Monday, May 2, 2016

TWO HORSE RACE for Jubilee in Nairobi Governorship as Bishop Margret Wanjiru is ‘CURSED’ OUT

Nairobi Jubilee Governorship Race Emerging as a Two Team Race

It had to take a tragic happening in the Huruma building collapse for candidates vying for the Jubilee ticket to reveal their allegiances and how the race is shaping up. Two teams have emerged, one led by Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko and another by Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru. Margaret Wanjiru has been left as a lone wolf navigating the urban jungle solitary as others merge into packs for the fierce vote hunting season that has just kicked off. City hall is the prize, currently firmly between Kidero’s maniacal jaws.

Sonko in Huruma
The shaping up is largely being orchestrated in a whatsapp group that has taken over Nairobi politics by storm. Nairobi Forward is a whatsapp group where most of the members are aspiring for one seat or another. Members frequently post their tactics to cow their opponents or to seem bigger than life. The group has already featured twice in The Star where conversations have leaked including screen shots of actual conversations.

Team SOSA as its adherents call it within the group is a Sonko, Sakaja team that is clearly a very coordinated approach to the politics of the day. It seems Sonko has come up with an undeclared MOU to groom Sakaja as his successor for Senate as Sakaja endorses Sonko for governor. Other members in the team include Simon Mbugua who is angling for Deputy Governor, Ibrahim Yussuf aka Johnny who is said to be strategizing for the Kamukunji MPs seat. Milly Omanga is also friendly to the group and is positioning herself for the Woman’s Rep position. Sonko isn’t a member of the group but has a team doing his work there. This group also seems to have enlisted the services of COTU Boss Francis Atwoli who gave them a great platform at the Labour Day celebrations where Sonko and Sakaja showed up in matching uniforms. The Bromance is in high gear.

The other team calls itself #NairobiForward carrying the name of the whatsapp group. It is under Dennis Waweru and has managed to bring together a team comprising Mutinda Kavemba, Fwamba NC Fwamba, Rachel Shebesh and the unspoken support of the Nairobi political establishment led by Maina Kamanda. Almost all current TNA MCAs and MPs are in this team but are playing behind the scenes to let Waweru emerge as his own man. The only TNA MP not in the team is George Theuri who is under team SOSA. The Mt Kenya Foundation and its moneybags is bankrolling Waweru’s candidature. In the place Atwoli has in SOSA, this team has Nairobi veteran politician Fred Gumo.

Both teams are strategizing fiercely against each other. Over the last weekend, they have deployed themselves together in the city especially at Huruma where everyone worked to be seen with the people.

In a bizarre twist that may bring to question who is the candidate preferred by president Uhuru Kenyatta, the president arrived in Huruma on Saturday in the company of Dennis Waweru and his team who chaperoned him around the tragic site. It is said the team first met the president at State House to brief him on the tragedy and then left together for Huruma. Sakaja was present after spending the whole night there, taking an unfortunate break from his usual weekend riots in bars across town.

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HOW President Magufuli BEAT and OVERRUN Uhuru’s East Africa coalition of Tyranny

President Uhuru’s heydays as the most consequential East Africa’s politician appear to be ending with Tanzania’s John ‘the bulldozer’ Pombe Magufuli entry into the East Africa geopolitics late last year.

As Uhuru’s power recedes so is an outfit he and other East Africa leaders conjured to ‘fasttrack’ EAC integration without Tanzania which was then dragging its feet under President Jakaya Kikwete, a naturally slow leader. The ‘Coalition of the Willing’ comprised Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The election of Magufuli has seen Tanzania increasingly assert her influence in East Africa affairs in a way that was ‘unexpected and unforseen’ (according to a Kenya government strategist) and which has already upsetted Kenya, the region’s de facto economic and political powerhouse. Tanzania seems to be keen to challenge the dominance of her northern neighbour more brazenly than never before.

Last week’s clinching of the oil pipeline deal with Uganda, which left a diplomatic rotten egg on the face of President Uhuru, who until now has been the region’s most significant player has rudely awaken Kenya, with the country seeking answers from the government how Kenya lost to Tanzania. To add insult to injury, while Magufuli left the negotiations to his ministers and ambassadors, for Kenya, Uhuru has been the central player, making trips to Uganda and hosting President Yoweri Museveni (who has a cult-like following among Uhuru supporters) in Nairobi.

The government has so far successfully downplayed the ‘loss’ of the oil pipeline deal, stating that it ‘agreed’ with Uganda’ to go ahead and construct its own oil pipeline. It is akin to saying you’ve agreed with co-sponsor of the trip to upcountry but who has now changed his mind that you will now sponsor the trip yourself.

Kenya’s diplomatic language obscured the true extent of loss of the oil deal, but other countries noticed, with Rwanda announcing it is letting go a joint rail infrastructure project with Uganda to pick one with Tanzania, which will now make more economic sense.

Kenya, in what appeared more as a publicity stunt than a real finding announced that Tullow oil has raised the quantity of its discoverable oil to 750 million barrels from 600 million, with the rider that this may go up to a billion barrels. Critics of the Kenya government see this as a too little too late propaganda to entice livid investors not to look yonder.

The oil deal with Uganda has buoyed Tanzania, whose main national newspaper -The Citizen – wondered if the country is announcing it is ready for ‘industrial take-off’.

“After five decades of formulating strategies as well as policies, and following repeated political statements on the importance of industries in Tanzania’s economic growth, has the time arrived for a take-off,” asked the Paper.

Rwanda, a member of the Coalition of the Willing, has passionately embraced Tanzania. At the height of the Coalition of the Willing glory, Rwanda and Tanzania were experiencing challenges in their diplomatic relations. Kagame and Kikwete rarely saw eye to eye. However, the election of Magufuli changed the trajectory of Rwanda-Tanzania relations, with President Magufuli who has snubbed most international engagements visiting Rwanda by road last month. Kagame noticed.

“Since you were elected, your presence has been refreshing. Your words and deeds reflect our vision. Your stance against corruption is very refreshing. We are committed to working with partners who feel we have to raise our level of dignity because that is what we deserve,” Mr Kagame said.

For Rwanda, Magufuli’s distaste for graft also naturally added to the list of items the two countries share; something you can’t say of Kenya and Uganda. Fortunately for them, Tanzania and Rwanda are also the two countries that have successfuly – so to speak – integrated their people by deliberately creating societies with little ethnic tensions.

According to observers, the failure of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ is as a result of Kenya’s exclusionist tendencies. “Kenya was willing to move on without others, in fact, at the expense of others. This is typical of Kenya but Tanzania wanted everyone to be on the same page,” Ketta Onyango, a one time political aide of CORD Leader Raila Odinga who is now based in Tanzania told this writer.

With the failure of the Coalition for the Willing (CoW) to keep Tanzania out, all the mega projects that it had agreed upon without Tanzania are up for renegotiations. Kenya may not have the last laugh.

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Is this Nairobi HOTTEST Assistant Chief? Team Mafisi SALIVATING on duty

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And Team Mafisi had all these to say:>>
P Waititu: Most likely she is a mix of Mt Kenya and Kisii or Taita Luo

B Bhuong: Kuna vacancy ya assistant wake?kuulizia tu coz natafuta kazi

Anyango D: Najua mumepeleka kesi mob sana mpaka za nguo
dwin O. N : Gai hehe am moving to langata

John K : Huko naenda kupika pombe haram…… nishikwe

Isaac S :Ni msupuu..nataka anishike ctakataa
R Bosire: Anapeana ID? Just lost mine today.
Rich Mc: Meritocracy didn’t apply hear.

Vin Abuya: Mimi huwa naangalia nyuma Gidi hebu piga nyuma then i’ll comment!!

George Muchumbe Oh.. Kumbe chiefs bado wanaexist…can i b appointed as a village elder to assist her on matters of administration?
Evans Omondi Jesus Christ Son of a Carpenter

Aggie Agnes Madam Chief is really beautiful. Na ni mchapa kazi hodari. God sent to Lang’ata.

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

HERE is Raila’s brief message on Labour Day

LABOR DAY
Labor Day is set aside to honor the Kenyan labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our nation.

Our collective aspirations as a people are determined by the government in place. It is therefore important that the choice of that government reflects the true will of the people. It is for this reason that the IEBC must be reformed.

The Kenyan dream of prosperity, peace and liberty can only be achieved through the free will of the people.

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VIDEO: Raila gives out ‘LIST’ of NOTORIOUS Elephant POACHERS and IVORY TRADERS in Kenya

Prime minister Raila Odinga while in Meru yesterday 30th April 2016, alleged that President Uhuru knows top notorious Eleohant and Rhino poachers and Ivory Traders>>>

Watch Raila BLAST Uhuru on his PR stunt of touching tonnes of Ivory>>>

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BREAKING: Huruma House Tragedy DEATH TOLL rises to 16 while 69 remain MISSING

The death toll from the collapsed six-storey building in Huruma has risen to 16 after four more bodies were retrieved on Saturday night.

National disaster management unit deputy director said 69 people are still uncounted for while 135 have been rescued from the rubbles.

“The operation is currently at a delicate stage and we have to balance between saving lives of those trapped and getting the bodies of those who have perished”, Pius Masai told the Star on phone.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero is expected to visit the scene this morning and “announce major changes in the Planning and Enforcement team”.

President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the site on Saturday and ordered the arrest of the owner of the building, which had been marked for demolition

Uhuru told officials “to undertake an immediate survey of all the houses in the area to find out those which are at risk of collapsing”, his office said in a statement.

Five survivors were pulled out alive on Saturday to cheers from the crowd.

“We are still hearing some voices from the collapsed building,” Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre director Colonel Nathan Kigotho said.

After mainly working with hands and power tools, rescue workers moved in two excavator vehicles to assist in lifting heavy masonry.

Heavy rains have led to buildings collapsing in the past with residents blaming it on shoddy or illegal construction.

The building in Huruma in eastern Nairobi had 198 rooms, Kigotho said.

Police said more than 120 people had been taken to the hospital.

Lower floors of the building crumpled, leaving some of the top storey still standing. Broken bed frames, mattresses and clothes protruded from the wreckage.

“It is raining, and these houses were built without Nairobi County authorisation,” Deputy governor Jonathan Mueke said on Saturday.

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Saturday, April 30, 2016