Dorothy Johnson-Laird Resigns from KGU

Dear Ladies and Gentleman: 

Please be advised that effective immediately and with sadness I must submit my resignation as an Advisor to Kenya Global Unity.  KGU was founded with the following core values: 

I.Honesty and Integrity
II.Respect 
III.Transparency and openness 
IV.Discipline 
V.Unity

KGU as a committee should take the lead in setting the core value of unity.  Unity means open communication, reciprocity, transparency, honesty, and joint action.  However, what I have witnessed over recent weeks has strayed far from unity and is sickening.   As it stands, KGU is far from united and in this respect it is currently fundamentally flawed as an organization.  

Noone can deny that over the past several months, Joseph Lister Nyaringo has spearheaded the actions taken by this group.  The very constitution which was used to suspend him, was ironically for the main part drafted by Mr. Nyaringo.  Please review the history of KGU's emails and appreciate that he has, for example, called the meetings, set the agenda and often implemented next steps.  However, more recently Mr. Nyaringo made several attempts to reach out to the leadership of the organization via phone in order to communicate about what actions to take next and received absolutely no response.  An organization needs fluid and open communication in order to effectively function.  If there is no open communication, how can next action best be determined?  Mr Nyaringo also sent out an email about holding elections, to which he received no confirmation or feedback.  How can the Secretary General operate in a vacuum if KGU is supposed to be working together as a team?  How is KGU expected to proceed if there is failed communication within the organization?  How can KGU which claims to be member driven, show indifference about holding elections, show indifference to its members, the very reason it was founded?  

Recently, Mr. Nyaringo has also been labelled as “evil” by a member of KGU.  He has been accused of tampering with the KGU facebook page, with absolutely no evidence to back up this statement. If Mr. Nyaringo had such knowledge, surely a website designer would not have had to be hired to build KGU's website?   This is just one in a series of examples where intense hostility and violent threats have been addressed both towards Mr. Nyaringo and Mr. Kinity.  I ask you, is this a democracy where freedom of speech and assembly is honored or a feudal state where we threaten to literally “burn peoples fingers” if they speak up?  (There exists the documented proof of these violent and untoward emails and phone calls). How can you, in all good conscience, stand alongside someone knowing that they are this violent?  A violence which is out of hand in relation to any actions, in my opinion, that either Mr. Nyaringo or Mr. Kinity took.  

Are you working for an old Kenya, where meetings happen behind close doors, where phone calls are not returned, where only a select few are in power and maintain that power over time?  Or are you working for a new Kenya which is just, where the rule of law is followed, where the citizens have a vital voice in their leadership?  What Kenya do you want your children to grow up in? 

That being said, I can no longer operate as an Advisor to this organization.  I am speechless beyond words at the unprofessional manner and uncalled for attacks on both Mr. Nyaringo and Mr. Kinity.  It is clear that Mr. Kinity and Mr. Nyaringo had a parting of ways with the leadership of the organization.  But rather than flailing out and attacking them mercilessly, more diplomatic, unifying, and non-violent means should have been chosen. 

Please remove my name, photo, emails, and all identifying information from all KGU internet spaces and publications.  I no longer wish to be affiliated with this organization as it currently stands.

I leave you with one more thought, from President Obama, regardless of what you think of him as a President, I believe this statement is on point.  "All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings." 

 
                                                                                       Sincerely, 



                                                                                       Dorothy Johnson-Laird

President Kibaki and PM Raila Must support the ICC

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo

This December will remain a historic period for Kenya especially for those who cherish justice and the rule of law. Our Country has made a great stride towards liquidating impunity and for the first time, the famous and might have been shaken from their comfort zones.

The new order for Kenya has beckoned and this is a reflection that we are headed to better governance systems and practices. The new constitution has rekindled past injustices like murder of Dr. Robert Ouko, the Artur brothers saga, the Wikleaks which is a blessing in disguise for the Kenyan people who now know what they wouldn’t have known about the past and present government.

Above all, The ICC has humbled a section of our powerful click despite the glamour, the money, the fame and the beautiful offices. This is a reflection that justice will prevail to protect the vulnerable, the unknown, the less famous, the poor, beggars, the hawkers and street peddlers.

Indeed, the rich also can cry. God has heard the cries of the impoverished lowly Kenyans who have never seen justice since independence.

Who knew that The Hague 6 would include the Head of the Civil Service, the custodian of the President of the Republic of Kenya’s diary and the former commissioner of police when the President is the commander in chief of the disciplined forces?

The inclusion of Muthaura and Major Hussein Ali in the list of The Hague 6 has actually put many people in a quandary especially on what the President knew about the 2008 post election violence.  

The President and Prime Minister, now giving conflicting remarks after the famous Waki envelope has been opened did assure Mr. Moreno-Ocampo and Dr. Kofi Annan recently that the government was committed to safeguard the work of the ICC in Kenya. They also promised to arrest those indicted for the post election violence and hand them to The Hague for trial.

The 6 individuals named by Mr. ocampo are mere suspects who have not been proven guilty by the ICC and if the President and Prime Minister believe in this concept, they should let justice take its course instead of coming up with a move that is likely to raise a red flag about their move on the Hague 6.

We have clearly seen that a local tribunal will prone to manipulation by the State and therefore, to scale down impunity in our land, the best way to go is The Hague where the alleged perpetrators must be ready to face  three verdicts whose outcomes will encompass these: outright acquittal if proven not guilty, life imprisonment or the hangman’s noose.

The two principals should remember that Kenyans want an end to the cycle of impunity and getting justice for the massive crimes committed during the post election violence is the best way to go instead of trying to shield a few individuals for political expediency.

I fail to understand why the President and the Prime Minister are making a “U” turn in supporting a local tribunal when they would not rally legislators to vote for the establishment of one when they had humble time to do so. It reflects that they are not serious about ending impunity, which has bedeviled Kenya for many decades.

After all, a local tribunal is likely to be manipulated and this will deny justice to the post violence victims and the majority of Kenyans who want the victims to be tried by the ICC.

Majority of Kenyans voted for the current constitution to help us fight impunity, which has bedeviled our society for many decades and this can be achieved through political will from those in the Country’s top leadership.

Joseph Lister Nyaringo,

Sec. General, Kenya Global Unity, NJ US

Time to mobilize the Christian Constituency

 

From:
Reuben Kigame
Fish FM
http://www.reubenkigame.com/
rk@fishkenya.net
saltkenyafamily@yahoogroups.com

Brothers and sisters,

 

When I look at how the Christian community approaches transitional moments such as this one, I begin to shiever within. The tendency is to watch how the world does its politics and then try to take sides within that worldly approach.

 

We know the current government is virtually dead. We know that 2012 is here. Elections may well be called before then.On the one hand I hear the cry that those standing must get out and declare that they are. On the other I hear, let us teach the populace first before we get leaders from them. Between these two positions is a large number of believers who simply watch and suspiciously wonder if it is ok for a Christian to be involved in politics.

 

As all this is happening, the country is degenerating with an ever-increasing cry that somebody stands up and helps restore our nation.

 

In this communication, I want to plead one more time: Please sign up your friends to this forum and link us to every existing Christian group that has a presence on the internet. Tell your facebook and twitter friends about signing up to saltkenya and lead them on it.

 

What I would like to do is to start asking those aspiring to share with the larger team on this forum and have the forum members interrogate them.

 

Kindly get to your email address book and send out an invitation for your Christian friends to join saltkenya and follow them up.By January, let us see if we cannot have the first aspiring presidential candidate address this forum. We hope to have as many of them as possible do so.

 

If you know any professional who is aspiring for any county or national position, please bring them on the forum and let us interrogate as well as support them.

 

Time has come for us to mobilize a Christian constituency. Will you take this cause forwards? How many have you introduced to the forum this far?

 

May we be found worthy of having been part of bringing God's Kingdom here on earth, in this country in our generation.

 

In the service of Christ,

 

Reuben Kigame

Coordinator

Salt Kenya Family

 

Its not a norm to do all the Romans does

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo, New Jersey, USA
The rate at which Kenyans are adopting Western culture is alarming. In fact, practices like Halloween with no benefit to the spiritual and moral fabric of our society are being celebrated like any merry holiday. In our urban centres, there is a big shift in the modes of dressing, communication, and general attitudes especially from young people.

These negative social transformations have caught our society by a storm, which is a negation of the values and tenets we need to uphold as a God fearing nation.  In fact, what I see in New York, Los Angeles or London is exactly what's happening in the City of Nairobi.
 
I shudder at the thought of how our society will be in 20 years as the liberal lifestyle we see in the West is penetrating deep in our society and not only eroding our  Kenyan heritage but slowly destroying our moral values. It's extremely frightening that these days, we are experiencing these:  poor dressing habits, open profanity, vulgar language and open talk about sex. 

Tragically, these negative trends are spreading rapidly even in schools where many young Kenyans are struggling to look modern by imitating everything Western under the allure of looking modernised.

I fail to understand why we're failing to maintain our societal norms and only accommodate foreign habits which are of no benefit to our lives. Our people need to be reminded that foreign is not necessarily good or applicable in our society. Just because it's working elsewhere, it doesn't mean it's suitable for Kenya.

Our people are wrong by embracing events like Halloween which has its roots in the US, Canada, Ireland and Scotland.  Most homes looks like graveyards with human skeletons dangling on doors, as children and adults roam around in frightening costumes.

Kenya is home to almost all races - Asians, Europeans and Americans, but most of them have continued to retain their identity and values. In fact, most well-to-do individuals or those on short assignments especially diplomats take their children to schools which offer their country's education curriculum. 

In fact, the tourists who visit Kenya do not go back to their countries and start practicing our customs for instance wearing the popular Maasai shawls or singing the popular Isukuti folklore.

Wherever Westerners go, they carry their culture, education, religion, norms, and values.  And when we allow ourselves to be a dumping ground for obscenities we forget our true identity.

There are numerous examples showing that our society is ready to accommodate anything originating from the West while burying our original identity. Our musicians want to rap like Jay Z; while others want to sing like Janet Jackson or Madonna.

Many want to dress like lady Gaga. The popular Benga Music  that spread up to Central Africa has faded away and may never be heard again because if it doesn't sound American. Where shall be our identity for years to come?

We should not become copycats to foreign habits which are not only destroying our values but also ruining our families. Currently, many of our women have become less virtuous; men don't care about nurturing lifelong relationships. Amongst our youth, profanity (Western) epithets are on the rise. The types of music they play contain vulgar language with unprintable lyrics.

Many of us who speak fearlessly against negative western lifestyles ends up being labelled or accused of being anti-modern and traditionalist. However, it's high time we kept the tenets that forms the basis of our upbringing but only accommodate the Western culture which is vital to our society.

Legislators should not trash the IIBRC recommendations

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo

New Jersey, USA

Legislators should not trash the IIBRC recommendations

The recommendations of the Independent Boundaries Review Commission should be respected and any anomalies addressed with sobriety and not through reactionary tactics being portrayed by political leaders, since the Chairman of the commission made the report public.

How long shall we see politicians trashing tax payer funded programs especially when it doesn’t serve their political interests? This is egocentricity, lack of leadership and a waste of resources should they demand for the reconstitution of a new IIBRC to start the same job Mr. Andrew Ligale’s team has completed.

If the IIBRC may have violated certain provisions in the current constitution in the apportionment of the constituency boundaries, threatening to trash the entire work of the commission will mean pressing for the reconstitution of another commission but this will be a toll on the Kenyan tax payers. We are tired of seeing taxpayers’ money being wasted on jobs which although not perfect, have been fully completed by the experts the country has been able to produce.

Many of our people are living from hand to mouth while others are languishing in IDP camps almost three years after the post election violence.  Therefore, when leaders talk about expenditures that will drain the exchequer with no benefit to the lives of Kenyans, to me, it’s a poor show of leadership.

We need to be watchful on MPs out to frustrate the IIBRC recommendations that will be tabled in Parliament and this time, we are not going to condone  threats like the one uttered by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi, who predicted violence if the Ligale commission  recommendations are not handled with care.

Elected leaders who evoke violence to drive a political point when Kenyans are reeling from the violence that engulfed the country in 2008 is totally in bad taste and a sign of incitement. Such leaders should be picked by the law enforcement to record a statement.

We can’t trust leaders who are fond of raising eyebrows on issues that they think are detrimental to their political survival. This trend has turned to be a form of compulsive psychiatric disorder where political leaders are obsessed with rejecting what is beneficial to scores of millions of Kenyans each time a commission comes up with recommendations after wrapping up its work.  

We saw the same trend in the Ndungu Land report, the Waki report, and Kriegler report and now it’s happening on Andrew Ligale’s boundaries review commission. Indeed, even if the Chairman of the IIBRC rescinded the recommendations of his commission to appease those against it, we shall still have those who will feel short changed because you can’t please everybody in the society.

Electoral boundaries are there to facilitate effective service delivery to the citizens of any Country and therefore, I believe Andrew Ligale’s team did consider local population demographics during the apportionment of 80 constituencies.

For instance, in the United States, California  which is the most populous with 37 million people has an apportionment of 53 Congressional Representatives, while Wyoming with a paltry population of 50, 000 has only one.  I believe that Mr. Ligale’s team did use these criteria to arrive at 80 constituencies.

Finally, this trend by politicians to try and paralyze the findings intended to shape the destiny of our country should cease. I do believe Mr. Andrew Ligale has impeccable credentials in public life and many Kenyans will trust the job he did as Chairman of IIBRC.