As a passionate reader of KSB, I also felt that the purported “response” from Osewe to Clay Onyango regarding his upcoming book was outdated. In intellectual terms, this is fraud on the part of Clay and just confirms that he has no ethics. The article was archived at KSB on November 15, 2007 (http://kenyastockholm.com/2007/11/15/). Today (Nov. 20) Clay denies at his blogsite (Butdoisay) having received it from Osewe. But then he openly bloopers by answering commentator “Kanyunja” that it was from Osewe. I quote him: “Hi Kanyunja, this article was sent in by Osewe to butdoisay …” Readers, where is the truth?
Clay has been caught with his “pants down” and is now using lame excuses to dissociate himself from intellectual fraud. He defends himself by claiming that he has never fabricated an article about Osewe. Read his ‘personalized’ response at KSB insulting Jerome Msomi, who asked why he is provoking Osewe. Instead of answering why, he asks him: “Why dont [sic] you fight OMENAS that are stuck on your teeth? butdoisay….” This is his normal reply to people: too much brawn but no brains.
Besides the above, Clay’s biggest challenge remains on how he sources his information. If the claimed response was meant for the original story on Osewe’s book, why did he start a new thread and not just add it as a regular commentary? He should remember that: “A reporter is only as reliable as his or her sources.” As a blogger, he should have detected that it was fishy and meant to portray Osewe in bad light as a tribalist. Anyway, not all Kikuyu are chauvinists and some wise commentators have separated the wheat from the chaff in this story.
Clay lacks originality and reminds readers of the Norwegian-based chief of intellectual fraud, Sammy Korir, of the African Press International (API). There are all sorts of rumors flying around Stockholm, but the worst I have heard concerning Clay is that he did not manage more than Class Seven in Kenya; the old primary school education system. If this is true, then you can see how this reflects upon his thinking many years later. The lack of further education remains an impediment in his life.
Clay has never written any article analyzing social aspects in Kenya or Sweden. He is a vulture who scavenges around for stories and quickly cuts and pastes them at his mediocre blog called “Butdoisay.” He then often gives short comments below them ending with “butdoisay…” His process of disseminating information leaves a bad taste in the mouth of any reader. Many of his pasted stories reflect his thinking and possibly behavior, because they often focus on “below the belt” issues.
Another intellectual fraud by Clay is not respecting sources of information. He infrequently acknowledges that he has “lifted” information from a certain site and hardly gives the Internet link. This way, he wants to show he has researched and could even claim ownership of the story, because he co-signs: “Lifted from…, title by butdoisay.” There is nothing wrong even in the journalistic world to honor sources of information. In fact, it adds credence to the author.
Clay has no intellectual purview and his blog remains a place for cheap entertainment when one has nothing serious to read. He startles readers by his copycat tactics of dashing to KSB, picking an article, then adding a photo or two to make it “original” as if butdoisay owns it. He has now claimed that he does so to gauge the opinion of his readers. Where’s originality? Clay does not have to fill his blog daily with plagiarized material to prove journalistic prowess.
Legible materials at Clay’s blog are often from commentators, especially when attacking Osewe for his critical appraisals of the Kenya Embassy in Stockholm. Osewe’s consistent attacks are well-researched even if reported from his “field agents”, whom he normally acknowledges. When he calls the Kenya Embassy hangers-on “Bootlickers”, he explains why he deems them so. However, Butdoisay attackers only personalize matters by focusing on Osewe and not critically assessing his written stuff.
Current calls for unity at Butdoisay are not new. Clay is known for creating organizations and abandoning them after gaining personally, without accounting for the loss of public donations by faithful contributors. If a Kenyan is interested in starting a welfare organization, she/he should just recruit and register members as per the laid down Swedish laws, instead of blaming Osewe. Why bother with the status quo (i.e. old members of the Kenya-Stockholm community?). Just register an organization and move on because no Kenyan is prevented from doing so. After all, the former Ambassadors used to interact with many Kenyans even in the absence of a unifying Kenyan group. Not all Kenyans have ever been united under a single welfare banner, so it is a fallacy to claim that Ambassador Muhindi can only interact with Kenyans through a welfare group.
Osewe’s book has not even hit the book stores, yet some Butdoisay hangers-on have already charged on matters about it for which they have no inkling. Books are first read then criticized. But at Butdoisay, the author is put on the chopping board first for work that is not yet delivered. Why? Because of his personality and not for what he has written.
Osewe has written internationally acclaimed reports and remains clear on his ideological standpoint politically, both to his friends and foes. One article that Osewe wrote and got published in the critically acclaimed “New African” magazine concerned the brutal murder of the late Ivory Coast man, Gérard Gbeyo, in a small Swedish town called Klippan, in 1995. This is a serious magazine that attracts African academics that critically assess issues concerning Africa and the African Diaspora. Osewe has also written other articles, not just stories, which have been published in the editorial columns of Kenya’s mainstream newspapers.
Clay Onyango reminds me of the intellectual dwarf, Mulili, in the book called “Betrayal in the City” by renowned Kenyan playwright, Francis Imbuga. He provides comic relief in many of his typo-infested postings at Butdoisay. I cite two postings: One on Nov 3, 08: “2 Swedish twins try to commit suicide on Londons [sic] motorway”. 2 twins? Come on, even a primary school child in Kenya knows that twins represent a pair so there cannot be two twins. The title should have read: “Swedish twins try to commit suicide on a motorway in London.” Somebody even corrected him that there is nothing like 2 twins, unless they are more than the pair shown. He has no sense of apostrophes and other quotation marks because many times he does not use them. In this title he writes “Londons,” yet it should be London’s. In proper English there is nothing like Londons because there is only one London.
Second example: Clay recently cut and pasted an old photo of President-elect Obama sitting with one of his male relatives outside a grass thatched hut in Kogelo. The title read: “From a thatched hut to the White House,” yet the so-called White House photo was Capitol Hill’s. He was not aware until a commentator wrote this: “By the way the top picture is of Capitol Hill not White House.” Suddenly “Mulili” realized and changed it. However, he posted the original gaffe on Nov. 11, but did not know it was wrong until he was corrected on Nov. 12. There is nothing wrong with basic typos in publishing, but Clay’s blunders prove that there is something inherently wrong with his intellect because his vocabulary base is very shallow.
Clay thrives in character assassination and enjoys the growing blog traffic when he posts baseless and negative information about others. He was once questioned by an earlier Butdoisay commentator named Carol, after a post he had cut and pasted from a Klu Klux Klan website mudslinging then presidential candidate Obama. She saw no relevance in this, given that she expected Clay to portray a positive picture of Obama. He also cut and pasted quite a few articles from then African Press International owned by the infamous Korir, which portrayed Obama negatively. He only changed tact after seeing that Obama was going to win and today pretends to portray him positively.
Another example is Clay’s (also pasted) alleged API’s fraudulent phone interview with Mama Sarah Obama in Kogelo, or the pasting of the most stupid claim by API that it was awarded USD 500,000 to “strengthen” its online media work. Both were posted on Nov. 9 at Butdoisay. When API was shut down recently, Clay disowned it by posting a note on Nov. 17, exonerating himself from earlier “support” through cutting and pasting its ridiculous stories. He even wrote at Butdoisay that if he had been Korir’s fan, he would have been congratulating him. However, his note in Swahili after the claimed $500,000 API award, insinuated conviction in API’s stories. I cite him: “Butdoisay comment: Korir can the mcdonalds [sic] meal I offered you in Stockholm produce an income on my side? Kidogo tu……butdoisay.”
Butdoisay remains nothing but a farcical interlude in the Kenyan blogosphere.
Ni Mimi Caro na Nimesema
KSB NOTE:
Haya. They have started fighting again. This article has been edited a bit and expletives plus personal attacks have been removed to make it stick to the issues. KSB encourages open debate free from malice and character assassination. Contributors are advised not to use KSB to fight personal wars or to try and get even with their enemies. For ethical reasons, people adversely mentioned have a right of response.
About the Author
GOOD ARTICLE CAROLif thats your name….we squared it all long time with Jerome,the author of WHY IS CLAY PROVOKING YOU OSEWE,and this is bygone,he even established who might have been the author,but if u think by attacking me makes you HAPPY AND PROUD..GO AHEAD!!!
Hi Caro,
Its been long coming to those who thrive on peddling mis-representations.Its with such courage that you write about these problems that have been occassioned by ,in-excusably attempting to be fresh in the public square.I commend your passion.
It is however not worthy of your energy to try and rectify what some one has or does not have in his/her brain or body.I have always held up a simple principle ,that its not equal to the time ,you spend ,in engagaing in ,what l would call futile attempts at laying the record straight.
As a Luo ,and one who has to call himself Kenyan because of historical injustices(l hold the passport )l would simply request all to refrain from waxing lyrical about,all things on each and every blog and thread,and books yet to be read.
It also struck me as very interesting when it was mentioned that “old members of The Stockholm community” is in any any way the “staus quo”.I beg to posit differently.
I will not attempt to defend Osewe on whether his book “yet to be availed “is chauvanistic ,or “tribal”,l have not read it,however ,its my position that as a member of a community of people ,Osewe has every reason to put his ideas and argue his case.Whether or not he is right or wrong ,that is not for any one to defend .It incumbent on Osewe himself to put all issues ,that are being questioned ,or to be questioned to rest.
Its also not fair to use the public arena to attack any one without infallible proof,if one has any proof of wrong doing,there exists a system that offers remedies to the offended.Its not for public consumption until proven so by the judicial process and unsealed for public use.I also strongly hold a position that education or knowledge is not measured the schools or levels of “so called curriculae”one has gone through.
This should not be miscontrued as if am defending any one ,its to the contrary ,communities that are in deep limbo about identity, more often that not go for the others jugular.Its not the best way ,however its the primal way.Its the way that basic instinct has bestowed on human kind.When reason fails ,its who has more brawn than brain.However the 21st century brawn is not physical musculinity ,its the word that has it all.Who dominates the propaganda machine has in some capacity done half the work required.Its an interesting piece to read Caro.
Its just its not positive to always drop names to argue a cause,instead it gives opportunity to those wishing to use the same petty point scoring ,to keep on the unnecessary dicussion .It can be done without such.Once names are involved ,then proof must be availed,and,that without adequate substantiation ,will inevitably breed more contempt for one another.Its not worth it in small communities like the “ones”that exist in Scandinavia.
Thats all
Ean Wuod Luo
N/B The piece had lots of stuff that are not ,in my opinion warranted for topical discussions,except when going negative about personalities and by such l intend no offence to the author.All is without prejudice
Hi Caro,
I like how you have delved into the macro, meso and micro aspects that define Butdoisay. It is really “A sidekick for comic relief when there is nothing to read.” Intellectual fraud is a non-no and when a blogger preys into various Internet sites to cut and paste articles or stories to fill his blog without honoring the sources, it speaks volumes about the lack of creativity that abounds.
Creativity and originality both exemplify the quality of information offered by a blogger. For Butdoisay, it is often information cut from Kenyan newspapers or other sources without acknowledgement.
Clay’s response that attempts to tone down the nature of critique that you have provided is a sign of submission, especially by using Jerome’s response to “kill” the story. The issues you have raised go deeper than finding out the source of the purported story about Osewe’s story on Kikuyu chauvinists. They are matters that raise key challenges posed in maintaining integrity in journalism.
Kenyans need to focus on such issues to excel in the information age, instead of dwelling on petty personal matters.
I was boiling in my own way but I think some sobriety is returning to this debate. For Caro, your contribution on Clay was well written. No personal attacks or washing dirty linen in public. You have challenged Clay’s methods in a logical way that, I believe, is acceptable to the common reader.
On Clay’s response, I think it was mature for him not to have added more petrol into a fire that started at his homestead. I must admit that I expected Clay to come back breathing fire and I think this is what the “dirty linen washers” are waiting for. Everybody seem to be having an enemy in Stockholm and the trick could be to make peace with your enemy so that the skeletons are not brought out of the cupboard.
Apart from his cut and paste tendency, I think it is contributors at Clay’s blog that are worsening his reputation. I will not repeat what Caro has already said on the issue. I am seduced by her articulate and to the point approach. Osewe has said severally that the blogger is responsible and you can see how he has sneaked out of this debate “like a fox”. He should however thank Jerome and Caro to say the truth because they risked attacks on his behalf.
Jerome needs to be congratulated too for his short but sharp critique on Clay’s posting. I noticed that although Clay threw the Omena abuse at him, Jerome came back and appealed for peace because his problem with Clay had been sorted out. This is something positive. Jerome even led us to Vesterås where he traced the controversial posting, a sign that he is very Internet oriented. Those who claimed that Osewe posted the thing to Clay may have to lick their wounds because Jerome gave us the evidence on how he got to Vesterås.
One thing is certain. There are Kenyans who can debate and I wonder where all these people have been. Tonny has just made another comment and put in his Luo background as usual. I find Tonny’s posting down to earth. We are all Kenyans and let us live in harmony. I was myself having my crap to settle with Clay but in view of the latest developments, I think I will leave the matter for now and wait and see. I will take the bucket of shit back to the pit latrin in the spirit of peace and harmony in Kenya Stockholm. But, if another war begins, I will be back armed with anything because I am also educated and I can take up all those calling themselves intellectuals at any time. My warning to bloggers is that you are on the spot light. Let us all pray for Kenya, our beloved country. Thank you and may God bless you.
Mine is looking for any help. First and very important, I am not the educated type but can some one explain to me when “literary vista” come because I only know about “windows vista” and windows vista professional. Hi kizungu yenu hata kama ni wasomi lazima kuelesa. I am a standard seven but I am study SIV (Swedish). But I speak swedish like Swedish people. I don’t want to know about the rest. only one because I have computer. How much is litrary visa?
Tony Odera,
Thanks for your comment. However, much of your input merely scratches on the surface. Please go and read what was written concerning the article pasted on Clay’s blog concerning Kikuyu chauvinism. There are also other patterns at Butdoisay which I assessed before writing my piece.
You are out of context in your claim that: “It also struck me as very interesting when it was mentioned that “old members of The Stockholm community” is in any any way the “status quo”. You do not understand why this was mentioned because it refers to an article at Butdoisay claiming the status quo forms the crowd which often involves in the formation of welfare organizations in Stockholm.
If only you could first spend a while to read whatever has accrued to form the comment by Jerome Msomi, you would reverse your claims on personal attacks. I am spot on about the attacks concerning Osewe at Butdoisay, which are often about his personality, not the issues he discusses. Osewe has been continuously attacked at Butdoisay not for the well-supported claims on the Kenya Embassy in Stockholm, but for his persona. Clay has allowed those comments without editing, clearly showing his lack of respect for Osewe. How come you have never written to protest this at Butdoisay?
I have analyzed the contents of Butdoisay to reach this conclusion by citing necessary material available, so I wonder why you Tony, seem apprehensive. After all, you are also going personal by talking about your Luo identity when it is not the subject of discussion in this thread. We sometimes only see weaknesses in others, while we commit worse transgressions. I had wanted to call Clay personally but thought that it is better to write. If someone was attacking Clay unnecessarily at a dirty and personal level, I would be the first to defend him or you for that matter. We don’t advance by allowing this culture of impunity. We do so by cultivating a culture of acceptable decorum especially in public debates at public forums.
Kenya and Kenyans will never move forward if we cannot address issues. The silence among Kenyans in Stockholm has tended to give underdogs the opportunity to take over the information Forums and today, we are paying the price as evidenced by the mediocrity at certain blogs. If pettiness is not challenged by informed readers, the assumption will be that the best we can produce is the butdoisay kind of child’s play and the reputation of our community will continue to sink. We can do better and this is why I take it as my personal responsibility to defend people like Osewe who has been rather kind to sensibilities. I have nothing personal about Clay. He is a good parent and I think he can also do better. He needs a honest assessment of his work and any rendition in this direction calls for calling a spade a spade. This was the modus operandi of my contribution.
Caro
Good job KSB
I believe that we can use Kenyan-run blogs in Stockholm to improve our cognitive abilities by using them as platforms for not only sharing stories and news, but also general knowledge. Issues raised by all the commentators are food for thought on how we need to shape discussions on Kenyan matters.
I also agree that recognizing authors and sources of information is crucial in the media world. For whatever it is, please let us all aim higher for peace and prosperity in the Kenya-Stockholm community.
I am loving the chemsha bongo stuff at KSB. Osewe, opening up the comments section was surely godsent. Kenyans can now clearly see your so-called Odiangabuks.
Hello,
Its was not my intention to to continue to write about this issue,but l feel compelled to to address some misconceoption about my being proud of my community The Luo.Its well known that we all belong to a people .I am not in the habit of mentioning names when commenting on issues raised. l will make an exception this time around.As Caro has pointed out ,that l imported my roots ,which in her interpretation meant l was going personal.Thats is far from it.Its my position Caro ,that you did read the wrong set of tea leaves.I will leave it at that,for the time being.Yes am proud to be a Luo. Who is not proud of ones own ,However that should not colour our view of the big picture.Its absurd that when some are attempting to bridge the schism that bedeviles the Kenyan community in Kenya ,others are splitting hairs as whether they belong to a people or not.
Let us not decieve ourselves,that by engaging in spirited bouts of destructive criticism ,we help broker dialogue.As a people who wish to be a nation ,diversity of self has to be recognised .Its only then ,that tentative steps can be made so that we see through that coloured glass of “tribalism” and appreciate it positively.
So as l indicated ,l will not comment on the fued between Osewe and Clay but concentrate my efforts on making a difference within our selves in Sweden.
What has emerged is that issues have been simmering and now they are erupting .Osewe thanks for availing this space .Not all of us can have blogs otherwise ,we would be blogging ourselves.
Ean Wuod Luo
Tony Odera
Osewe:
As a Swedish woman journalist with a Kenyan boyfriend living in Göteborg, I find your blog information very useful to understand Kenyans.
The issue of how some of your people use their blogs raises many questions. However, KSB is more mature and analytical. I have today really enjoyed Jerome’s and Caro’s contributions.Tack!
Tony Odera,
As usual you dilute a highly advanced discourse by indulging mediocrity. Keep up your pettiness because it portrays how you bleed for attention. It has been repeated several times before at KSB that nobody is interested in your tribal identity. Stick to issues and stop using KSB to soothe your broken ego.
OSEWE: Why do you normally allow Tony’s comments that don’t blend into given threads?
Otherwise keep up the high standards of assessment at KSB.
Hello Mwangi,
Iam indeed impressed by the way my stand as being myself is triggering your basic instincts to go on the attack.As for the ,commenting on threads,call for symposium and we debate the issues .Its not helpful talking and not reaching a consensus.At the very core of Kenyas problems is lack of respect for others values.So when one says that am not blending with thread ,l would assume that to them “tribalism”is a non issue.So l still maintain lets get real ,be comfortable with who we are first ,before attempting to solve matters that eventually boil down back to tribal affilliations.
So Maina am happy that you are being spurred on but l advise stop taking cheap shots ,in your opinion what are “highly advanced discourses”.
Ean Wuod Luo
Tony Odera
Hello Mwangi,
As a reminder ,l believe Osewe advised comments not to negative ,by writing that “as usual l dilute a highly advanced discourse by indulging in mediocrity”
That to me reads like you have nothing else to go on about ,but ngage in medicrity yourself.Give you stand on what is being ,and is still being discussed ,instead taking pot shots at me.If you feel comfortable enough ,then let have some sensible contribution ,intead of deriding someone ,and claiming interlectual superiority at the same time.
Take it easy brother.
Ean Wuod Luo
Tony Odera
Is it not just amazing when Clay the hunter now becomes the hunted? He is seeking sympathy at Butdoisay claiming that he is being attacked and called a “Standard Seven” person. This was stated by Caro as a rumor, so I wonder why he puts so much emphasis on it. In fact he should be defending his unethical trend of cutting and pasting materials from KSB and other Internet sources. But he can’t, because he is a predator who picks up others’ work to gain credit without batting an eyelid.
When Clay allowed his blog attackers to go for Osewe’s jugular without censoring their absurd and crude language, he must have been sleeping with the biggest grin on his face thinking: “Oh, let the piranhas, sharks and hyenas rip Osewe apart. After all, he deserves it. How can he attack Purity who offers us free food and drinks? He wants to spoil for us. He is jealous because we get those personalized invitation cards to secret her parties. Hee heeee… Butdoisay.”
The onus of moderating comments on blogsites lies squarely on the owner’s shoulders and must be done to avoid personal issues. If only Kenyan blog owners could use those virtual spaces to spread positive messages, we could move on without problems. Clay’s blog has been used repeatedly by some commentators to tear into Osewe as a person, not his writing. This is what makes Clay a perpetrator with no sympathy for attacks on Osewe.
Now he is the victim, but mostly due to his cut and paste unethical postings, which do not honor the authors or sources they have been picked from.
Clay is a successful businessman and by claiming that he never went beyond class 7, its in bad taste becuase its “hiting below the belt”. If Clay lifted the article without Osewe’s consent, is wrong and that what should be dealt with and not far- fetching other things.
Osewe has all the rights to write a book based on his “research” on what went wrong during the disputed Kenyan Presidential Elections but that does not mean that whetever will be the contents of his book is the gospel truth of what exactly transpired.
I think Osewe’s book will may be a reflection of what many ODM sympathisers believes was a stolen victory from them, while others like me do believe that PNU won. If Justice Kriegler said it’n hard to know who the exact winner was, then it’s up to individual to believe what one would like to.Knowledge can be acquired, but interlect one is born with. Peace and understanding!
Brother Muirani,
Many successful businesspeople worldwide never went beyond basic education, so why should the rumor on Clay be a big deal? He could be successful, yet did not manage beyond basic education. This was mentioned within the context of his operations at Butdoisay. The issue of dealing with lifting info from Osewe is well documented, since it is the big picture.
Thanks Brother-in-Christ and keep the peace you preach because we all need it. The comments that Clay allowed on his blog to be written about Osewe are so nauseating, I wonder why you dear Brother, never condemned them as “hitting below the belt”. They are archived at Butdoisay, you can read them. Truly sickening!
Caro:
Thanks for your well-researched article which has exposed Clay’s machinations at his blog. We all need to respect each other and not hide behind blogs to attack personalities. Just like many readers have said at KSB, Osewe’s attacks at the Embassy are often supported by findings. If Clay could refute those findings with hard evidence, then he would be credited. However, he steals stories from KSB then instigates some of his blog commentators to attack Mr. Okoth Osewe as a person, not the material he has written.
Honestly, why should the same Clay use his blog to preach peace and call for unity among Kenyans, yet he constantly fuels blog attacks against Osewe? Is it because there is something he gains from Ambassador Purity Muhindi?
I recently read when he wrote that Kenyans “should not give a damn” about visiting Kenyan MPs in Stockholm. Kenyans are not interested in giving them free car rides around Stockholm as Clay does, then complain that they are mean. KSB has challenged Ambassador Muhindi for NOT allowing majority Kenyans to meet visiting MPs so as to engage them in matters concerning our beloved country. Many of us are not interested in seeking favors through free food and fueling our vehicles, then later blogging to complain about parking lot tickets in the name of impressing MPs. Those MPs live in too much luxury I would never spend a dime on them, other than ask them publicly why they are fleecing poor Kenyan taxpayers.
It is very easy to pick segments from a story on a rival blog then twist it to suit your own taste, i.e. attacking or ridiculing the original blogger who posted it. This is what Clay has specialized in vis–à–vis KSB.
Kim #18,
Good comment. I also wonder why nobody condemned Clay for allowing pesonal attacks on Osewe at his blog, yet now a mere rumor on him is being blown into a mountain. If Kenyans can unite to condemn collectively blogs that attack personalities, then we could focus fully on more important matters.
KSB Yawa:
Does it mean Kenya Service Broadcasting? Oh, just read it means Kenya Stockholm Blog. I can’t even keep up with the tempo of assessment here. This blog is too advanced in analysis it leaves me gaping, yearning for more.
What a break from the other petty blog that keeps butting and saying…!
Hey Mwirani,
Clay should be put where he belongs. spoilling other peoples names and yet you mwirani you support him. A you not being a retarded brother if not biased. By the way a you still drinking and preaching at the same time,then l bít your congretion.
luos you can bit them with businesses but not with interlectualism.Wameweza clay wasomi.Kwanza Caro and Jeromi they went to school properly they way they analyse things it at interlectual level.
Wenye wivu sasa wajinyoge. Once again congrations osewe .
Hello Mr. Muirani #17,
With all due respect, don’t you think that you are drawing conclusions in advance before reading Mr. Osewe’s book? Suggestions about gospel truth or leanings towards ODM can only be determined after reading the book. You already wished him well in the earlier thread about his book, so please as a man of God, be patient and wait for it.
Let us not be like Clay whose only comment at Butdoisay was “… as long as he it’s not biased”. It is too early to become doubting Thomases.
For many of us here in Finland, KSB remains our sole cyber spot for Kenya-Scandinavian matters. It is investigative and informative on thorny issues, yet also entertains with stories and photos from Kenyan functions, making us long for a large community since we are very few here.
After reading the imbalanced reporting at Butdoisay, I feel it is wrong for Clay to take information from KSB and other Internet sites without acknowledging them.
Hamna haja ndugu Clay akubali wafasiri katika blogu yake wamtukane ndugu Osewe kwa kueneza matusi, uvumi na chuki. Tupendane kama Wakenya na tuheshimu maandishi ya wenzetu mtandaoni.
Nawatakia nyote kila la heri maishani.
Gosh! What’s happening within Kenya-Stcokholm blogs? I have been out of touch for two weeks and now playing catch up, but this latest on Clay at KSB is hotter than hot. I used to read Butdoisay and no matter how much one hates Mr. Osewe, it was totally unethical of Clay to allow his commentators to attack him as a man, and not his controversial opinions about Ambassador Muhindi.
Osewe, now that you have opened up the comments section, let me also express my disgust at Clay and his bullies. Surely Osewe, I admired your patience during those damning attacks. Those people were vicious and tramped on your personality in a very shameful way. I therefore find it ridiculous that Clay has now become gun shy, seeking sympathy by claiming he has thrown in the towel on this issue. I read his response to Jerome concerning “OMENAS” on his teeth and I told myself: “See? This is a man who thinks with his muscles”.
To commentators at KSB, please keep up the high standards in discussing issues and not personality, so that you give a good example to other Kenya-Stockholm bloggers.
KSB Commentators, I think we should be moving towards closing the Clay debate. Readers have expressed their views and various points of views have been aired. Clay should use the comments to make amends whenever necessary because after reading the comments, I strongly believe that the intention of contributors is not to destroy Clay from blogging but to help him remain on track as far as the rules are concerned. One thing that remains is that as you make your bed so must you lie on it.
Three issues which I have noticed being raised in the debate are as follows. Personal attacks should be discouraged, not just at butdoisay but at all Kenya-Stockholm blogs. This is a sign of responsibility. Every personality deserves respect and if their person is to be brought into disrepute, evidence should be adduced. This increases credibility at the blogs. Stories lifted should be attributed to avoid plagiarism. Bloggers should check messages sent and use the power of censorship to either edit posts or dump them if they are deemed unpublishable.
On the last point, it is notable that hangers on at butdoisay who actually put Clay in deep shit have all deserted him and none of them has come to support what they themselves have been writing. I don’t have to pull all that they wrote as reference because that wound should be healing.
This is a warning to bloggers that contributors could be more lethal than personalities under attack because contributors can melt away if things get really hot and there is nothing a blogger can do about them because you might not even be knowing them especially if they are employing the use of anonymous handles, a practice accepted in Cyberspace. Kenyans are their own worst enemies because contributors of butdoisay have abandoned him at his hour of need.
On the other hand, what they did is indefensible. Even Moi’s sychophants abandoned him When the unbwogable team popped up. They jumped ship, left Moi alone and KANU lost elections.
Lastly, Kenya-Stockholmers should learn something from the exchanges of the last few days especially here at KSB. We should use blogs to unite and not to fight. There is nobody who has won this war. I would encourage contributors to view events in the past few days as a session in a classroom where we have learnt something. Let us preach reconciliation. This is the time when men of religion should have come in to preach peace. But where are they+ they are all in hiding. This should form the next topic is possible. I have to sign off because today is furahiday and I am meeting friends in town. I will be back kufagia as usual.
Caro,
Thanks for the great assessment you have made on Butdoisay. Why do some of us lack originality and creativity yet still run blogs? Do they assume that just because so-and-so started one, then it is an easy activity? No, it is so demanding and time consuming.
It is therefore a complete intellectual fraud as you so well put it, for Clay to increase his blog traffic out of Osewe’s and others’ creativity on the Internet, without citing them. Articles, stories and other Internet materials can be copied, but in the media world, their sources MUST be credited.
Caro, you have given excellent examples of how Clay ends up “owning” materials copied from the Internet by signing his name below them. This proves how mediocre his blog is.
Comrades at KTH, sorry, I have been out of touch for some time and I’ve just fixed a handle. I talked to Ndugu Osewe last evening to find out how he is doing especially after the latest developments within the Kenya Stockholm blogsphere. He is fine although he admitted that he was a bit surprised with the reaction from KSB fans following the butdoisay crisis. He gave me freedom to report about our conversation although he advised censorship as may be appropriate.
When I asked him why he was surprised with reactions from fans, he said that he is used to dealing with attacks from butdoisay by ignoring them but that with the intervention of fans, his surprise was based on the level of concern displayed by those who support him. He was also taken off-guard with the quality of contributions and hoped that the trend would continue.
He did admit that he had initially treated the butdoisay publication of his year-old article fetched from KSB within the context of its “ephemeral boundary” but that the end result “has been transformative” from the point of view of ”impact and elucidation” of the general issues.
He appreciated the numerous interventions by his admirers and supporters alike, pointing out that for the first time, KSB appeared to have been “updating itself” with his work having been reduced to approving comments on articles or posting key interventions.
I then dared to ask him about his book but he dashed my hopes (philosophically) of receiving any comments. To quote him, he said that a writer “who talks about his own work under the circumstances” is like “a parent who talks about his/her own child”. He advised that I should wait until the Stockholm book launch if I was interested.
He could not remember where he picked up the quote above and admitted that it was not his origination. That’s for now about Ndugu Osewe. On his behalf, I send greetings to the new tidings.
Ruth, if it’s your real name, i didn’t support Clay and just raised my concern when we deviate from the real debate.About my Christianity, you have dealt with it at an earlier stage and my response is that only God will judge me coz God does not judge on hearsay or what is seen by himan beings.Remember the thief who was crucified with Jesus? he was comdemned on earth but Jesus promised they will be together in paradise.I do wish you the love of God and his guidance and God bless you.
Maina Mwangi, i do appreciate you honest and sober observation. Am sorry if my comment was construed to mean i’ve already made a conclusion. I only expressed my political stand regarding ODM and PNU over the disputed General elections in Kenya. Am anxiously waiting to buy Osewe’s book. Once again i appreciate your interllectual observation and we need people like you who are level minded inorder to progress in our community. Thanks.
Fellow Kenyans,
I am a guest media researcher at a Swedish university and was introduced to KSB by a colleague who used to live in Stockholm. I am quite impressed by Mr. Okoth Osewe who informs about different issues concerning Kenyans in Stockholm, and KSB is my window to the Kenya-Scandinavian world.
In the scientific world, respecting the work of others is paramount and non-negotiable. It is not about paying money for the acquisition of materials, but giving credit/acknowledgement to whoever you use his or her work. It is simple: Provide the Internet links and authors, etc. Osewe has been doing this consistently because he knows how important it is for credibility.
I am unhappy to read that Clay Onyango of Butdoisay has lowered the level of universally accepted media ethics by continually poaching into KSB and cutting articles to engage his readers who mostly end up insulting Mr. Osewe as a person, but not critically dissecting the anatomy of his written work. This act is totally repugnant in the publishing world. Clay may not understand how low he has sunk by frequently doing this.
Honoring sources of information is a MUST, even if one thoroughly paraphrases and injects personal words to claim ownership of the material. For example, successful TV channels like CNN, BBC and CBS always show on screen (picture from AP or ITV etc.) because this is how it works. I hope that this thoroughly exhausted critique at KSB will act as a starting point in streamlining the way Butdoisay operates.
I also take issue with the partisan mind of Mr. Muirani, who seems to count Osewe’s chicks before they are hatched. Mr. Muirani is already applying suppositions by writing that because Osewe is an ODM supporter, he must have been skewed in favor of the Party while writing his upcoming book. He even puts quotation marks to the term “research” as if one cannot do research through newspapers, books, telephone interviews, emails and other sources. As a potential reader of the book, he should not apply any a priori approach before reading it, so as to avoid biases.
I am astonished that some of the comments at KSB are way below the thinking of many Kenyans at home, who are not exposed to high technology and the magnificent libraries like those available in Sweden, yet excel in high-level critical thinking. Research is conducted in very many forms and what is normally challenged is the end result. The processes of data collection must also be explained according to set rules, be it in media per se or other scientific fields.
In conclusion, I enjoy KSB whenever I need to be in touch with fellow Kenyans even if just virtually. My dear Wananchi, let us embrace critical thinking for prosperity.
Clay Onyango deserves no sympathy for his continuous intellectual mediocrity which is vividly displayed in his “cut and paste” method of reporting at Butdoisay. Clay is now acting the victim, yet he allowed handles like “Kanyunja” and “Hass” to viciously attack Osewe’s personality and NOT what he wrote about Ambassador Purity Muhindi. Moreover, nobody EVER, not even once, defended Osewe or condemned Clay for allowing such nasty comments.
Clay is now being attacked for his mediocre reporting at Butdoisay, not for his physique or anything related to his person. It is pretentious to read about one or two sympathizers who assume that KSB is attacking Clay’s personality.
Intellectual attacks are very much welcome and it is time Kenya-Stockholmers walked out of those inferiority smoke screens and proved their worth brain-wise, instead of unleashing below the belt comments like that from Clay to Jerome about “OMENA” on his teeth. We need to “chemsha bongo” and stop this prevalent intellectual dwarfism.
“Masomo Sverige ni bila karo.”
Copycat Clay Onyango is oozing with grief and gnashing teeth about attacks from KSB. Let him do so because he allowed “Kanyunja” and “Hass” to attack Osewe mercilessly and he never felt sorry. I believe he marveled at getting those bullies to do the dirty job for him.
KSB is just telling him that: “Small Brains Discuss People” while “Smart Brains Discuss Issues”. Osewe was very quiet and patient when attacked and intervened only at KSB by defending what he had written, without even retorting to those specifics at Butdoisay. His intervention was not respected and the vipers kept frothing with venom, biting harder into Osewe’s already hurt personality.
Clay is just ridiculously contradictory and keeps showing nerves of steel by continuing his cut and paste trend, yet also claims to be closing down. It’s basically his problem whether to keep Butdoisay running or not.
The whole discourse at KSB is to tell him clearly that using other blog attackers to tear into Osewe does not make him any good. Now he is bearing the wrath and not “Hass” or “Kanyunja.” KSB is challenging intelligence, not physique.
Attacking personality is way below the standards required to determine success in the Kenya-Stockholm community.
This is for the intellectually challenged Clay Onyango:
“Operating a Blog requires a code of conduct. Now that your knowledge of English is being questioned, I have explained briefly in Kiswahili sanifu. But again, if the rumor is true that you did not make it beyond “Standard Seven”, can you even understand Kiswahili sanifu? I can’t help you because further education in Sweden is tuition free and if you have not used the opportunity to benefit, then you should not operate a blog because your basic grammar is just too pathetic.”
Imethibitishwa kwamba Clay Onyango wa blogu iitwayo Butdoisay, ni mwizi wa habari kwenye blogu ya Osewe (KSB) na mtandaoni kwa ujumla. Clay ni mwindaji wa habari asiye na ruhusa na akishachukuwa habari hizo, anawatumia “mbwa mwitu” wawili wajulikanao kama “Kanyunja” na “Hass”, kumshambulia na kumtusi Ndugu Okoth Osewe bila huruma. Mashambulizi yao hutokea wakati Osewe anapoaandika maoni ya kibinafsi kumhusu Balozi Purity Muhindi wa Ubaloza wa Kenya mjini Stockholm.
Clay amezoea kushambulia nafsi ya Osewe badala ya kupinga maandishi yake. Mashambulizi yake yanaeleza kwamba hana akili wala utu na hafuatilii maadili ya utangazaji.
Hapa chini kuna maelezo katika lugha ya kimombo kuhusu tarakim maalum ama kanuni za kuendesha na kutunza blogu. Kama Clay hatazielewa, basi atafute mfasiri amsaidie, maanake hana akili ya kuandika Kiingereza sanifu.
Blogger’s Code of Conduct
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Blogger’s Code of Conduct is a proposal by Tim O’Reilly for bloggers to enforce civility on their bloggers by being civil themselves and moderating comments on their blog. The code was proposed due to threats made to blogger Kathy Sierra[1]. The idea of the code was first reported by BBC News, who quoted O’Reilly saying, “I do think we need some code of conduct around what is acceptable behaviour, I would hope that it doesn’t come through any kind of regulation it would come through self-regulation.”[2]
O’Reilly and others came up with a list of seven proposed ideas:
1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4. Ignore the trolls.
5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7. Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say in person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger%27s_code_of_conduct
Maina Mwangi, very mature coz you are educating us.Keep it up.
Muirani, you could have said that Maina is educating “some of us” because there are those who already know and understand the basic rules of blogging which Maina has talked about. The Clay problem is based on the breaking of these rules.
Mwangi directed his posting specifically to Clay whom he thinks does not know the rules. He even made an effort to communicate in our National language to help Clay understand what he was saying. If you, too, didn´t know the rules, then welcome to the world of knowledge in the field of blogging.
Thanks Muirani. Clay Onyango and his cyber-bullies should rethink their conduct within the Kenya-Stockholm “bloghood.” There are more interesting matters to discuss, so I get puzzled reading continuous and unprogressive attacks from these Internet Trolls.
Blogs should encompass a wide range of developmental matters instead of personal attacks. Clay cannot discuss anything mature as we have noted, because he does not have an analytical mind.
Clay Onyango started so well with a traditional “Personal Blog” outlook, providing short stories about his friends, family and others which were funny. However, he lost the flavor when he encouraged nasty commentators whom he never censured.
“Akili duni ni balaa maishani.” Clay has no excuse because Sweden provides tuition-free adult education (elimu ya ngumbaru). By now he would have eliminated the misfortune of not having acquired further education in Kenya for various reasons. Lakini wapi. Yake ni matusi tu kwenye blogu yake!
Cyber-bullies:
“While a blogger’s anonymity is often tenuous, Internet trolls who would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by anonymity.”
Cyber-bullies’ abuse, threats hurl fear into the blogosphere: http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/31/business/fi-internet31
Blog death threats spark debate:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6499095.stm