By Jelimo Chelagat
ODM Presidential hopeful, Raila Odinga has topped the list of preferred presidential candidates in Infotrak’s latest opinion poll, despite dropping by 1.2 points.
The Prime minister maintained his lead with 35.4 per cent of respondents saying they would vote for him, in the opinion polls that were conducted between 29th October to 1st November this year.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta came in second with 24 per cent, and Eldoret North MP William Ruto third with 10.3 per cent.
According to the polls, Musalia Mudavadi was preferred by 10 percent of respondents, while Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka scored 8.8 percent.
The results, which were collected from a sample of 1,500 people, showed that ODM is the most popular party followed by TNA and URP.
The poll also showed that a significant number of Kenyans are displeased with the state of the country with 49 percent expressing that Kenya is moving in the wrong direction.
Top among the complaints was the high taxes ad increased cost of living, followed by corruption and unemployment.
The polls come after numerous reports of an Uhuru-Ruto alliance, with Kalonzo ruling out an Alliance with ODM. Political analysts have however emphasized it is too early to accurately predict possible alliances.
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Seven (7) Kenya Police Dogs were made to feel the pain of bullets the way kenyan youth feels everyday through these corrupt and trigger-happy rogue ÖPolice force under Kibaki-Iteere>
At least seven police officers killed in Samburu raid
Posted by BERNARD MOMANYI and CORRESPONDENT on November 10, 2012
Villagers in the area have blamed police for failing to put in place adequate security measures to protect them against cattle rustlers. FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 10 – At least seven police officers were killed and more than 20 others seriously wounded after they were ambushed by gunmen in Samburu on Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred when the officers pursuing cattle rustlers were ambushed in Baragoi.
Ten other police officers were reportedly missing following the heavy gun fight with heavily armed bandits.
Police said officers who sustained injuries will be airlifted to Nairobi for specialized treatment.
“At least seven officers have been killed, others have been injured and we have a few others missing,” a senior police officer in the region said.
Rift Valley Provincial Police chief John Mbijiwe confirmed the incident but did not comment on the casualty figures given to us by other senior officers involved in the security operation.
“The officers were pursuing stolen cattle when they were ambushed,” another officer said.
The cattle rustlers the officers were pursuing on Sunday had raided villages in Lomirok on October 30 when they shot and killed 13 people and wounded 3 others.
Villagers in the area have blamed police for failing to put in place adequate security measures to protect them against cattle rustlers.
Police however, insist communities in the region are to blame because they engage in retaliatory attacks whenever a cattle rustling incident occurs.
http://www.infotrakresearch.com/downloads/Infotrak%20Popularity%20Poll%20-%20November%202012%20.pdf
How long will kenyans vote blindly? A question like hospital should be one reform that Raila should have lifted first, to help those who cannot afford bills. OUT MR ODINGA…we need leaders who care for his pple…
Is US behind Kenya’s invasion of Somalia?
IN the Swahili language it’s been dubbed Operation Linda Nchi or Protect the Nation
But as Kenya’s army continues its push into neighbouring Somalia in pursuit of insurgents from Islamist group al Shabab, a picture is emerging that suggests this is much more than an attempt by the Kenyan Government to prevent the al Qaeda franchise from reaching its own turf.
Much has been made in the media of late about how US diplomats based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi were taken by surprise when the operation got under way and the Kenyan army trundled into a rainy season Somalia for its first cross-border military campaign in 44 years. Don’t believe a word of it.
To begin with, it’s long been known that both the US and UK run fairly elaborate counter-terrorism operations out of Nairobi.
Like many people who have flown through Nairobi airport on numerous occasions, I’ve often been struck by the presence of US military aircraft sitting around the runway there.
Mainly they tend to be large C-130 transport aircraft used for ferrying personnel and material.
This, however, is only the most visible and benign evidence of what, on a more covert level, is a substantial US military and intelligence presence that is bedding down and acting assertively in the region like never before.
In Kenya itself the CIA has it own network of personnel and listening posts while at Camp Lemonnier in nearby Republic of Djibouti it has a strategically vital military base that monitors troop movements in sensitive countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as the activities of groups like al Shabab.
As things have gone from bad to worse across the Horn of Africa, most notably in Somalia, Washington’s approach to the threat al Shabab poses has, in the first instance, been to neutralise the international terrorist elements within the organisation.
It’s not coincidence that, just before Operation Linda Nchi got fully up to speed this month, US targeting of al Shabab stepped up a gear itself.
In the last week of September, US unmanned Predator drones carried out strikes against the training camps and leaders of the internationalist jihadist faction of al Shabab, led by commanders Godane Abu Zubayr and another individual known commonly as al Afghani.
What is interesting is that is was only these, the internationalist factions deemed to be the most threatening, that were struck.
Elsewhere, efforts continued to negotiate with the more nationalist factions through Somalia’s US-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) based in the capital Mogadishu.
It was this same TFG that is said to have both “requested” and “welcomed” Kenya’s latest intervention into Somalia.
“The governments of Kenya and Somalia are co-operating in the fight against al Shabab, which is an enemy of both countries,” said a Somali Government spokesman.
Almost certainly such remarks were music to the ears of the Americans, who undoubtedly shaped and instigated this whole collaborative strategy.
For some time US officials are said to have been urging Kenya to “do something” in response to al Shabab, while all the while maintaining the facade that Operation Linda Nchi came out of the blue. When the operation did get under way, Scott Gration, US Ambassador to Kenya, wasted no time in pointing out Washington “would go out of its way to help Kenya restore its territorial integrity” and that the US “respected Kenya’s decision to go into Somalia to rout out al Shabab militants”.
There have been suggestions US special forces are already acting as battlefield advisers and air support co-ordination is being supplied for the advancing Kenyan forces.
But there are other, wider questions worth pondering with regards to a beefing up of the US presence in East Africa.
As elsewhere across the continent, there is a new scramble for Africa going on. A rush to secure access to the region’s phenomenal natural resources.
In Washington’s case there is growing concern global rivals, particularly China, have already staked their own substantial claim, potentially threatening US hegemony in Africa.
This, in the end, is what recent events such as those in Kenya and Somalia really boil down to – strategic advantage and access to economic resources. Much as the transnational terrorist threat from al Shabab is a real one, both east African countries are but the latest simultaneous bit players in this bigger struggle.
With Somalia’s long coastline flanking the navigation routes of oil-carrying tankers traversing the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, this area is vital to the world economy.
But it’s not just the likes of Kenya and Somalia Washington is keen to have a say over.
Improved US military links and collaboration with Uganda, the Republic of South Sudan and the Central African Republic, among others, also provide key clues to Washington’s longer term African political ambitions.
All of this takes place under the auspices of what is known as United States Africa Command, or Africom, that was established in 2008 and whose mission statement makes clear its aim of “protecting and defending the national security interests of the United States by strengthening the defence capabilities of African states and regional organisations”.
Somewhere in all of this grand strategy, Kenya – whose successive governments studiously avoided any military involvement in Somalia – has suddenly changed tack to become Washington’s latest proxy African player. And for that, in the longer term, it may pay a heavy price.
Some Somali groups have warned that Kenya’s military campaign might encourage young and frustrated Kenyan Somalis to join al Shabab’s ranks. There are some 2.4 million Kenyan Somalis and already it’s said al Shabab have stepped up recruitment inside Kenya.
Over the past few weeks the Kenyan Government has mounted a crackdown on al Shabab sympathisers and illegal immigrants in the densely populated communities of Nairobi and elsewhere.
Yesterday saw the latest in a series of terrorist-inspired attacks inside Kenya by gunmen who ambushed a vehicle, killing four people. Under US pressure, the Kenyan Government may have launched Operation Linda Nchi ostensibly to protect its nation.
In acquiescing to Washington’s needs, however, it may only have served to rile the terrorist mad dogs in its own backyard.
By heraldscotland
Would Uhuru Kenyatta’s Presidency Be A Walk of Shame?
By Oduor Moses Otieno on 2012-09-27
The National Alliance Party of Kenya, more popularly referred to as TNA creates an aura of re-invention and youthfulness in its organizational line-up. In enlisting the vibrancy and intellect of young professionals, Uhuru Kenyatta is trying to get Kenyans to believe that the future of Kenya lies in the formulation of ideals by talented yet inexperienced hands and minds.
Vying for leadership or running a country does not depend on oration talent and university education is not enough. Integrity, passion, zero tolerance on corruption and fight for reforms cannot be taught in schools or books; if it was so then Nelson Mandela would never have been the President of South Africa. Whether young or old, professional or amateur, educated or not, leaders must exhibit a patriotic essence and passion for human development.
Uhuru Kenyatta and all the joy riders at TNA have not proved that they have the best interests of Kenyan’s at heart. Both Uhuru and Raila have ideologically inherited their fathers’ (Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga) legacies yet Raila has somewhat proved his mettle when it comes to service to the nation. We have a new constitution and coalition government as a result of Raila’s way of interpretation of human development and national progress.
Uhuru has continued to live under his father’s shadow and he has always spent his life distancing himself from past pitfalls. His time in public office has no significant indicators and it would seem that he may have only wasted Wanjiku’s taxes. His cronies (Ferdinand Waititu included) have continued to discredit and cast doubt on TNA’s ability to lead this country.
While it may not be any of his direct doing or fault, Uhuru’s fabulous wealth and lifestyle has also put him at loggerheads with the common Kenyan for two reasons. Firstly, his dealings and apparent political nurturing with under the wings of KANU’s kitchen cabinet (most notably Nicholas Biwott) have always come under scrutiny due to his tainted record. It is perceived notion that Uhuru may have absorbed all matters negative from KANU’s genes. Secondly, his father’s and to some extent KANU’s path to richness is still being questioned up to now (including pending court cases).
TNA’s campaign has been marred by allegations of vote buying and propping up of ‘project leaders’ with the aim of scuttling the ambitions of his political opponents. Judging from the complaints his departure from the G7 alliance was as unexpected as it was unfair. He is cunning and has mastered the art of pulling strings behind the scenes; a proverb from the one of the many, diverse and appreciated cultures in Kenya aptly summarizes it as thus ‘a rat bites you but it blows on the bite spot’ so you may not notice that you are being eaten up alive. Uhuru’s political inexperience has resulted in his inability to control party affiliates and members older than him. To make it worse he has delegated this authority to even younger and more inexperienced party leaders.
Uhuru’s supporters may not like this but pending cases at The Hague will always haunt him wherever he goes. Young Kenyans who have dedicated their ideals and morals to support Uhuru’s agenda have just thrown our country away. In the political or public office arena (and with every human being) , accusations of human rights abuse happens to be the most damaging of all and his political ambitions will always remain in the shadows of deceit, allegations, accusations and human rights abuse record. Kenyans MUST never for vote an individual who is accused of perpetrating heinous crimes against his own fellow country men and women. NEVER!!!
Pesa Ni Ya Uhuru Kura Ni Ya Raila
DOES RAILA ODINGA DESERVE TO BE BRANDED A REFORMIST?
What does it take to be a reformist?
By Jerry Okungu
Nairobi, Kenya
June 7, 2012
The other day I found myself in an interesting debate about who is a reformist and who is not. This debate was triggered by a statement made earlier in the week by Prime Minister Raila Odinga to the effect that the next elections will be between reformists and non reformists.
Let me start this debate with the definition of a reformist if such a word exists. A reformist is that individual that at one point in his life gets dissatisfied with a status quo and embarks on the difficult road of changing it. In so doing, the individual may face hardships, torture, persecution and even death from the regime he has set out to confront.
At the beginning of the Arab Spring revolutions, a young Tunisian man committed suicide on account of life made unbearable for his kind. He set himself ablaze and died a martyr. Following that sacrifice, ordinary Tunisians took to the streets and brought their regime down.
A similar uprising brought down oppressive regimes in neighboring Egypt and Libya. In both cases, several people sacrificed their lives or were maimed for life. In the case of Egypt, at least 830 gallant Egyptians perished at the hands of Mubarak’s brutal soldiers for which he has now been jailed for life.
In Libya, Muamar Gaddafi called his opponents rats and swore to teach the rats a lesson. Today, Gaddafi is history to his Libyan rats.
The three examples above illustrate one thing. Change only becomes necessary when leaders get detached from their own people. It is the reason the French had their now famous revolution. When the population cannot take it anymore, a few daring individuals take the risk even on pain of death to get rid of a bad regime.
Next door in the early 1980s, Ugandans took arms to get rid of destructive regimes. They had had Obote and Amin then Obote again in a span of 20 years without knowing peace.
In the Kenyan situation, if Raila Odinga puts a reformist’s badge on his chest, he must be having a convincing reason why he thinks he is a reformist. What others of a different opinion need to tell Kenyans are two simple things: They should prove that Raila Odinga has no record of reforms. Alternatively, if they want to share with him in that glory, then let them tell Kenyans why they think they too deserve the honour.
It is true the Uhuru heroes of the past were also reformists. Kikuyus like Dedan Kimathi were sick and tired of the oppressive colonial regime. They took up arms and fought and died for change.
The second lot that included Jaramogi, Gichuru, Mboya, Kodhek, Shikuku, Muliro, Ngala and Moi were also reformists. They kept the fire burning as Ngei, Kenyatta, Karumba, Oneko, Kubai and Kaggia were in jail. It was their persistent political campaigns that finally got the Kapenguria Six out of prison and eventual independence in 1963.
However, soon after independence, something went drastically wrong with our reform. The new regime retreated into the colonial bad habits and started oppressing its people. Land alienation went unabated. Tribalism replaced racism. Intentional deprivation of the people replaced forced labour. Suddenly Kenyans could talk of a land of ten millionaires against ten million beggars. This happened in a span of less than a decade.
If Raila Odinga spent the better part of his youth in detention camps under Moi, it was because he was one Kenyan who chose to put his life on the line for a better Kenya. If Marie Seroney and Martin Shikuku could defy the status quo and tell Kenyatta that KANU was dead, they had seen that the regime had veered from the path that Kenyans had died for.
If Achieng’ Oneko, Bildad Kaggia and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga could walk out of government so soon after independence; something was definitely not right with our young state. For Oneko, he had to be back in detention, this time on orders of his bosom Kapenguria cell mate.
If Raila talks about reformists, he cannot by any means talk about Raila Amolo Odinga alone. The plural there tells it all.
He must have in mind the bearded sisters of the 1980s in parliament, Koigi Wamwere, Charles Rubia, Kenneth Matiba, JM Kariuki before them, Wanyiri Kihoro, Otieno Mak’Onyango, Agina and many more that one can care to remember.
The Second Liberation is real. Ten years after the Nyayo era cannot make us belittle the sacrifices of yesterday. We cannot be that forgetful that soon. If you doubt me, ask Gitobu Imanyara, Kamau Kuria, the late Mangari Mathai, Richard Leakey and many other Kenyans who tasted the brutality of the Nyayo era.
If Raila wants to use his reformist credentials for his campaigns, he surely deserves to lay claim to that title. Others are free to think of some credentials that apply to them.
Nine years in detention in one’s life is no child’s play. Being arrested for organizing a coup in Kenya in 1982 and charged with high treason does not come cheaply. It is a life threatening situation.
Whether he planned the coup or not is no longer an issue today. Whoever planned it with him were fighting against the regime that was torturing, jailing and murdering its citizens at will. They were fighting a regime that had chosen to impoverish its citizens and curtail their freedoms.
What matters today is that what all these gallant Kenyans including Raila Odinga sacrificed for has given us a better Kenya. At a personal level, it has given my freedom to write this article without fear from any source.
INSIDE A FAILED STATE ZIMBABWE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPKGZreusoQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=3s
Kenya as a country has gone to the dogs>
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Home » Headlines, Kenya » Kenyan cops killed in ambush hit shocking 42
Kenyan cops killed in ambush hit shocking 42
Posted by BERNARD MOMANYI on November 12, 2012
Some of the bodies had been recovered on Saturday and others on Sunday but police were shocked on Monday when they recovered 14 others found lying in Suguta Valley.
NAIROBI, Nov 12 – The number of police officers killed in an ambush by bandits in Samburu at the weekend hit 42 on Monday after more bodies were discovered in the forest.
Some of the bodies had been recovered on Saturday and others on Sunday but police were shocked on Monday when they found 14 others found lying in Suguta Valley.
“We are shocked at what we saw… bodies of police officers lying all over the ground,” a police officer who witnessed the discovery said.
“I have never seen something like this,” the officer speaking on condition of anonymity said. “The number of officers killed is now 42.”
Rift Valley Provincial Police Chief John M’mbijiwe and head of police operations in the region Willy Lugusa did not comment on the latest toll.
Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe had earlier on Monday morning put the death toll at 31, before the other bodies were discovered.
Police officers hunting cattle rustlers in Suguta Valley were ambushed and shot indiscriminately by heavily armed militiamen believed to have come from Turkana.
“They had stolen cattle from the neighbouring community in Samburu and failed to return them. That is when the officers decided to pursue them,” one police officer briefed on the circumstances of the attack said.
The group had allegedly stolen cattle from Samburu on October 30 where 13 people were killed.
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere led a high-powered security team to the scene on Monday where he announced that “everything will be done to ensure the killers are brought to book.”
He had been expected to fly back to Nairobi with the bodies of the slain officers and even ordered for ambulances and police vehicles to wait at the Wilson Airport but the arrangement was cancelled at the last minute.
Officers who had been mobilised to wait for the bodies at the airport told journalists they had been told to go back until Tuesday.
“We have been told to go back. The bodies are not being flown here today,” one officer said adding “they have said the aircraft cannot fly at night until tomorrow (Tuesday) morning,” he said.
A major security operation was underway in search of missing officers who have not been seen since Saturday when the ambush occurred.
Another senior police officer involved in the search and rescue team told Capital FM News that up to 107 officers were pursuing the rustlers when the ambush occurred.
“Only 50 came back alive,” he said.
With the confirmed death of 42 officers, 15 remained missing.
“We do not know where they are but a major security operation is underway to find them, we hope to find them alive,” another officer said, optimistic that his colleagues are still alive more two days after the deadly ambush. “We are praying to find them alive.”
Nine other officers were recovering at the Kenyatta National hospital from wounds sustained in the attack which police headquarters said is the worst since independence.
Cattle theft and the ensuing clashes between rival pastoralist groups claim dozens of lives every year in arid northern Kenya.
However, it is rare for police officers to be attacked by rustlers.
The violence is not believed to be linked to politics, but it raises concerns over security and a lack of police capacity in volatile areas ahead of elections due to take place in March 2013.
Look an Idiot &corrupt Cop tryin g to fool Wakenya>>
Ipsos Synovate Polls (December 2012.pdf): http://www.synovate.co.ke/spr/downloads … 142012.pdf
RAILA will beat UHURU/RUTO for PRESIDENCY – IPSOS Synovate
Friday, the 14th of December 2012 – With only 79 days to go before the March 4th general elections, a new opinion poll by pollster IPSOS Synovate gives Prime Minister Raila Odinga the edge over his opponents in the race to succeed President Mwai Kibaki at State House.
The news poll says that if the elections were held today Raila is guaranteed of getting 34% of the vote. Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee alliance is a close second with 27% of the vote.
The rest of the field, composed mostly of Raila and Uhuru allies has a less than inspiring showing. VP Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila’s ally in the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD), has a popularity of 3%.
Meanwhile Uhuru’s two allies in the Jubilee alliance William Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi have a popularity of 3% and 5% respectively.
According to the poll Raila also has the edge over Uhuru on the coalition front too. The poll says a Raila-Kalonzo ticket will get 47% of the vote while a likely Uhuru-Ruto ticket will get 41%.
More on this story to follow.
The Kenyan DAILY POST