https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/10/kenyan-court-drops-60-million-corruption-case-against-deputy-president

Hustlers versus Dynasties? The Elusive Quest for Issue-Based Politics in Kenya

COP27AfricanVoice

 At least for now the scorching sun had to take a momentarily break and we welcome the season of the short rains.

Everything that breathes under the sky is filled with life, the magic of rain. It’s true when they say “water is life”.The green canopy will soon resurface and the earth’s crust will be restored, at least for now.

Where am from the silent valley will soon roar back to life, and the sounds of soaring river Chania will reverberate through the trout valley.

At dusk, the crickets chirped monotonously and the cloaking frogs will join the rhythm, yes, all I need is my sleep done in perfect, natural harmony to fantasize my ego and fade away the bewilderments of my life.

In perfect control of my life, Finished building my castles in the air, now searching for the elixir of life.

In our times this river brought fortunes and calamities in equal measures. The river would deliver huge chunks of trees from Aberdares mountains, at least the families that had lived along the river line didn’t have to worry about the firewood for a long time. The footbridges weren’t spared either, some students from the other side of the valley were disconnected from their learning institutions for as long as the rainy season spell would remain.

Our weekend swimming expeditions would be rendered futile and caution was raised against approaching the swollen river. It was not a wonder to find a carcass of a wild animal especially buffaloes deposited in your farmyard.

Let's join the world in calling for climate justice and climate reparations, they have damaged our livelihoods and habitats, we need them to seek climate Justice. We need our River back

#https://unfccc.int/cop27...

#climatejustice

#climatechange

#COP27AfricanVoice

#COP27

#CLIMATEREPARATIONS

A Cabinet of Curiosities

 

President William Ruto's first cabinet was announced after some delay on 27 September, and a curious collection it was. With 22 cabinet secretaries, plus the President, Deputy President and the Attorney General (ex-officio), there are 25 seats at that august table.  So, let's take a look at Ruto's choices.

First, only four of 25 have held ministerial level office before (Ruto himself, Musalia Mudavadi, Davis Chirchir, Simon Chelugui). It is not a cabinet with much experience in governing. Mudavadi's elevation to Prime Cabinet Secretary gives the government gravitas, but its not obvious he had much influence on his colleagues' selection and how much actual power he will wield remains to be seen, especially as his role and that of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua overlap significantly (just as Ruto and Fred Matangi's did before).  Only one of Kenyatta's CS's (Chelugui) was retained and continuity was not seen as of value. 

Second, Ruto did not attempt to poach from Azimio and did not reward any recent defectors to his side, seeming to focus on loyalty more than rewarding or winning more short-term support. Third, he appointed 7 women of 23 selected posts, fewer than expected and less than one third, and his choices were in some cases quite surprising.

Fourth, the ethno-regional calculus followed a familiar pattern, but with some oddities. Firstly, two of his nominees do not disclose their ethnicity directly - Zacharia Njeru was born in Nakuru slums and is probably Kikuyu or Meru; Rebecca Miano's origins are unknown. Putting them aside, it seems an ethnic calculus was followed much as most Kenyan cabinets have done, with the President's Kalenjin largest at five seats (not surprising), the core of his victory the Kikuyu next (four), then the Luhya three, Mijikenda, Meru and Kamba two, and Maasai, Somali, Mbeere, Luo and Gusii one each.  But the Kipsigis Kalenjin have three and the Nandi none, which is odd to say the least. And the northern and southern pastoralist representation is not strong. 

Of the 23 appointees, only three could be considered technocrats  - Njuguna Ndungu (ex-CBK Governor) at the treasury; Miano (ex-KenGen CEO) and  - generously - Chirchir (KPTC and IT). At least 13 are active politicians who stood for county level seats in 2022, most of who lost. Clearly promises were made and needed to be kept, to some at least.  Other close political allies - like Josephat Nanok in Turkana and Ndindi Nyoro in Murang'a - were potential candidates but did not fit in, for unclear reasons.  But it is a political cabinet above all else.

In terms of backgrounds, it is a cabinet of lawyers (Attorney General Justin Muturi, Kipchumba Murkomen, Moses Kuria, Kindiki Kithure, Rosalinda Tuya, Alice Wahome, Miano), communications experts (Alfred Mutua, Eliud Owalo, Kuria), self-made businessman (Ruto himself, Franklin Linturi, Njeru, Aisha Jumwa, Aden Duale, Chelugui) and procurement specialists (Chirchir, Susan Wafula). It is not (with exceptions) a cabinet of captains of industry or government insiders.

Finally, why we have Wafula, Njeru, Peninah Malonza and Florence Bore in the cabinet at all is a puzzling question. They appear to have few special skills or life experiences and all will struggle to make a mark at this level.  

​So, overall, a conservative cabinet (dominated by well known allies), a political cabinet (with few technocrats) and a curious one.​

Crony Capitalism and State Capture: The Kenyatta Family

 Crony Capitalism and State Capture: 

The Kenyatta Family Story By David Ndii Nothing is more dangerous than the influence of private interests in public affairs, and the abuse of the laws by the government is a less evil than the corruption of the legislator, which is the inevitable sequel to a particular standpoint. In such a case, the State being altered in substance, all reformation becomes impossible. ~ Jean Jacques Rousseau In November 2013, seven months into Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency, one of the dailies carried a story profiling what it termed as the Kenyatta family business “expansion drive”. “Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency” it averred, “has injected fresh energy into his family’s commercial empire, putting a number of units on an expansion mode that is expected to consolidate its position as one of the largest business dynasties in Kenya.” The paper listed interests in hospitality, dairy healthcare, media, banking and construction. The feature went unremarked in public debate. Conflict of interest is not part of Kenya’s political lexicon. At the time, Brookside Dairy, the family’s flagship business, was completing an acquisition spree that has swallowed up all the large private milk processors leaving only the state-supported and erstwhile processing monopoly, Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), and the farmer-owned Githunguri Dairies (owner of the “Fresha” brand) as serious competitors. The pay-off has been remarkable. During Uhuru Kenyatta’s first term the consumer price of milk increased 67 percent (from KSh 36 to KSh 60 per half-litre packet), while producer prices remained unchanged at KSh 35 per litre), effectively increasing processors’ gross margin by 130 percent (from KSh 37 to KSh 85 per litre). Given the industry’s 400m litre annual throughput and Kenyatta family’s market share, which stands at 45 percent, the consumer squeeze translates to an increase of the Kenyatta Family’s turnover from KSh 13 billion to KSh 22 billion, and gross margin from KSh 6.7 billion to KSh 15 billion a year. Two years ago, it emerged that the president’s sister and cousin (or niece) had abused procurement reserved for disadvantaged women and youth to supply the health ministry. The company involved was registered after Kenyatta assumed office. The website, which has since been taken down, listed their business as supplying healthcare products, building materials, construction equipment, dry foods and supplementary foods to “government entities, parastatal entities, non-governmental organizations, corporates and counties”. It also advertised investment consultancy and “facilitation” services, also known as influence peddling. The business was set up specifically to profit from Kenyatta’s presidency. During Uhuru Kenyatta’s first term the consumer price of milk increased 67 percent (from KSh 36 to KSh 60 per half-litre packet), while producer prices remained unchanged at KSh 35 per litre), effectively increasing producers’ gross margin by 130 percent (from KSh 37 to KSh 85 per litre). Given the industry’s 400m litre annual throughput and Kenyatta family’s market share, which stands at 45 percent, the consumer squeeze translates to an increase of the Kenyatta Family’s turnover from KSh 13 billion to KSh 22 billion, and gross margin from KSh 6.7 billion to KSh 15 billion a year. Koto Housing, associated with Uhuru’s sister and specialising in expanded polysterene (EPS) modular construction technology was cashing in on police housing. No sleuthing is required to establish this— it’s on the company’s website. Since then, the family has established an even bigger EPS building company C-MAX, which also showcases police housing on its website. Instructively, the website also markets “affordable housing” as one of the product lines. Affordable housing is one of Kenyatta’s “big four” agenda. That the Kenyatta family would set up businesses to trade with the government during his tenure, and have no qualms showcasing government business on their websites, is astounding. But nothing brings home the family’s obliviousness to conflict of interest than its entanglement with the Rai family, the timber and sugar merchants now embroiled in the contaminated sugar import scandal. Parallels have been drawn between Kenyatta’s engagement with Rai and the South African Gupta state capture saga. Two years ago, it emerged that the president’s sister and cousin (or niece) had abused procurement reserved for disadvantaged women and youth to supply the health ministry. The company involved was registered after Kenyatta assumed office. Sometime in the early 90s, the Rai siblings sued one of their brothers, Jaswant Rai, alleging that he had secretly been siphoning money from the family business and investing it on his own. They alleged that the money was invested in two Kenyatta Family businesses: Timsales, a timber merchant, and the Commercial Bank of Africa. Raiply, the Rai family’s flagship plywood manufacturing business came to prominence for what appeared to be a carte blanche license to log public forests during Moi’s tenure. The case confirmed what the public had long suspected: that Moi had a stake in the business. Kabarak Limited, a name synonymous with Moi, had a 1.4 percent stake in Raiply. Moi banned logging of hardwoods from indigenous forests in 1986. According to the task force the Jubilee administration appointed recently, the Kenya Forestry service has continued to give Raiply licenses to log these invaluable forests for plywood. Rai’s clout in the Jubilee administration became apparent during the disposal of the bankrupt Pan Paper Mills, Kenya’s lone pulp paper mill and a monument to failed import substitution industrialisation. Established in 1971 as a joint venture between the Government and an Indian investor, Pan Paper’s claim to fame is that it has never made a profit, even though during the preliberalization era, the Indian investors paid themselves handsomely through transfer pricing, management fees and royalties. Pan Paper collapsed in 2009, was bailed out and reopened by the government in 2010, but it closed down again a year later. A second revival failed. In 2014, Pan Paper’s receiver managers resigned abruptly, protesting that a powerful hidden hand was manipulating the transaction to ensure that Pan Paper’s assets were sold cheaply to Rai. A new receiver was promptly appointed and the assets, reportedly worth KSh 18 billion were sold to Rai, for KSh 900 million – even less than the Ksh 1 billion the government had injected in the failed revival. Sometime in the early 90s, the Rai siblings sued one of their brothers, Jaswant Rai, alleging that he had secretly been siphoning money from the family business and investing it on his own. They alleged that the money was invested in two Kenyatta Family businesses: Timsales, a timber merchant, and the Commercial Bank of Africa. Kenya’s current sugar production according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data is in the order of 600,000 tons a year, against a consumption of 830,000 metric tonnes, making for an annual deficit of 230,000 tons. Kenya has been accorded safeguards to protect the domestic sugar industry by COMESA trading partners, but these safeguards dictate that Kenya imports the deficit from COMESA countries. Also, it was the practice, as I remember it, that preference was given to the domestic millers in proportion to their market share. It has now come to light that mid last year, in the run-up to the election, the government, citing drought, opened the floodgates and allowed all and sundry to import sugar duty-free. The KNBS data shows 990,000 tons imported during the year—more than a year’s consumption. To be sure, 376,000 tons, the volume of domestic production, was well below normal, but this translates to a deficit in the order of 450,000 tons – less than half of what was imported. Moreover, it is unclear why duty was waived—sugar withdrawal symptoms are not fatal. Sugar importation was the Moi era’s default election financing racket. In those days, the racket was a closed shop controlled by a small cabal of Moi’s associates known as the “sugar barons”, not the feeding frenzy we are witnessing today. Jubilee’s dynamic duo may be Moi’s political children but one among the many things they did not learn from him was disciplined corruption. Little wonder that Moi once described them as “ndume hawajakomaa”. Domestic sugar industry protection in these parts borders on the irrational. Sugar is classified as a “sensitive item” under the EAC’s Common External Tariff, which means it attracts punitive import duties, set at 100% or US$460 a ton, whichever is higher. With sugar currently trading at U$265 a ton on the world market, the applicable rate is US$460, which is effectively an import duty rate of 170 percent. Regular goods are taxed at 0,10 and 25 percent while rates for other sensitive items range from 35 to 60 percent. Sugar importation was the Moi era’s default election financing racket. In those days, the racket was a closed shop controlled by a small cabal of Moi’s associates known as the “sugar barons”, not the feeding frenzy we are witnessing today. But even with the punitive import duty, the landed cost still works out to between KSh 80-85 a kilo, which allowing for distribution costs and trade margins, would still have put sugar on the shelf in the KSh 110 to Ksh 120 range at which it has been selling. In effect, the foregone duty has been pocketed by the importers. For 960,000 tons, we are talking US$ 455 million (KSh 45.5 billion). If the importation had been done by the sugar millers, and at the right quantity, a duty waiver would have translated to revenue in the order of KSh 20 billion – enough, if properly managed, to turn the struggling mills around. Instead, when they most needed the financial cushion, the government let the dogs out. When the contaminated sugar scandal first broke with a raid on a backstreet operation in Eastleigh (Nairobi’s “Somali Quarter”), with the culprits caught packing the contraband as “Kabras” sugar, it created the impression that this was a crackdown on the Somalia-Kenya border smuggling racket. Kabras is the brand name of the Rai-owned West Kenya Sugar Company. Then, Aden Duale, Jubilee’s motor-mouthed Parliamentary majority leader turned the guns on Rai. This immediately elicited a stern, sanctimonious public statement from West Kenya Sugar. It admitted to importing sugar, but did not disclose how much. It was not long before sugar hoardings popped up in various Rai establishments up and down the country, including Pan Paper. It has been reported that Rai imported 189,000 tons of sugar, close to a fifth of the total duty free imports last year. The tax benefit to Rai, and loss to the public, for this amount of sugar is in the order of US$86 million (KSh 8.6 billion). We are talking here of the annual budget of an entire county. The sugar itself is worth upwards of US$50 million (KSh 5 billion). Businesses seldom have this kind of cash lying around, so it is most likely that the transaction was bank financed. If so, it would be interesting to know which bank this is. It is western Kenya’s misfortune that the region was the hub of both the sugar industry and Pan Paper, Kenya’s most disastrous import substitution industries. The people of Webuye, and the larger Western region, have nothing to show for it. A log of wood typically converts to 8000 sheets of A4 paper worth Ksh. 60,000 (US$600). This is about the same as the value of raw timber. The same log converted into furniture will have a final value twenty times that amount (e.g. three dining tables worth KSh 40,000 each) or higher depending on quality. The furniture industry is a relatively low capital requirement, labour intensive industry that would have utilized Webuye’s forest resources for a locally-owned job and wealth-creating industry. In its lifetime, Pan Paper has consumed 25,000 hectares of public forests — about 600 hectares per year. Pan Paper at its peak employed 1,500 people. A timber-furniture industry cluster utilising the same resource would have created ten times as many jobs, injecting more than Ksh 100 billion a year into the region’s economy. In a previous column, I posed the question as to what made the leaders of the East Asian Tigers pursue export-led industrialisation going against the dominant development paradigm of the day. I postulated that they did not set out to perform economic miracles, but rather to improve the lot of their people, which led them to the realisation that capital intensive import substitution industries would not create jobs for the masses. Half a century on, Uhuru Kenyatta, who claims to be inspired by Lee Kuan Yew, is taking the country back to crony capitalist import substitution. In recent months, import tariffs have been raised on timber, vegetable oils and paper products, in all of which the Kenyattas and Rais are players. It was rumored that the Rai purchase of Pan Paper was a Trojan Horse to access public forests for their timber business. The rumour was all but confirmed by the recent appointment of Jaswant Rai to the board of the Kenya Forestry Service. As I opined, “when East Asian leaders were asking prospective investors what they needed to do for them, ours were asking what was in it for them”. Nothing has changed. The “big four” manufacturing pillar is also about profits for Kenyatta & Co. – not about jobs. The president’s bread is buttered on the side of capital, not labour. Kenyatta’s presidency has increased the profits of his family’s conglomerate by at least Ksh 10 billion a year, and that is not including the side lines of family members’ “tenderprises” such as the sister’s health ministry tenders and the uncle’s NYS fuel supplies. The best-run businesses in competitive markets typically make profits in the order of five percent of turnover. In effect, the presidency translates for the Kenyatta conglomerate the equivalent of a KSh 200 billion turnover business —a business the size of Safaricom (whose hefty earnings are due to inordinate market power). It should not surprise then that no expense has been spared, no price has been too high not only to keep Uhuru Kenyatta in power, but also to roll back the constitutional dispensation and restore to the presidency the unfettered power on which the family fortune rests. – Read Also Crony Capitalism and State Capture 2: Documents Reveal the Kenyatta Family’s Plans to Take over Lending to SMEs Crony Capitalism and State Capture 3: Uhuru Kenyatta’s Manufacturing Agenda Published by the good folks at The Elephant. The Elephant is a platform for engaging citizens to reflect, re-member and re-envision their society by interrogating the past, the present, to fashion a future. Follow us on Twitter.

Bloggers thrive despite State attempts to curtail freedom

 Advances in communication technology in the 20th century have eased information transfer and made the world a global village.

As a result, millions of jobs have been created and blogging is one of the most notable ones.

Many people have come to accept blogs as sources of credible information and some bloggers have become so popular that they are threatening to overtake mainstream news sources.

A survey conducted by United States International University’s (USIU) SIMELab between December 2018 and March 2019 revealed that a majority of Kenyans (nearly three-quarters) read online blogs, with entertainment and education blogs being the most popular.

The survey sampled 3,269 respondents aged between 14 and 55 from eight counties.

The research showed that most men in Kenya read sports blogs, while most women read food and fashion content. Blogs account for a majority of local content produced in the country.

According to the Communication Authority, the number of active mobile subscribers in Kenya stood at 51 million as at March 2019, up from 49.5 million at the end of 2018.

Mobile penetration rose to 106.8 per cent as at March 2019, the research showed.

Multiple SIM owners

Mobile penetration level of above 100 per cent is attributed to multiple SIM (subscriber identification module) card ownership by consumers who want to take advantage of the competing voice and/or data plans offered by various service providers.

As of December 31, 2019, the number of active mobile subscriptions (SIM cards) in the country stood at 54.5 million, translating to mobile (SIM) penetration of 114.8 per cent, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Social media use and adoption is on the rise: It was reported that there were over eight million social media users in the country.

The most common platforms in use in Kenya in 2019 were WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube.

In addition, the number of blogs increased as more content creators came onto the scene. That came with some negatives, nevertheless.

“The year was punctuated by a number of fake news posts and news stories, which were primarily spread through social media, especially WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

The spotlight was also shone on the importance of child protection in the digital age when a viral video of a young boy caused concern about children’s internet safety and cyberbullying,” the report said.

BAKE awards the best bloggers every year as they try to encourage relevant and ethical blogging.

And while their trade thrives, bloggers have sometimes had their battles with authorities.

The Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was tabled in Parliament on October 2, 2019 for the first reading.

“The Bill, which is a Private Member’s Bill, aimed to amend the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act by introducing stringent regulations on the use of social media in Kenya.

"The Bill was not well received by sector players and stakeholders as it was widely agreed that its very premise is unconstitutional,” the report by BAKE said.

Free speech

It added that seeking to regulate bloggers in the manner proposed in the Bill would amount to regulating the news, stifling free speech, and invading their privacy.

As such it would infringe on the constitutional provisions governing certain rights, namely Article 31, which guarantees the right to privacy, Article 32 which guarantees the freedom of belief and opinion, and Article 33 that guarantees the freedom of expression.

Also to be affected is Article 34 that gives the people freedom of the media, and Article 35 that guarantees citizens access to information.

“Also, the regulation of bloggers and social media in general creates a chilling effect on free speech and freedom of the media in the country,” the report said.

Increasingly, the youth are finding their gap in blogging, generating new content every day.

The competition means that the content keeps getting better, and that their creativity is being put to the test, helping many a talent showcase their potential in a space that was previously little exploited.

Raila Odinga: We are flirting with lawlessness

 

ODM party leader Raila Odinga warned that Kenya may be entering a state of lawlessness.

In a statement, Raila condemned an incident that took place a week ago where a mob that had been hired by auctioneers demolished a house in Westlands, Nairobi, saying that the incident should worry every Kenyan and the government.

“We may be witnessing a quick return of the old practice where individuals with political patronage use their proximity to power to harass innocent citizens and foreigners and take their property,” he said.

According to Raila, lawlessness is slowly taking shape in Kenya saying that cases of insecurity have risen following reports of mugging and robbery incidents.

“Lawlessness and impunity seem to be finding their way back into our national life, targeting not just individuals but also property in a manner witnessed in a previous era that Kenyans had hoped were gone forever,” the statement reads in part.

He criticized the national government saying that the William Ruto-led administration has been profiling the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and dividing the National Police Service into good and bad officers.

He says that Kenya is flirting with lawlessness citing the Westlands incident and the move by the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop cases against some government officials as well as the Judiciary in recent days seeming to be dancing to the tunes of the Executive.

“This is the easiest way to lose a country to criminals,” he said, adding that if Kenyans are not careful criminals will be reaching deeper into the country, getting bolder and terrorising communities and security officers.

He says the response by the government to the Westlands incident should see the auctioneers punished and made to pay for the reconstruction of the house and compensate the owner.

He adds that the government needs to act and affirm to Kenyans that political patronage will not be substituted for the rule of law in Kenya.

Raila called on the government to commit to Kenyans that the era in which people with political patronage terrorized innocent Kenyans and foreigners in our midst is gone and shall never return.

Kenya need for a revolutionary alternative

 

The struggle in Kenya for true democracy means a fight against the capitalist system and imperialism. There are huge class contradictions within our country. While the political elite live lavish lives and engage in a frenzy of looting and theft, the conditions of the working masses have either stagnated or worsened.

The problem is that there is no genuine revolutionary movement or party in Kenya, which could lead the working class and the oppressed out of this quagmire. The building of such a movement is the most urgent task facing the working class and the revolutionary youth of Kenya today. In Kenya, the struggle for socialism has been deleted from official history and from public consciousness by the ruling class, backed by Britain and USA. They ensured that capitalism was imposed on people after independence and that the voices of those advocating socialism were suppressed. The Kenyan masses need to rediscover their revolutionary traditions.

What is needed is a working class-based movement, with bold socialist leadership at its head, that will not only identify capitalism and imperialism as the source of Kenya’s ills, but work towards their eradication. Today more than ever, a revolutionary organisation based on Marxist theory and method is needed in our country, to lead the working-class to final victory when the time comes. The true liberation of the Kenyan people can only come about when the struggle for real democracy is combined with a revolutionary struggle against the degenerate ruling elite and their imperialist masters, for a socialist alternative.

 

The whole history in Kenya shows that no real change can be expected within a capitalist system. Not only the two main coalition candidates, but all four candidates up for election in the presidential race, were united in their capitalist and pro-imperialist policy. The national elections have become meaningless rituals: a revolving door to elect this bourgeois scoundrel or the other.

Both of the leading presidential candidates have been accused of corruption and theft of public property. The other two are non-entities. George Wajackoya became a talking point on social media and beyond because of his proposals of how to deal with corruption, including death sentences for corrupt government officials and judges, and the legalisation of marijuana for commercial industrial use to help cure the ballooning public debt. He also proposed rearing venomous snakes for antivenom harvesting, largely for export; and exporting dog meat and hyena body parts to Asian countries.

Meanwhile, David Mwaure Waihiga was running on an empty platform for ‘new leadership in Kenya’, calling on voters to stop electing the same leaders who have been in power since independence. But this former lawyer was not seen as an alternative, and failed to connect with anyone. Wajackoya and Mwaure received less than 1 percent of the vote between them.

After the swearing in of the president elect, preparations and campaigns for the next general elections in August 2027 will begin in earnest, and all the promises made today will be forgotten. This so-called democracy maintains a system of exploitation and oppression, and the betrayal of the majority of Kenyans by the few elites, while advocates for change have been imprisoned, tortured and killed.

The Kenyan Economy in Crisis

 William Ruto was the Deputy President of Kenya for the last decade, under an administration that failed to address the economic crisis in East Africa's wealthiest and most stable nation. Food and fuel prices are surging, unemployment is high and public debt rising. One wonders why the solutions he presents in his election manifesto were not successful during his 10 years as vice president?

The country’s currency, the shilling, has sharply depreciated. This means Kenya's Treasury will face difficulties paying back its huge dollar-denominated debt. The public debt rose from $16 billion in 2013 to $71 billion in 2021. As a result, Kenya spends nearly 30 percent of its state revenue on interest payments. With a debt-to-GDP ratio of 69.1 percent, Kenya is classified as being at high risk of distress by the International Monetary Fund. A Bloomberg Economics assessment 

The World Bank and Euro bond holders account for nearly half of Kenya’s external debt, at 28 percent and 20 percent respectively, based on data from the Treasury. China, whose loans have gone on infrastructure, including the Standard Gauge Railway, is responsible for 19 percent of Kenya's external debt. The coronavirus pandemic hurt tourism, one of Kenya's foremost sources of foreign exchange, while soaring energy prices are threatening to scuttle the recovery that began in 2021. With global interest rates shooting up, it is going to become costly for Kenya to borrow more, or pay back its lenders. In addition to the global effects of war in Ukraine, Kenya is caught in the middle of East Africa’s worst drought in decades. Inflation has inched up toward 9 percent, the highest in five years, and unemployment is reckoned to be at 14 percent.

All of this is laying combustible material in the foundations of Kenyan society. An almighty crisis is being prepared, and intensified class struggle will be the inevitable result.

Brewing anger

Despite Kenya being the wealthiest country in East Africa, most Kenyans live in poverty, unable to afford basic necessities of life. The conditions became so unbearable that Kenyans took to the streets in early July in what was dubbed the Njaa Revolution. Hundreds poured into Nairobi to protest the high cost of living, saying the price of basic commodities including cooking oil, maize flour, wheat flour, and sugar had doubled, putting pressure on households struggling to make ends meet.

The protestors, who were carrying sufurias, empty packets of sugar and flour, traversed Nairobi’s Central Business District and terminated their protests at the Office of the President at Harambee House. The protests led to the government announcing subsidy measures for maize flour, which only worsened the situation, with an artificial shortage of maize flour leading to the suspension of the programme. The economic crisis in Kenya is a clear indicator of the failure of capitalism in Kenya.

Kenya: Ruto and Odinga rotten to the core – revolutionary alternative needed!

 

William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya's fifth president on Tuesday 13 September, a week after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by his opponent in a close-fought election, in which Ruto received 50.5 percent of the vote against 48.8 percent for Raila Odinga. Neither of these reactionary bourgeois politicians offered any way forward for the Kenyan masses, who face increasingly intolerable conditions.

Odinga’s team made allegations that the IEBC electoral transmission system had been hacked and the results tampered with. Azimio la Umoja (“Resolution for Unity”), a political coalition headed by Odinga, further accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Deputy President William Ruto of colluding and “subverting the will of the people”. These claims were however thrown out by the Supreme Court, which affirmed Ruto’s victory.

This year’s election witnessed relative calm, with most people displaying apathy towards the entire process. The majority of Kenyans have dismissed the current political elite as selfish, pursuing their narrow interests at the expense of the common people. The Kenyan working class feels there is nothing to be gained from these elections, when the different factions of the elite will wine and dine together afterwards, irrespective of the result. The attitude was reflected in voter participation, with one of the lowest turnouts in recent history.

Both campaigns saw candidates use pseudo-left-wing phraseology in their efforts to win over the masses. This superficial, reactionary ‘populism’ offered no real solutions for the working class. The Azimio camp campaigned on a ‘third-liberation’ platform. According to this formulation, the first liberation brought ‘independence’ from the British colonists, while the second liberation brought multi-party democracy. The third ‘liberation’ will supposedly ‘transform’ the economy. However, the solutions offered were reformist and state welfare programs that offered no concrete challenge to the pillars of Kenyan capitalism. With the backing of the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta, Odinga’s well-oiled campaign did not gain as much traction as in previous elections, with Odinga carrying the burden of the failures of the current regime.

On the other side, Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition adopted a so-called hustler narrative. They demagogically exploited genuine anger from the masses at the degenerate elite, arguing that the country should not be run by the children of rich families, whose inherited wealth is based on unbridled capitalist exploitation, corruption and nepotism. Instead, the people should be represented by the ‘self-made’ sons and daughters of the poor peasants and workers, who rose from the underclass to acquire their money and power. 

The Kenya Kwanza coalition struck a chord with some poor and desperate Kenyans from the more backward layers of society, who hope to one day ‘hustle’ themselves into positions of influence and privilege. With anger and frustration at the useless elites running high due to the economic crisis, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine War; and given the lack of any genuine working-class alternative, it is no surprise that some layers of the Kenyan population bought into the ‘hustler narrative’.

Azimio and Kenya Kwanza: two sides of the same coin

The antagonism between the Azimio and Kenya Kwanza political coalitions was one of form and not content. The fact is that the two coalitions are rotten defenders of capitalism and imperialism. Freedom from the current political, economic and social problems plaguing Kenya will not come from either of these gangs

In fact, to struggle for social and national liberation is to struggle against the domination of Kenyan politics by these two political coalitions, which are really two sides of the same capitalist coin. This is clearly confirmed by the fact that politicians from the losing Azimio coalition have already jumped ship, even before the dust of the electoral process settles. This sharply exposes the two coalitions as empty shells with nothing to offer the Kenyan masses.

It has been 59 years since Kenya gained ‘independence’ from British colonialism and a black majority government came into power. The anti-imperialist aspirations, for which the Kenyan people shed their blood over generations, continue to be blatantly betrayed by the successive regimes that have governed the country since independence.

Bourgeois elections have taken place in Kenya since 1920, when the first election to the legislative council was held. In 1961, the first election under the present system of universal suffrage was held. Subsequent national elections in Kenya have been used and continue to be used to legitimise and perpetuate the interests of the colonial and imperialist powers, the capitalist system and the ruling elites in power.

Pakistan Investigative Journalist Arshad Sharif Killed In Kenya

Arshad Sharif, a prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif has been killed in Kenya. He fled his country after being charged with sedition.

The journalist died after police shoot-out responding to reports of a stolen vehicle. Sharif’s car allegedly drove through the road barrier that had been erected by police to track a stolen vehicle which prompted the shooting.

“The officers trailing the motor vehicle had alerted police in Magadi who erected a road barrier,” Bruno Isohi Shioso, a spokesperson for Kenya’s National Police Service, said in a statement.

Sharif had fled Pakistan in August due to sedition charges levelled against him for allegedly criticizing state institutions and “abetting mutiny” within the military. He had interviewed opposition politician Shahbaz Gill, a close ally of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Following the interview, Gill was also charged with sedition by the Pakistani police for making what they claim were “anti-state comments.”

Sharif’s channel ARY initially claimed that it was “being hounded by the present regime,” but then said it had cut ties with Sharif after it was taken off air for about a month on August 8 by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.

Sharif had to “flee Pakistan in August to save his life,” a close associate of his told CNN. He had initially gone to Dubai but was forced to flee from the UAE due to “harassment by Pakistani officials,” the associate added.

The Foreign Press Association, Africa (FPA Africa) said it is “deeply disturbed” by Sharif’s killing, especially the circumstances in which he died.

“Sharif’s death has robbed the media fraternity globally of a dedicated and forthright journalist,” FPA Africa said in a statement.

The association added that it is calling on authorities in Kenya to investigate the incident and thereby assure “foreign journalists based in the country and covering Africa, including those who visit on assignment and other professional undertakings that they’re safe.”

Godly Chosen

 

In the forthcoming election august 2022 the integrity of the nation will be tested, we cannot afford to gamble with our country, we know the value instilled in Martha Karua, a social democrat teaming up with a reformist (RAOKA) against a morally depraved gang of demagogues that have easily persuaded the gullible public to give them a stage so they can impress the delirium.

It's only a true revolutionary-democratic system that can instill fundamental changes in the country and liberate the people. The narrative of "bottom-up" is a rhetorical exploit for political purpose in a way calculated to appeal to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people.

A good leader must be measured by integrity, empathy, gratitude, courage, and respect but not rhetorics.

The Kenya Kwanza team is composed of political demagogues acting as if they are on deranged medication with their sole mission of ravaging the economy. This team deserves a thorough retribution post-election.

We'll never give up on our country and we will never cease telling the truth. Wake up Kenya, the dream is over.

#voteforreason 

Muthoga John 

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Odinga wants to bring back ‘imperial presidency’, says Rut

The presidential candidate launched a thinly-veiled swipe at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s endorsement of long-term rival Raila Odinga, who will face Ruto on 9 August.

Kenyan presidential candidate and Deputy President William Ruto has labelled the political system a ‘mongrel’ after President Uhuru Kenyatta endorsed long-term rival Raila Odinga for president. Speaking at Chatham House in London, Ruto, who has served as Kenyatta’s deputy president since 2013, argued that there must be “clear demarcation” between opposition and government and said that the government is “blurring the lines” following Kenyatta’s Odinga endorsement.

“The result you see today in Kenya is there is no government and no opposition, you have a mongrel of a governance system… The leader of the opposition [Odinga] is a project of the system and the deep state of government… the leader of what is supposed to be the ruling party [Kenyatta] is actually a supporter or refugee in the opposition party,” he said.

Ruto will lead his United Democratic Alliance into the polls on 9 August after Kenyatta publicly endorsed long-time rival Raila Odinga on 23 February after years of tension with his deputy. In a sideswipe at the endorsement, Ruto dismissed suggestions that he needs Kenyatta’s support to win the election. 

‘’The question I am often asked is how will you succeed in your presidential campaign unless you have the support of Uhuru Kenyatta or the next guy, oblivious of that fact we have built the largest political party.”

Ruto said that he had been frozen out of decision making during Kenyatta’s second term, claiming that he helped push through important projects in the first term such as the Standard Gauge Railway and the expansion of the road network. He said that SME support, agricultural reform and “democratising the economy” would be at the heart of his offering to voters. 

‘Imperial presidency’

Ruto said that if elected his priority would be to complete the implementation of the “progressive” 2010 constitution, which he said would bring checks and balances to the governing system. Ruto was the lead spokesman for the ‘No’ side in the 2010 referendum on implementing the constitution, but has since come to support it. 

“On the other side we have our competitors who have doubts about our 2010 constitution and have proposed in the region of 72 different amendments in the BBI process [Building Bridges Initiative, a dialogue between Kenyatta and Odinga].

“They want to bring back an imperial presidency, they want more power given to the president, they want the president to have power over the judiciary, they want an entity called an ombudsman to supervise and superintend the judiciary.

“They want the president to go back to appointing ministers from Parliament, which in our opinion undermines the oversight responsibility of Parliament,” he claimed.

Memories of previous presidential contests have raised fears of a disputed result or the possibility of violence in August. In 2017, the Supreme Court ordered a re-run after Odinga contested Kenyatta’s victory. Odinga ultimately boycotted the rerun, handing Kenyatta a landslide victory. Ruto pledged that the upcoming election would be free and fair, provided that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is “properly resourced.” He insisted he would accept the outcome of the election “whichever way it goes”

“A lot has been said about that election, I want to commit on this platform that we will work and deploy every resource within our ability to make sure the election is free, fair and peaceful. We have confidence in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that they can deliver a credible election if they are properly resourced, supported both by government and our development partners and friends, as has been the tradition of support to IEBC.”

Ruto strongly opposed the Political Parties Amendment Bill, which was signed into law in January and is widely seen as favouring Odinga’s chances in the August contest.