, according the Daily Mail (04/05/12) Bolt has also run headlong into a “race row,” due to his “very serious” relationship with Jamaican based Slovakian designer Lubica Slovak – with accompanying photograph of them locked in a kiss.  The account that has been doing the rounds on the internet for several weeks now, is that the star sprinter was introduced to last year through a mutual friend and began dating after the Slovakian ex-pat interviewed the world record holder for a home newspaper. A “friend” was quoted as making some very pointed comments: “It works because they are both successful and focused. She focuses on her designs, he focuses on his sport. ‘There is no stress in this relationship. She is a calm, very nice, industrious, busy woman. She has her own life so she isn’t demanding.”

Such appraisals have reportedly cut no ice Jamaican women who have poured scorn on the union and lobbed a “barrage of abuse” at the couple.  The Daily Mail reports: “One online posting said: ‘Really now Usain! Some successful black men obviously suffer from a white woman complex. You too?’, while another complained: ‘Another one of our men snatched.”  Now in an interesting twist, the Jamaica Star online reported last week that the relationship has ended: “The record holder has opted to focus his energies on creating new records on the track, sources in his camp confirmed. Bolt is competing at the 2012 Olympics in the United Kingdom this summer and cannot afford any distraction at this time, his team added.”  It should be noted that none of the stories quote Bolt or Slovak directly with all comments attributed to “friends” and “sources.”

Whatever the veracity of the accounts of Usain’s Bolt’s private life, the notion of famous Afrikan men having a ‘white woman complex’ is an enduring one – dating from even before the first Afrikan boxing heavyweight champion Jack Johnson (three European wives) in the early 1900s, through basket baller Wilt Chamberlain (hoards of European women among his alleged 20,000 conquests), as well as Quincy Jones (three European wives), James Earl Jones (two European wives) and up to almost as many premiership footballers today you can shake a stick at.  Eric D. Graham of the Black Athlete Sports Network calls it “The Topic That Won’t Go Away – Why do black athletes date white women??” and laments the “refused and rejected” Afrikan women that they pass by.  Graham goes on to ponder: “Is it a mental health issue? A sickness?  A form of self-hatred? A case of white supremacy and Black inferiority? Or simply an example of years of television programming that have warped their “sub-conscious” minds with negative images of Black women being portrayed as jezebels, sapphire, and mammies?”  On the other hand it is not just Afrikan men; there are several high profile women who seem move from one European to the next (e.g. Naomi Campbell, Kerry Washington, Mica Paris, Denise Lewis).

It could be argued that such activities are merely a reflection of a society that has often been touted as a ‘post-racial’ and that these cases are only discussed due to their high profile.  It has also been suggested that these celebrities are merely going for those partners who are in their environment and the top of most professions are dominated by Europeans.  And of course there is the response similar to that quoted in one of the Usain Bolt articles: “Love has no race – it’s a heart to heart connection.”  Such sentiments are often accompanied appeals to personal choice and individual happiness

But research shows that it is not just an orientation restricted to the rich and famous.   Bro. Ifayomi Grant on Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan in February last year revealed that among Afrikans in the 16-29 age group 62% of males and 51% of females were in “inter-ethnic” relationships, a far, far greater proportion than all other groups.

So tonight we ask the question?

“White Woman Complex”: Myth or Reality?

•   Does Usain Bolt have “White Woman Complex”?
•     Did he end the relationship with Slovak because of the “barrage of abuse”?
•     Do you believe any of the accounts in the stories?
•     Are European women less “demanding” in relationships with Afrikan men?
•     Are European women with Afrikan men “snatching” them from Afrikan women?
•     Is it right to ask” Why do black athletes date white women”?
•     Is the “complex” restricted to high profile Afrikan men?
•     Are interracial relationships an indication “a mental health issue? A sickness?  A form of self-hatred? A case of white supremacy and Black inferiority”?
•     Do Afrikan men cause a “race row” when high profile Afrikan women date European men?
•     Are Afrikan celebrities simply going out with those who share their environment?
•     Are mixed relationship merely a reflection of changing attitudes in society?
•     Is it really anyone else’s business who anybody dates?
•     Is it really the case that more than half young Afrikan men and women in UK are in “inter-ethnic” relationships?
•     Why is it that only small proportions of other groups engage in “inter-ethnic” relationships?

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Hear weekly discussions and lively debate on all issues affecting the Afrikan community, at home and abroad.
We talk it straight and make it plain!
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The Ocampo 4: June 12th date with ICC Judges

The trial preparations of the four Kenyans facing charges at the International Criminal Court kicks off in earnest on June 12 when the accused and their lawyers are scheduled to gather at The Hague for a preparatory conference. A source familiar with the trial preparations told the Sunday Nation from The Hague that trial judges have notified the parties to attend the status conference during which the rules of engagement will be defined including procedural matters and sequence of proceedings.

The status conference lays ground for the trial proper whose date would depend on the issues raised and efficiency of the parties.

During the meeting, the parties would have their first interaction with judges Christine van den Wyngaert (Belgium), Kuniko Ozaki (Japan) and Chile Obeo-Osuji of Nigeria who will preside over the trials. (READ: Japanese elected lead judge in Kenya chaos cases)

The court’s decision is likely to dampen the spirits of President Kibaki who is engaged in a last ditch effort — both at home and abroad — to stop the proceedings at The Hague-based court.

It comes barely two weeks after he indicated to Parliament the government’s determination to set up a local court to try those suspected to have sponsored the 2008/9 violence.

Days later, the President secured a resolution by the East Africa Community for the expansion of the jurisdiction of the East Africa Court of Justice to handle the Kenyan cases.

Similar efforts are underway at a gathering of legal experts from the African Union working on a similar resolution. (READ: AU moves to take over Hague cases)
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The lawyers meeting in Addis Ababa are exploring ways of implementing a January resolution of AU leaders seeking to expand the scope of the Africa Court of Justice to enable it to take over ICC cases involving African leaders — Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and radio journalist Joshua Sang, who were on January 23 committed to trial for crimes against humanity committed during the violence.

During the conference, judges will set a timetable for the start of trials and disclosure of witnesses and evidence between the prosecutor and defence. The accused have an option of attending the conference in person.

Mr Karim Khan, who is leading Mr Muthaura’s defence team, on Saturday confirmed the summons and said he would attend the conference with members of his team.

However, he was no-committal on whether his client will be present. “It is a usual court occurrence during which issues are agreed upon relating to evidence, procedure and sequence of the proceedings. Attendance of the accused at status conferences is optional,” he said in a phone interview.

The Muthaura defence includes Mr Ken Ogeto of the Kenyan Bar, Malaysian Shyamala Alagendra and Mr Essal Faal from The Gambia while Mr Kenyatta is represented by British lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins.

A lawyer who spoke under the cover of anonymity said by the decision, the ICC had “called the government’s bluff”. “The ICC is testing the government and suspects’ commitment to co-operate with the court,” he said.

Explaining the significance of the conference in a recent conversation, ICC spokesman Fadil Abdallah said it is largely a house keeping affair.

“The parties will present their observations to the chamber on their preparedness, which will review them and establish a timetable for trials proper,” he said.

Commenting on Saturday, Senior Counsel Paul Muite advised Mr Ruto and Mr Uhuru to review their defence strategy and composition of their lawyers.

“They should have faith in Kenyan lawyers because they understand the history and context of the case,” he said citing the success of Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and Maj (Gen) Hussein Ali’s during the confirmation of cases hearings.

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Last September, Nyambu, a Kenyan woman, killed her two children sparking a round of blames within the Kenyan community. Nyambu’s friends were blamed for failing to detect that something was wrong with her even after she isolated herself after allegedly going bonkers. Emotions were poured through KSB while Nyambu’s “friends” set up a FB page “to mourn the kids”. Anybody who tried to analyse the circumstances under which Nyambu may have killed her kids was quickly deleted from the friends FB membership. The argument was that friends “were in mourning” and anything else was unwelcome. Some friends who were mourning the most had, months back, boasted of having deleted Nyambu’s phone number from their mobiles “to get rid of her” because she had become crazy. Why is the Juliet tragedy and the Nyambu case relevant?

Today, there is a Kenyan woman called Magdalene who is begging in the streets of Stockholm. In July last year, a Kenyan couple calling themselves “The Kamaus” and who were on a visit to Stockholm from Kenya, bumped into her in town during her begging escapades. The Kamaus later wrote to KSB, asking whether there is anybody who could help her because she appeared to have been unwell upstairs.

Magdalene is apparently back in the streets, begging. Her style is a bit different. Unlike traditional beggars who camp at a corner of the streets with a small bakuli on the floor, Magdalene chases white people in the streets asking them to give her 100kr. Her strange technique is said to be working with sympathetic Swedes seeking to be left alone dipping into their wallets to get out anything which will help brash her off their trail. Once she is “helped” with a few kronas, she goes gambling at the local hole and once she runs broke, she hits the streets again in an ever ending cycle.

What is strange is that on the surface, Magdalene appears to be a very normal and sane person. However, every Kenyan who knows her also knows that she is sick mentally. If you attend a Kenyan function, you could easily bump into her, well dressed, humble and very patient. In fact, she engages in normal conversation and can even discuss issues. During the 90s, Kenyans used to converge in her flat to do politics because her ex was, by then, a dissident. Some of the big names in Stockholm today used to dine at her place.

Yeah, those were the good old days when Wakenya seeking asylum used to fight against the “dictatorial Moi/KANU regime” who was torturing Kenyans under a one party dictatorship forcing many Kenyans to flee the country to avoid being arrested and killed by the Special Branch! Today, Magdalene seems to have been abandoned by everybody in typical Kenya-Stockholm style – you are only useful when you are “normal” but the moment you begin to lose it, everybody runs away from you.

Where are the good Samaritans?
This lady is a mother of two brilliant adults and it is very painful to see what is happening to her as the Kenyan community recoils into itself. What happened to being your brother’s and sister’s keeper? A mantra that was being peddled just a few months ago after Nyambu killed her children? The situation is much more serious. I will give a scenario to drive my point home.

With her daily begging missions in town, Magdalene will, one day, attract the attention of the organized wing of the Swedish Nazis known to send white Swedish blondies to lure Africans into isolated areas to be “taught a lesson”. With her poor mental health, it is very easy to drive Magdalene away with the lure of money. The Swedish newspapers are awash with news items about disappearances and therefore, this scenario is not an “out of Sweden” fantasy. As a friend of Magdalene, will you come back and mourn about what could have been done when tragedy strikes?

The Swedish system is tough. Magdalene has been married twice, a very normal experience in Sweden. The problem is that although she is unwell, even her closest friends whom she has been praying with at Bagarmossen church have abandoned her. Surely, where is: Pastor Samsang; members of her church congregation; her adult children; her close friends for many years; and even her former hubbies whom she took care of for years? Must Kenyans here wait until Magdalene ends in some tragic situation before fathoming about what could have been done?

Where are the “good Samaritans” who have been taking in renegade teenagers and keeping them in their apartments? Some Kenyans are on record for having gone to court to prevent mothers from taking custody of their rebellious teenage daughters “in the interest of the child”. Where are they?

Last year, after Nyambu killed her kids, these good Samaritans saturated the Swedish media with sympathetic faces as they mourned about their inability to help Nyambu because her case had remained obscure. Where are they to act “in the interest” of this poor woman who is actually a tragedy waiting to happen in the streets of Stockholm?

Okoth Osewe