Traditionally, the scales of justice are depicted as in anticipation of the weight of evidence. Indeed this is the idyllic to which we all aspire. Unfortunately, in Kenya, the path to justice is riddled with mishaps. We have increasingly witnessed cases against powerful individuals bungled.
In what appears to be more of a public relations exercise than the quest for justice, the state through the Attorney General (AG) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in cahoots with the defense teams, deliberately or otherwise, employs subterfuge to tip the scales in favour of the “politically correct individuals.”
Recently, in totally inexplicable circumstances, the AG and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) failed to produce in court a key state witness to demonstrate the culpability of a defendant accused of defrauding the public. Consequently, the court declared that the defendant had no case to answer. It is unlikely that the state will appeal against this decision. Even more chilling is the fact that the said party may soon laugh all the way back to cabinet.
From the foregoing, one cannot fail to notice that the administration of the law is subject to outside influences; especially the power of money and its concomitant political influence. At the very least, justice is akin to a match fixing scandal where players from both teams are allowed to commit unsportsmanlike acts in order to gift the moneyed team a win. In legal parlance, it is referred to as “professional courtesy.”
The joke of it all is that even though hundreds of millions of the taxpayers` money was paid out to certain companies, the AG and the DPP want the public to believe that these companies were not legal entities since ghosts (and not human beings) provided these companies with the mind and soul (corpus and animus). In other words, they are telling the public that no personal liability can be imposed by the courts of law when a wily shareholder operates a company as an “alter ego” for wrongful purposes.
Clearly, our justice system seems to be sending the message to the public that it cannot “pierce the corporate veil.” This is a legal decision that treats the rights or duties of a company as the rights or liabilities of its shareholders or directors. Usually a company is treated as a separate legal person, solely responsible for the debts it incurs and the sole beneficiary of the credit it is owed. Common law countries usually uphold this principle of separate personhood, but in exceptional situations courts of law may "pierce" or "lift" the corporate veil.
This doctrine is used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly. In other words, a court of law looks beyond the legal fiction to the reality of the situation.
Several courts have determined that the alter ego doctrine can be applied to Limited Liability Companies. In the US for instance, in Kaycee Land & Livestock versus Flahive, (2002), the Wyoming Supreme Court held that the equitable doctrine of piercing the veil was an available remedy under the Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act. In the UK, the corporate veil was lifted in the case between Gencor versus Dalby, because the company was the "alter ego" of the defendant.
In Kenya, section 320 of the Company Act imposes liability for fraudulent conduct of a company business. Under this section if in the course of winding up of a company it appears that any business of the company has been carried on with the intent to defraud the company or any other persons or for any fraudulent purpose those who were knowingly party to such conduct or business may in the discretion of the court be made personally liable for all or any debts of the company. A number of milestones cases exemplify this. Among them are: National Social Security Fund Board of Trustee Versus Ankhan Holding Limited & 2 Others (2006) as well as Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd Versus Intercom Services Ltd & 4 Others (2004).
“Piercing the corporate veil” is therefore the only means of breaking down a wily individual`s protection. This is mostly done when such a company is the wily shareholder`s “alter ego” and is a sham or façade used to evade creditors or to defraud the public.
Given the soaring corruption cases in Kenya revolving around limited liability companies, it is the public`s expectation that the legal system would not shy from “lifting the corporate veil” to expose the real fraudsters. It would make a lot of social and economic sense if a company is barred from being the alter ego of the principal corporate.
Suffice to say that a legal system that is operated by and for criminals has no greater enemy than the law abiding citizen. In the words of Eustace Mullins “let it not be asked whether the lunatics have taken over the asylum.”
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
NEW MEDICAL INSURANCE SCHEME: ARE TEACHERS PENNY WISE BUT POUND FOOLISH?
The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) managers have showered teachers with praises for being “full of magnanimous emotions.” They have praised them for their patriotism and their generous spirit. This was occasioned by the teachers` resounding rejection of a plan to have them join the new medical insurance scheme. Teachers opined that unlike legislators and many other affluent Kenyans who jealously guard their exclusive and expensive private healthcare insurance schemes, they (teachers) are forever bound with millions of Kenya`s holloi polloi. They said that they will continue sharing with them the thinly spread benefits accruing from their (teachers`) contribution to NHIF. What many people do not know is that this “magnanimity” comes at an astronomical cost.
First, despite teachers being faithful contributors to NHIF`s kitty, the latter offers them disastrously low benefits which often spell financial disaster when serious illness or disaster strikes. Because of the poor state of public hospitals especially in the rural areas, teachers and their family members have had to seek medical services from well equipped private hospitals. Here, NHIF can only defray a paltry of the huge accrued medical bills.
Secondly, amid the increased health costs coupled with corruption and structural inefficiencies in the NHIF as well as the declining government support in the health sector, teachers have had to dig deeper into their pockets to meet their health needs. Unfortunately, poor pay has made it practically impossible for many of them to afford medical services such as kidney dialysis, a procedure that is essential for many patients with kidney disease; many still cannot afford cancer treatment. The list goes on ad infinutum.
Thirdly, these prohibitive costs have turned out to be more than teachers can afford except by mortgaging their families` future. Many are the times I have witnessed teachers and their family members turned away in droves from private hospitals or evicted from hospital beds due to their inability to pay for medical services. Many have died because the medical allowances they receive cannot defray the cost of treatment. These are tragedies that teachers have had to bear in Kenya.
One would have that that with the above problems in mind, talks of establishing a better medical insurance scheme exclusively for teachers and civil servants would not touch off an explosion of furious protracted polemics. On the contrary, it seems that this state of affairs will continue ad infinitum.
Teachers appear contended with soaring medical bills in private hospitals. According to teachers it is cost effective to pay less to NHIF but dig deeper into their own pockets for quality treatment. They prefer remaining in NHIF and put up with a health care insurance that is designed more for the convenience of the NHIF Fund managers to marching out in droves to a new medical insurance scheme complete with its explicit entitlements. Thanks to the teachers` understanding and magnanimous nature the NHIF managers have their jobs intact. After all, the “penny wise and pound foolish philosophy” has kept their milk cow alive.
First, despite teachers being faithful contributors to NHIF`s kitty, the latter offers them disastrously low benefits which often spell financial disaster when serious illness or disaster strikes. Because of the poor state of public hospitals especially in the rural areas, teachers and their family members have had to seek medical services from well equipped private hospitals. Here, NHIF can only defray a paltry of the huge accrued medical bills.
Secondly, amid the increased health costs coupled with corruption and structural inefficiencies in the NHIF as well as the declining government support in the health sector, teachers have had to dig deeper into their pockets to meet their health needs. Unfortunately, poor pay has made it practically impossible for many of them to afford medical services such as kidney dialysis, a procedure that is essential for many patients with kidney disease; many still cannot afford cancer treatment. The list goes on ad infinutum.
Thirdly, these prohibitive costs have turned out to be more than teachers can afford except by mortgaging their families` future. Many are the times I have witnessed teachers and their family members turned away in droves from private hospitals or evicted from hospital beds due to their inability to pay for medical services. Many have died because the medical allowances they receive cannot defray the cost of treatment. These are tragedies that teachers have had to bear in Kenya.
One would have that that with the above problems in mind, talks of establishing a better medical insurance scheme exclusively for teachers and civil servants would not touch off an explosion of furious protracted polemics. On the contrary, it seems that this state of affairs will continue ad infinitum.
Teachers appear contended with soaring medical bills in private hospitals. According to teachers it is cost effective to pay less to NHIF but dig deeper into their own pockets for quality treatment. They prefer remaining in NHIF and put up with a health care insurance that is designed more for the convenience of the NHIF Fund managers to marching out in droves to a new medical insurance scheme complete with its explicit entitlements. Thanks to the teachers` understanding and magnanimous nature the NHIF managers have their jobs intact. After all, the “penny wise and pound foolish philosophy” has kept their milk cow alive.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
WHY I WILL NAME MY SON "INFLATION WANJALA."
My friends laughed uncontrollably when I told them that I intend to name the child who is soon to replace my acting last born, “Inflation Wanjala.” They wondered why I objected to the many funky European names that they had suggested. Some said that if I insisted on the name, then I will be stark, staring bonkers. To their utter consternation, I stuck to my guns.
You see, “Wanjala is a luhya name meaning “hunger.” The reason why I chose this name is because it collocates with “inflation” and the two effectively capture the historical significance of this period.
When “Inflation Wanjala” comes of age and demands to know why I chose such a name for him, I will tell him that he was born when millions of Kenyans bore the brunt of a voodoo economy. I will tell him that he is a living testimony of a dangerous trend that emerged in the country. This was a time when our country was experiencing a growing pattern of chronic artificial inflation in the months leading to the 2012 general election.
Even though my knowledge in matters economics may be fuzzy, trust me to demonstrate to him, a link between inflation and general elections in Kenya. I know for sure that in the preceding electioneering years, inflation was always a dominant variable. It came in different styles and sizes and severely affected public and private economic planning.
I will remember to tell him that a coterie had engendered a pervasive and sustained rise in the aggregate level of prices of essential products and services. The cost of living spiraled to over two hundred percent while salaries remained at an all time low. I had to walk up to twenty kilometers each day to and from my work station because the commuter fee had more than doubled. Never mind that like millions of other helpless Kenyans I considered breakfast and lunch mere luxuries.
I will tell him that the mysterious fat cats (coterie) had a hidden paw and the movement of a snake. They were criminals who used their intellect to defy the law. They surrounded themselves with the Harvard legalese. They even baffled criminal investigators and caused them constant despair; for when they reached the scene of the crime, the fat cats were simply not there. Not even their footsteps could be traced. Theirs was suavity and deceitfulness par excellence. Simply put, these were the true Napoleons of corruption, the crème de la crème.
So powerful were they that they even engendered panic and fear among those tasked with regulating the energy sector. All that the subservient regulators could do was wag their tails and quote non-existent increases in the price of crude oil at the global market and piracy as reasons for the skyrocketing oil prices in the country. None of them could explain why oil prices in other non-oil producing countries were much lower than in Kenya.
Like the proverbial cat and mice, the legislature animatedly talked of the need to bell these wily fat cats but none of them (legislators) was willing or courageous enough to take up that noble task. None of them stood his ground to save Kenya from the litany of grand scams in the oil industry.
The executive too seemed incapable of directing its attention to the seriousness of these criminal depredations and at worst they seemed to be prisoners of the small coterie who ruled in their name. Buoyed by a contingent of hungry policemen at their disposal, this coterie cared less of the possibility of a social implosion. After all, they could deploy the police force to arrest the dying men and women whose groans disturbed their comfort zones.
All the while, the coterie executed the most base and abominable economic crimes over millions of their fellow citizens. The economy at large toiled for rapine. The civil servant, teacher, policeman, doctor and all other laborers did sweat, not for their own benefit, but for the luxury and rapacity of the fat cats of depredation. Ours was a country where forty millions Kenyans, gifted by Providence with the ordinary endowments of humanity, groaned under the weight of an artificial inflation.
I will tell “Inflation Wanjala” that his name ought to be a constant reminder to him and to his generation of the folly of letting a coterie whose good fortune springs from the calamities of its citizenry and whose aggrandizement grows out of the miseries of their fellow humankind to take charge of their collective destiny.
You see, “Wanjala is a luhya name meaning “hunger.” The reason why I chose this name is because it collocates with “inflation” and the two effectively capture the historical significance of this period.
When “Inflation Wanjala” comes of age and demands to know why I chose such a name for him, I will tell him that he was born when millions of Kenyans bore the brunt of a voodoo economy. I will tell him that he is a living testimony of a dangerous trend that emerged in the country. This was a time when our country was experiencing a growing pattern of chronic artificial inflation in the months leading to the 2012 general election.
Even though my knowledge in matters economics may be fuzzy, trust me to demonstrate to him, a link between inflation and general elections in Kenya. I know for sure that in the preceding electioneering years, inflation was always a dominant variable. It came in different styles and sizes and severely affected public and private economic planning.
I will remember to tell him that a coterie had engendered a pervasive and sustained rise in the aggregate level of prices of essential products and services. The cost of living spiraled to over two hundred percent while salaries remained at an all time low. I had to walk up to twenty kilometers each day to and from my work station because the commuter fee had more than doubled. Never mind that like millions of other helpless Kenyans I considered breakfast and lunch mere luxuries.
I will tell him that the mysterious fat cats (coterie) had a hidden paw and the movement of a snake. They were criminals who used their intellect to defy the law. They surrounded themselves with the Harvard legalese. They even baffled criminal investigators and caused them constant despair; for when they reached the scene of the crime, the fat cats were simply not there. Not even their footsteps could be traced. Theirs was suavity and deceitfulness par excellence. Simply put, these were the true Napoleons of corruption, the crème de la crème.
So powerful were they that they even engendered panic and fear among those tasked with regulating the energy sector. All that the subservient regulators could do was wag their tails and quote non-existent increases in the price of crude oil at the global market and piracy as reasons for the skyrocketing oil prices in the country. None of them could explain why oil prices in other non-oil producing countries were much lower than in Kenya.
Like the proverbial cat and mice, the legislature animatedly talked of the need to bell these wily fat cats but none of them (legislators) was willing or courageous enough to take up that noble task. None of them stood his ground to save Kenya from the litany of grand scams in the oil industry.
The executive too seemed incapable of directing its attention to the seriousness of these criminal depredations and at worst they seemed to be prisoners of the small coterie who ruled in their name. Buoyed by a contingent of hungry policemen at their disposal, this coterie cared less of the possibility of a social implosion. After all, they could deploy the police force to arrest the dying men and women whose groans disturbed their comfort zones.
All the while, the coterie executed the most base and abominable economic crimes over millions of their fellow citizens. The economy at large toiled for rapine. The civil servant, teacher, policeman, doctor and all other laborers did sweat, not for their own benefit, but for the luxury and rapacity of the fat cats of depredation. Ours was a country where forty millions Kenyans, gifted by Providence with the ordinary endowments of humanity, groaned under the weight of an artificial inflation.
I will tell “Inflation Wanjala” that his name ought to be a constant reminder to him and to his generation of the folly of letting a coterie whose good fortune springs from the calamities of its citizenry and whose aggrandizement grows out of the miseries of their fellow humankind to take charge of their collective destiny.
MY EASTER SUPPLICATION: GOD, DELIVER US FROM THESE NAPOLEONS OF ECONOMIC CRIMES.
As far as I can remember, “inflation” has always visited Kenyans in the months leading to any general election. Unlike in other economies, ours is always an artificial one. It is perhaps the artificiality of this inflation that is making the government to cleverly substitute the term “inflation” with “high costs of living.” Buoyed by the confusion between financial straits and high costs of living and the resultant conceptual chaos, the government can only be economical with truth.
The Government will never admit that there is an inflation induced by a coterie. This is because feeding an ignorant public that is reeling from the effects of an artificial inflation with truth is akin to rabble rousing. Instead, a “sensible government” such as ours, will adopt half-hearted measures of addressing the plight of its citizenry while all the while it will be busy doing its best to cover up the muck left in the wake of a coterie that is manipulating the oil industry for purposes of financing the 2012 political campaigns.
Besides, given that this is a grand scale pillaging, it only seems plausible to opine that some ambitious elements in the echelons of government are part and parcel of this coterie. Seen from this perspective, it becomes easier for one to begin to fathom why this coterie seems to have hidden paws. As far as they are concerned no one will demonstrate a link between them and the huge drug hauls, oil scandals or even the containers full of bloody gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo to name but a few.
If the above is indeed the case, then we can begin to understand why this coterie remains an enigma. We will begin to understand why this coterie continues to baffle criminal investigators causing them constant despair. We will also begin to understand why when the criminal investigators reach the scenes of crime, not even the footsteps of this coterie can be traced.
Simply put, these are the latter days Napoleons of corruption, the crème de la crème. And true to the meaning of the phrase “Napoleons of corruption”, they have caused seismic panic among those tasked with regulating the energy sector. All that the subservient energy regulators can do is to wag their tails in the presence of this coterie.
The statements issued by the regulators in justifying the high oil prices are as clear as mud. It is not surprising to hear them quote increases in the price of crude oil at the global market as well as piracy as reasons behind the skyrocketing oil prices in the country. Interestingly, none of them can explain why oil prices in other non-oil producing countries are much lower than in Kenya. At best theirs can only pass as a maundering prose or a mystic mumbo jumbo.
The energy regulators are not alone. We have heard the legislature animatedly talk about stopping this coterie. But like the proverbial cat and mice none of them is willing or courageous enough to bell these fat cats. Indeed, none of them has so far stood his ground to save Kenya from the litany of grand scams.
The executive too seems incapable of directing its attention to the seriousness of these criminal depredations and at worst it (executive) seems to be a prisoner of this coterie that is ruling in their name. Buoyed by the presence of a hungry and malnourished police force, this coterie cares less of the possibility of a social implosion. After all, they can deploy the police force to arrest the dying men and women should their groans as much as disturb their comfort zones.
So, perhaps we should just resign ourselves to the fact that this coterie will continue unabated executing the most base and abominable economic crimes over millions of Kenyans. May be the pain will be mollified if we just learnt to accept the fact that the economy at large will continue to toil for rapine. The civil servant, teacher, policeman, doctor and all other laborers will continue to sweat, not for their own benefit, but for the luxury and rapacity of these fat cats of depredation.
Yes, we groan under the weight of this coterie but still, out of our own volition, we bent our backs for them to ride on. Ours is a typical voodoo economy where forty millions Kenyans, gifted by Providence with the ordinary endowments of humanity, voluntarily bent their backs to be mounted.
Yes, ours is a country where the good fortune of a coterie springs from the calamities of the citizenry. It is a country where a coterie`s aggrandizement grows out of the miseries of their fellow humankind. And because we are a notoriously religious nation the best we can do is to ceaselessly pray so that God can save us from ourselves.
The Government will never admit that there is an inflation induced by a coterie. This is because feeding an ignorant public that is reeling from the effects of an artificial inflation with truth is akin to rabble rousing. Instead, a “sensible government” such as ours, will adopt half-hearted measures of addressing the plight of its citizenry while all the while it will be busy doing its best to cover up the muck left in the wake of a coterie that is manipulating the oil industry for purposes of financing the 2012 political campaigns.
Besides, given that this is a grand scale pillaging, it only seems plausible to opine that some ambitious elements in the echelons of government are part and parcel of this coterie. Seen from this perspective, it becomes easier for one to begin to fathom why this coterie seems to have hidden paws. As far as they are concerned no one will demonstrate a link between them and the huge drug hauls, oil scandals or even the containers full of bloody gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo to name but a few.
If the above is indeed the case, then we can begin to understand why this coterie remains an enigma. We will begin to understand why this coterie continues to baffle criminal investigators causing them constant despair. We will also begin to understand why when the criminal investigators reach the scenes of crime, not even the footsteps of this coterie can be traced.
Simply put, these are the latter days Napoleons of corruption, the crème de la crème. And true to the meaning of the phrase “Napoleons of corruption”, they have caused seismic panic among those tasked with regulating the energy sector. All that the subservient energy regulators can do is to wag their tails in the presence of this coterie.
The statements issued by the regulators in justifying the high oil prices are as clear as mud. It is not surprising to hear them quote increases in the price of crude oil at the global market as well as piracy as reasons behind the skyrocketing oil prices in the country. Interestingly, none of them can explain why oil prices in other non-oil producing countries are much lower than in Kenya. At best theirs can only pass as a maundering prose or a mystic mumbo jumbo.
The energy regulators are not alone. We have heard the legislature animatedly talk about stopping this coterie. But like the proverbial cat and mice none of them is willing or courageous enough to bell these fat cats. Indeed, none of them has so far stood his ground to save Kenya from the litany of grand scams.
The executive too seems incapable of directing its attention to the seriousness of these criminal depredations and at worst it (executive) seems to be a prisoner of this coterie that is ruling in their name. Buoyed by the presence of a hungry and malnourished police force, this coterie cares less of the possibility of a social implosion. After all, they can deploy the police force to arrest the dying men and women should their groans as much as disturb their comfort zones.
So, perhaps we should just resign ourselves to the fact that this coterie will continue unabated executing the most base and abominable economic crimes over millions of Kenyans. May be the pain will be mollified if we just learnt to accept the fact that the economy at large will continue to toil for rapine. The civil servant, teacher, policeman, doctor and all other laborers will continue to sweat, not for their own benefit, but for the luxury and rapacity of these fat cats of depredation.
Yes, we groan under the weight of this coterie but still, out of our own volition, we bent our backs for them to ride on. Ours is a typical voodoo economy where forty millions Kenyans, gifted by Providence with the ordinary endowments of humanity, voluntarily bent their backs to be mounted.
Yes, ours is a country where the good fortune of a coterie springs from the calamities of the citizenry. It is a country where a coterie`s aggrandizement grows out of the miseries of their fellow humankind. And because we are a notoriously religious nation the best we can do is to ceaselessly pray so that God can save us from ourselves.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
KALONZO SPEAKS PROPHETICALLY OF THE AFRICAN INDEPENDENT CRIMINAL COURT (AICC)
As largely expected, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka`s shuttle diplomacy has hit a brick wall. He has no one to blame but himself. His diplo-babble reeked of hubris and blackmail. At one time, Kalonzo haughtily told the International Community that the African states will pull out of the ICC en-masse and form their own court in the event that Kenya`s bid for a deferral is rejected. He even had a name for the new court-The African International Criminal Court (AICC). Admittedly, this was a huge diplomatic gaffe. It is this blackmail that angered the International Community. Subsequently, Kenya`s request for a deferral was presumed dead on arrival. But that is water under the bridge.
What is of concern now is whether Kenya is going to make good its threat. In the unlikely event that it does, how radically different will the AICC be from ICC? Will it lead to the expansion of the democratic space in Africa or will it whittle down the gains so far made? Will it draw its membership from all African states or will it be a preserve of only a few rogue African states?
In my estimation, AICC will be a tool that will pamper the egos of the few remaining African dictators. This means that AICC, unlike ICC, will not ignore Africa`s raison d'être nor undermine Africa`s dignity or sovereignty.
Secondly, it (AICC) must go slow in situations where the incumbents blatantly refuse to hand over power to the real winners of the presidential elections. This will give humble time to the incumbents to look for homegrown solutions (read power sharing). Besides, AICC will ensure that neither the incumbents nor their protégés are subjected to warrants of arrest since that would be undermining African sovereignty, solidarity and African peace and security.”
Thirdly, and most importantly, cases will be presided over by judges who will be appointees of the likes of President Robert Mugabe, Meles Zenawi, Gbagbo Gadhafi among others. Unlike the ICC judges (whose names are more difficult to pronounce than the most common tongue twisters and whose culture is far removed from that of Africans), the AICC judges will no doubt have an unrivalled wealth of knowledge and experience in Africa`s political philosophy. African Heads of States will thus hastily tell the Alassane Ouattara and Morgan Tsvangirai`s of Africa to seek for justice at the AICC knowing very well that the latter will increasingly work at shielding them and their protégés from accusations of election malpractices, prosecution for crimes against humanity or even genocide.
Fourthly, African heads of states will denounce any foreign intervention on the pretext that they are sovereign states. They will not hesitate to flaunt their sovereignty in defiance of the Rome Statute.
Fifthly, with AICC in place, African Heads of State will have no problem working at cross-purposes with the objectives of democracy. In their estimation, democracy must be tempered with a bit of autocracy since; Africans are like babies whose milk teeth cannot chew hard stuff like democracy.
From the foregoing, AICC (euphemistically referred to us African Independent Club of Conmen) will definitely lead to increased human rights violations in the continent since justice will be the very least of its concerns. Simply put, AICC will be the washing powder for the merchants of doom. I have a hunch that Kalonzo himself does not believe in this creature. It is for this reason that I implore him to stop this dangerous cult of opportunism, double-talk and chicanery.
What is of concern now is whether Kenya is going to make good its threat. In the unlikely event that it does, how radically different will the AICC be from ICC? Will it lead to the expansion of the democratic space in Africa or will it whittle down the gains so far made? Will it draw its membership from all African states or will it be a preserve of only a few rogue African states?
In my estimation, AICC will be a tool that will pamper the egos of the few remaining African dictators. This means that AICC, unlike ICC, will not ignore Africa`s raison d'être nor undermine Africa`s dignity or sovereignty.
Secondly, it (AICC) must go slow in situations where the incumbents blatantly refuse to hand over power to the real winners of the presidential elections. This will give humble time to the incumbents to look for homegrown solutions (read power sharing). Besides, AICC will ensure that neither the incumbents nor their protégés are subjected to warrants of arrest since that would be undermining African sovereignty, solidarity and African peace and security.”
Thirdly, and most importantly, cases will be presided over by judges who will be appointees of the likes of President Robert Mugabe, Meles Zenawi, Gbagbo Gadhafi among others. Unlike the ICC judges (whose names are more difficult to pronounce than the most common tongue twisters and whose culture is far removed from that of Africans), the AICC judges will no doubt have an unrivalled wealth of knowledge and experience in Africa`s political philosophy. African Heads of States will thus hastily tell the Alassane Ouattara and Morgan Tsvangirai`s of Africa to seek for justice at the AICC knowing very well that the latter will increasingly work at shielding them and their protégés from accusations of election malpractices, prosecution for crimes against humanity or even genocide.
Fourthly, African heads of states will denounce any foreign intervention on the pretext that they are sovereign states. They will not hesitate to flaunt their sovereignty in defiance of the Rome Statute.
Fifthly, with AICC in place, African Heads of State will have no problem working at cross-purposes with the objectives of democracy. In their estimation, democracy must be tempered with a bit of autocracy since; Africans are like babies whose milk teeth cannot chew hard stuff like democracy.
From the foregoing, AICC (euphemistically referred to us African Independent Club of Conmen) will definitely lead to increased human rights violations in the continent since justice will be the very least of its concerns. Simply put, AICC will be the washing powder for the merchants of doom. I have a hunch that Kalonzo himself does not believe in this creature. It is for this reason that I implore him to stop this dangerous cult of opportunism, double-talk and chicanery.
Friday, April 8, 2011
YES, ICC MUST STOP SUSPECTS FROM CHURNING HATE SPEECH AND PROPAGANDA.
Twice in a span of one week I have witnessed scary incidents in which what started as a harmless discourse among passengers in Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) degenerated into physical confrontations between members of certain ethnic communities ostensibly because unacceptable flak was directed at their perceived paramount political leaders. With the commencement of the Hague trials coupled with the fact that 2012 is drawing closer, and with politicians already going hammer and tongs against each other, one can only conclude that such incidents are symbolic microcosm of what is to happen to Kenya`s fractious society in the months to come.
In spite of the grotesque proportions of the emerging scenario, tribal chieftains continue enjoying a more extravagant personality cult among their communities. The question many are asking is why the public is easy prey to the vile schemes of these wily politicians. We need not look far. It has everything to do with propagation of vile propaganda.
Harold Lasswell (1927), a pioneer of propaganda studies in the United States, defined propaganda as "the management of collective attitudes by the manipulation of significant symbols." Since then, it appears as though this term has spawned as many definitions as it has euphemisms.
In Kenya for instance, propaganda has become part and parcel of the country`s body politic. It has come to mean the manipulation of ethnic psychological symbols to achieve ones selfish political objectives. Tribal chieftains and their sycophantic political elites have resorted to churning propaganda upon propaganda aimed at activating or agitating latent ethnic predispositions among their ethnic constituents to discredit the ICC involvement in Kenya`s 2007 PEV cases as well as direct their misplaced anger at perceived political nemeses.
It is worth noting that propaganda is more effective where the audience is less educated. According to Carl Hovland “people of lower academic ability tend to change their opinions on issues of lesser complexity, less supported by facts, and on issues that more intelligent men find difficult to accept.
This view bodes well with the Kenyan populace given that majority of them are either semi literate or completely illiterate. Accordingly, these significant population cannot rationalize and is therefore unable to take political decisions based on carefully reviewed information and ‘enlightened self-interest’ processed from available facts. Instead, consumption of mediated political messages laced with ethnic undertones takes precedence over facts. For instance, at the moment, a section of politicians are doing anything and everything to make sure that the electorate forgets the fact that they (politicians) were the architects of the Hague process.
Then they preferred The Hague process over the formation of a credible local judicial mechanism ostensibly because The Hague would take eternity before presenting them at the International Criminal court (ICC) to answer to charges of crimes against humanity. Now that the storm of justice has begun swirling around their political kingpins they are now desperately trying to peddle cheap propaganda to save themselves from the ignominy of having shot themselves in the leg.
They are now opining that by submitting “ourselves” to the ICC we have allowed foreigners to trample upon our sovereignty. What hogwash. The last time I checked the meaning of the term “sovereignty” it never meant turning the victims’ quest for justice into a revolving array of musical chairs dependent on the political whims of a few rowdy politicians.
Those who have consistently resisted attempts at defeating justice have also borne the brunt of propaganda. They have been labeled the devil incarnate. Some have christened them agents of the neo-colonialists. The sole intention of these totalitarian propagandists is to create a political battle-axe to completely obliterate the credibility of those political leaders whose principles cannot allow them to support their evil ways. Like Adolf Hitler they have discovered that "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless a lie is repeated over and over. This explains why some suspects continually allege that the PM is using his foreign contacts in manipulating the ICC into eliminating them from the 2012 presidential race. Obviously, this claim is wacky as it is baseless.
Still, others buoyed by the flicking cameras and the global audiences have even callously referred to the realities of the 2007 PEV as a mere “horror movie!”
Some of their sycophantic followers have also issued blood cuddling messages to the effect that should some among the Ocampo six be incarcerated then “some people will know who the real owners of Kenya are.” That such incendiary remarks are aimed at engendering fear and animosity, appealing to people`s ethnic identities and fomenting disturbances is not in doubt. That the utterances contravene article 33 (2) of the Kenya constitution is also not in doubt. What is in doubt is whether those churning such utterances will be placed under the bar of justice, given the drooling inability of our institutions in containing the runaway verbal hemorrhage.
Much as many conscientious Kenyans certainly commend the ICC for stating that it will not hesitate to replace the summonses to appear before the ICC with warrants of arrest should some of the Ocampo six continue issuing inflammatory statements in the public domain, this in itself will not end the propagation of vile propaganda and hate speech in the country. Sycophantic political elites will step up the game. It is therefore incumbent upon the Government to complement the ICCs effort by reigning in on hate mongers.
In spite of the grotesque proportions of the emerging scenario, tribal chieftains continue enjoying a more extravagant personality cult among their communities. The question many are asking is why the public is easy prey to the vile schemes of these wily politicians. We need not look far. It has everything to do with propagation of vile propaganda.
Harold Lasswell (1927), a pioneer of propaganda studies in the United States, defined propaganda as "the management of collective attitudes by the manipulation of significant symbols." Since then, it appears as though this term has spawned as many definitions as it has euphemisms.
In Kenya for instance, propaganda has become part and parcel of the country`s body politic. It has come to mean the manipulation of ethnic psychological symbols to achieve ones selfish political objectives. Tribal chieftains and their sycophantic political elites have resorted to churning propaganda upon propaganda aimed at activating or agitating latent ethnic predispositions among their ethnic constituents to discredit the ICC involvement in Kenya`s 2007 PEV cases as well as direct their misplaced anger at perceived political nemeses.
It is worth noting that propaganda is more effective where the audience is less educated. According to Carl Hovland “people of lower academic ability tend to change their opinions on issues of lesser complexity, less supported by facts, and on issues that more intelligent men find difficult to accept.
This view bodes well with the Kenyan populace given that majority of them are either semi literate or completely illiterate. Accordingly, these significant population cannot rationalize and is therefore unable to take political decisions based on carefully reviewed information and ‘enlightened self-interest’ processed from available facts. Instead, consumption of mediated political messages laced with ethnic undertones takes precedence over facts. For instance, at the moment, a section of politicians are doing anything and everything to make sure that the electorate forgets the fact that they (politicians) were the architects of the Hague process.
Then they preferred The Hague process over the formation of a credible local judicial mechanism ostensibly because The Hague would take eternity before presenting them at the International Criminal court (ICC) to answer to charges of crimes against humanity. Now that the storm of justice has begun swirling around their political kingpins they are now desperately trying to peddle cheap propaganda to save themselves from the ignominy of having shot themselves in the leg.
They are now opining that by submitting “ourselves” to the ICC we have allowed foreigners to trample upon our sovereignty. What hogwash. The last time I checked the meaning of the term “sovereignty” it never meant turning the victims’ quest for justice into a revolving array of musical chairs dependent on the political whims of a few rowdy politicians.
Those who have consistently resisted attempts at defeating justice have also borne the brunt of propaganda. They have been labeled the devil incarnate. Some have christened them agents of the neo-colonialists. The sole intention of these totalitarian propagandists is to create a political battle-axe to completely obliterate the credibility of those political leaders whose principles cannot allow them to support their evil ways. Like Adolf Hitler they have discovered that "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless a lie is repeated over and over. This explains why some suspects continually allege that the PM is using his foreign contacts in manipulating the ICC into eliminating them from the 2012 presidential race. Obviously, this claim is wacky as it is baseless.
Still, others buoyed by the flicking cameras and the global audiences have even callously referred to the realities of the 2007 PEV as a mere “horror movie!”
Some of their sycophantic followers have also issued blood cuddling messages to the effect that should some among the Ocampo six be incarcerated then “some people will know who the real owners of Kenya are.” That such incendiary remarks are aimed at engendering fear and animosity, appealing to people`s ethnic identities and fomenting disturbances is not in doubt. That the utterances contravene article 33 (2) of the Kenya constitution is also not in doubt. What is in doubt is whether those churning such utterances will be placed under the bar of justice, given the drooling inability of our institutions in containing the runaway verbal hemorrhage.
Much as many conscientious Kenyans certainly commend the ICC for stating that it will not hesitate to replace the summonses to appear before the ICC with warrants of arrest should some of the Ocampo six continue issuing inflammatory statements in the public domain, this in itself will not end the propagation of vile propaganda and hate speech in the country. Sycophantic political elites will step up the game. It is therefore incumbent upon the Government to complement the ICCs effort by reigning in on hate mongers.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
LET US NOT FORGET TO FAST AND PRAY FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE 2007 PEV.
Some of our religious leaders have called upon all Kenyans to say a prayer for our gallant sons who are heading to The Hague. I am sure that this call will resonate well with many Kenyans considering that we are a notoriously religious nation. In fact, I propose that we hold two national fasting days that should coincide with the hearings at The Hague. Prayers can move mountains, right? Not even the dreaded Ocampo can stand in the way of the power of prayers. Who knows, the guy may be struck dumb during the court proceedings. Have we not already witnessed a bizarre incident in which one lawyer was struck dumb during the hearing of an election petition in a high court in Kisii?
After we are done with fasting and praying for the Ocampo six, I hope that the clergy will also find time from their busy schedules to call upon Kenyans to set aside a just a day for fasting and praying for the IDPs and other victims of the 2007 PEV. May be the hearts of those in government will soften enough to allow them to expeditiously tackle the litany of debilitating and dehumanizing problems that these victims are faced with.
I also wish that the clergy will not tire to call upon Kenyans to say special prayers for politicians who are incessantly spewing, in the most tendentious way, an avalanche of propaganda and inanities in their political rallies. I hope that the clergy will lead us in saying a special prayer particularly for one elderly politician so that she does not lead others with similar orientations into laying bare their nakedness in solidarity with one of their own. I firmly believe that through prayers this politician may realize that it is the eyes of the forty million Kenyans (including that of her children, grandchildren and great grand children) that will be feasting on her nakedness and that in effect it is these hapless Kenyans who will be the direct recipients of this ancient curse.
I am looking forward to our clergy to rally the public to pray for those political elites who are inundating the public with blood cuddling ethnic undertones. I hope that these special prayers will particularly touch one political activist so that she never again mumbles something to the effect that “the real owners of this country will be known should the ICC incarcerate one among their fold.”
I also hope that the clergy will remind us to pray for some among our midst (who own land that is estimated to be the size of Nyanza province), to be moved by the plight of thousands of landless Kenyans. I hope that special prayers will soften their hearts so much so that they can see the wisdom of donating some pieces of idle land for the landless.
I pray that the clergy will rally the public to pray for our politicians to respect the spirit and law of the constitution. With special prayers we will have a country that does not have a law for the cunning and another for the simple, one law for the forceful and another for the feeble, one law for the ignorant and another for the learned, one law for the brave and another for the timid. And now, I am even made to understand that we have in place a law meant for the sons and daughters of former presidents and a law for the sons and daughters of commoners! In other words, sons of former presidents must be guaranteed immunity from prosecution lest the country goes up in flames!
I have heard that some politicians are even contemplating reenacting the Mahatma Gandhi non violent revolution. They plan to rally the masses to prostrate on the runway so that the plane carrying one of their own does not take off to Hague. How I wish that the clergy could convince them to instead prostrate for a worthy cause. They can then fast and prostrate so that God can grant our political leaders enough wisdom to understand the language of the millions of starving Kenyans. If all Kenyans were to prostrate for just an hour wherever they are, I am sure that our politicians will stop political bickering and refocus their attention on tackling the runway inflation.
Finally, I hope that the clergy will find it prudent to call the nation to pray for President Kibaki so that he takes leave of his trademark silence. Let us pray that he does not surrender the fate of this country in the hands of those who are more than willing to force us into rivaling countries with longstanding pariah status.
After we are done with fasting and praying for the Ocampo six, I hope that the clergy will also find time from their busy schedules to call upon Kenyans to set aside a just a day for fasting and praying for the IDPs and other victims of the 2007 PEV. May be the hearts of those in government will soften enough to allow them to expeditiously tackle the litany of debilitating and dehumanizing problems that these victims are faced with.
I also wish that the clergy will not tire to call upon Kenyans to say special prayers for politicians who are incessantly spewing, in the most tendentious way, an avalanche of propaganda and inanities in their political rallies. I hope that the clergy will lead us in saying a special prayer particularly for one elderly politician so that she does not lead others with similar orientations into laying bare their nakedness in solidarity with one of their own. I firmly believe that through prayers this politician may realize that it is the eyes of the forty million Kenyans (including that of her children, grandchildren and great grand children) that will be feasting on her nakedness and that in effect it is these hapless Kenyans who will be the direct recipients of this ancient curse.
I am looking forward to our clergy to rally the public to pray for those political elites who are inundating the public with blood cuddling ethnic undertones. I hope that these special prayers will particularly touch one political activist so that she never again mumbles something to the effect that “the real owners of this country will be known should the ICC incarcerate one among their fold.”
I also hope that the clergy will remind us to pray for some among our midst (who own land that is estimated to be the size of Nyanza province), to be moved by the plight of thousands of landless Kenyans. I hope that special prayers will soften their hearts so much so that they can see the wisdom of donating some pieces of idle land for the landless.
I pray that the clergy will rally the public to pray for our politicians to respect the spirit and law of the constitution. With special prayers we will have a country that does not have a law for the cunning and another for the simple, one law for the forceful and another for the feeble, one law for the ignorant and another for the learned, one law for the brave and another for the timid. And now, I am even made to understand that we have in place a law meant for the sons and daughters of former presidents and a law for the sons and daughters of commoners! In other words, sons of former presidents must be guaranteed immunity from prosecution lest the country goes up in flames!
I have heard that some politicians are even contemplating reenacting the Mahatma Gandhi non violent revolution. They plan to rally the masses to prostrate on the runway so that the plane carrying one of their own does not take off to Hague. How I wish that the clergy could convince them to instead prostrate for a worthy cause. They can then fast and prostrate so that God can grant our political leaders enough wisdom to understand the language of the millions of starving Kenyans. If all Kenyans were to prostrate for just an hour wherever they are, I am sure that our politicians will stop political bickering and refocus their attention on tackling the runway inflation.
Finally, I hope that the clergy will find it prudent to call the nation to pray for President Kibaki so that he takes leave of his trademark silence. Let us pray that he does not surrender the fate of this country in the hands of those who are more than willing to force us into rivaling countries with longstanding pariah status.
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