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.

ALLEGATIONS OF DISLOYALTY FOR A RADICAL ISLAMIST

What price will Libyan people pay to be free, that the question that lingers in everyone mind for those who have been following Libyan political unrest. For the last three or so months the Libyan airspace

World most powerful nations lined up to ravage Libya and to premier their state of the art arsenal while the despot Libyan ruler has vowed to remain adamant and hardcore to the core. One wonders why diplomacy wasn’t given a chance to settle Libya political unrest and why the western nations hastily endorsed air strike. In my opinion the air strike was meant to stop Muammar Gaddafi from attacking and killing civilians, something that NATOS invasion have failed to safeguard. We are seeing more western aggression against an impeccable humanity and no doubt horrific damages have resulted. NATO has ostensibly allowed itself to be engulfed into ill-fought war whose motives are to protect world powerful nation’s interest.

The autocratic Libyan leader who hates some grandiose tittles has however vowed to remain in power and swore he will never leave his country. The big question which lingers in everyone mind is whether the self made islamist is ready to pay the price, With bombing aiming closer to Gaddafi’s haven and President Obama being under constant pressure from us senators to let US ground forces hunt the outrageous technocrat it leaves no doubt that Gaddaffi is clinging in power for last days.

African tyrants are increasingly being subjected to guerilla warfare kind of revolt in which the combatants are their ordinary citizen, Colonel Gaddafi regime is being accused of subversion and sponsoring terrorist activities in the world. A renowned Islamic former Libyan minister for justice earlier this year reported that Gaddafi personally ordered Lockerbie’s bombing in which more than 200 people were  killed, majority were being Americans. It therefore occurs to me that the invasion of NATO in Libya is more to settling score than saving civilians.

John muthoga wambugu

Culture acculturation vs demystified tradition

The battle for the most coveted judiciary seat lived to our expectation, we witnessed a horrendous panelist of lawyers tearing through the cv’s of the job seekers leaving them battled and bruised. Many of these job seekers, most of them being judges couldn’t get their names on the top notch seat because of their previous misdeed in administering justice and their controversial rulings.

All in all, the chief justice had to be appointed anyway and with no doubt one man had to trounce the others and emerge victorious. Doctor Willy Mutunga impeccable character gullibly attracted the eyes of the panelist and with that he landed a pompous job.

I am not a disputant who needlessly protract the argument, but a loyal citizen seeking to castigate the notion of having people with corrupted morals as heads of our institution.  

The bone of contention though is the stud in his left eye, call me old fashioned or stereotype but I strongly condemn such eccentric behavior on a 64 old yrs man. His earring may be existing subliminally but its social norm continues to ripple our discordant society. Our culture is orchestrated by moral ethics and one can only be deemed to be morally upright if you subscribe subjectively to these virtues. Doctor Willy Mutunga maybe a well trained Jesuit lawyer but he is lacking core family values and seems to be lost in his bewilderment.

Unlike in alien culture whereby earrings are worn to betoken someone sexual orientation, Mutunga has ascertained his studs do not reflect his sexuality but rather his spirituality. He believes that through his studs, he is in touch with his ancestors who in return offer him protection. However Gay movement in Kenya have welcomed mutunga’s appointment  citing it reflects  changing trends and pursuit for surgical reforms in Kenyan judicial system. It leaves no doubt that the gay movement which is considered an outcast in our society feels like they have one of their own at the helm.   

The alien culture has diffused in our society in massive scale, that's why we have studded men as chief justice and members of parliament. They call it culture acculturation or rather demystified tradition, but to me it means the purported chief justice could be an enslaved intellectual caught up in his spiritual quest. An odyssey of discovery, it’s like a glitch in a matrix.

Pardon me if I hardly bully, I am just a concerned citizen.

John muthoga

Freelance writer

muthogajohn@gmail.com

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL SERVICES THROUGH THE USE ICT

Abstract

A study was conducted in Kenya being a developing country to evaluate the use of information and technology in high schools and teacher colleges. As the part of that study we established how ICT has improved educational services. This article explores a number of ways in which information and communications technologies (ICT) have been incorporated and integrated in a teacher education program in order to extend opportunities for students to interact with ICT as part of their preparation for becoming early childhood professionals. It describes three examples where ICT have been utilized in different contexts to promote understanding of the implications of technologies in educational settings, to engage students with powerful conceptual ideas and as a means of communication between students on campus and those in remote areas. The examples reveal that both undergraduate and graduate students indicated that they were at a novice stage of use and understanding before embarking on the courses. In addition, the examples show that participation in the courses helped students to come to terms with computer technology as a device that could help them both to acquire new forms of knowledge as well as extend the possibilities for interactions with other early childhood professionals who were located in remote areas. The examples also highlighted the need for teacher educators to become aware of the variety of ways in which ICT can complement and extend teaching and learning contexts in new and dynamic ways rather than be used to perpetuate existing pedagogical strategies that need to be reconceptualized in the information age.

 BENEFITS OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING

• Increased use of ICT technology and knowledge to improve quality of education services and effectiveness of ICT in learning
• Improved ICT infrastructure and technology applications to increase access to ICT resources and services
• Well-defined policies, regulations, and standards and disseminating best practices in ICT resources, services, data usage and their successful use in education
• Repository of resources, best practices and case studies
• Web publishing for ICTs in education and virtual exhibition of world-renowned ICT products and services in education
• Community clusters among organizations and individuals on development of resources to promote ICTs in education and on R&D for advanced forms of education and learning processes.
• Global community of practice enabling communication and sharing of educational resources
• Teachers can create their contents and sell for distribution to others schools or to be downloaded by other teachers in various parts of the country
• Motivate the students and makes education enjoyable and also allow the teacher to teach difficult concepts to the students by use of videos ,animations, pictures, text ,URL etc
• Can be offered offline or online

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

v  Lower the cost of internet access in developing world

v  Developing inclusive technologies that will equally cater people with physical disabilities

v  Availability of low cost computers and related hardware’s

v  Lack of proper ICT infrastructure and  proper technology applications to increase access to ICT resources ,services ,data usage and successful use in education

v  Teachers being reluctant in using technology in learning

v  Lack of proper government policies addressing the issues of educational technology ,copy rights rules, cyber crime etc to avoid content manipulation and illegal downloads

v  Lack of power in rural areas and frequent power blackout  hampers the use of technology in affected areas

Education exists for the benefit of society, so technology needs to be part of education if it is to truly benefit today’s society. The needs of society and education have directly impacted how technology is used in classrooms. In today’s global economy, the need for students to be technology literate means that the schools need to find ways to meet this need. In today’s high- stakes testing reality, there is not much room for schools to experiment with different technology possibilities while meeting the standards. In order for the schools to adequately prepare the students for the future economy, the economy needs to invest in the schools and work as a team.

MULTIMEDIA LEARNING

When televisions and radios became a part of society, many felt that using them in the schools would provide many great benefits to the schools. One reason that television and radio was seen as an appealing resource for schools was that there was a shortage of teachers. However, those who came up with this idea did not take into account that the student would not have the opportunity to be actively engaged in their learning, so the television lessons did not work as planned. 
Too often televisions and radio have been used by teachers to occupy the students while they do something else. Videos are commonly given to substitute teachers by teachers when they are absent so that the substitute does not have to try to teach material that they are not familiar with teaching. When used appropriately, television, radios and videos can be very effective teaching tools. The video can be stopped in the middle of viewing or their content can be copied in their computers as they watch to allow students to discuss what they have seen so that they do not have to be asked to remember everything they saw at the end of the class period. The content copied on their computers can also be played again and again by individual student on their computer so that they understand the whole idea. Like any other technology incorporated into schools, the technology must be relevant to what is being taught in the classroom and not just used for the sake of using technology.

Computers have being used in classrooms. During this time period, the paradigm of tutor- tool- tutee was established. Computers initially are used in classrooms to teach students by drilling them on the information learned in class and also to quiz students on knowledge. Tools then developed to further teach students the content and test them on the content. The educational software’s have been introduced to automate classrooms environment. This software’s enables the learning to be  more interactive and the assessments could be graded by the computer. This have given students immediate feedback and saved the teacher time by not having to grade the tests. Tools have also been developed to allow the student to program what they were learning into the computer. One example of this today would be using a music notation program to write out music.
The ability of the student to manipulate programs is still limited due to how software is sold, but there are products that give students the opportunity to manipulate data in more efficient ways. Because of these programs, students are able to focus more time on the interpretation of data, which leads to more time students are involved in higher learning processes. Students get to see the big picture and they have the opportunity to learn more in-depth about different subjects. 
The Internet have opened up many different opportunities for computer use in schools. Not only could schools use the technology within the school, they could now network with other schools. The “classroom” as we know it today goes beyond the walls of the classroom to include all that is available on the Internet. Students today are able to access sources outside of their school library on different topics. The ability to network with other classes and students around the world also provides many exciting opportunities for students.One  example in Kenya,the Kenya institute of education have digitized the whole curriculum of secondary schools,teachers are able to log in to KIE servers from remote ares and download learning contents and different exercises
However With the creation of wireless connections, schools are able to access the Internet easier than before. With wired connections, computers could only reach out as far as the cable could reach, and the classroom setup is influenced by where the computers could go in the room. With wireless technology, computers can better adapt to the classroom setup with the use of wireless laptops. With the portability of these laptops, schools are starting to move towards issuing laptops that have electronic textbooks on them for the students, eliminating the need for textbooks. Network thus is a very important aspect in E-learning,because information and educational content runs on it.It acts as the backbone of the whole process. Fiber optic cables being laid in different parts of the country will harness transmission and transportation of educational content through internet to many places of the country.
Technology roadblocks in education
The reasons that technology does not always work in education have not changed much since electronic technology began to enter classrooms. Since teachers are likely to teach the way they have been taught, they are less likely to try something new that they are not familiar with. Common reasons for not using electronic technology in classrooms include the following:
• The technology is not accessible when needed
• The technology does not work well with the existing curriculum
• The technology is difficult to use
• The technology does not meet an educational need

Teachers are also reluctant to hand over the control of learning to the student. In today’s society, where learning accountability falls on the teacher, teachers need to know that what goes on in their classroom is getting students to learn what they need for the standardized tests. If they are not sure about whether a new technology program will work, they are more likely to stick with what they know is working for the majority of the students in order to ensure that they get the required results, even if that means not allowing students to learn material in more depth. 
Much of the technology created for the schools has also been developed by those who are not working in the schools. These technology professionals do not know the way that schools work, so they are not able to create technology that works with what is being done in classrooms. For technology to be truly effective in the classroom there needs to be teacher input in the creation process. Teachers also need training on how to use technology and they need to be able to give input on how they are able to successfully or unsuccessfully use technology. The society has long expected education to fix the problems of society, so educators need to be involved in the creation of policies that directly affect them.

HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN CHANGE THE FORMAT OF EDUCATION
With the availability of different technology programs, students will be able to learn in ways they could not learn before. These programs will allow students to become more efficient at learning by doing some of the work for them; this will allow the students to be able to have more time to look at the big picture. Students will have more opportunity to engage in higher thinking skills; depth over breadth. The standards that are required of teachers to cover in class could have a better chance of being covered, and those standards are likely to be reviewed regularly to adapt to the needs of the society.
Online college courses allow working professionals to work on higher degrees while working. Online high schools will allow students to participate in the extracurricular activities of their choice while working on their high school diploma. Students who once could not finish their high school classes due to chronic illness are able to finish their classes now. Students will also be able to enter the workforce sooner and start college sooner. 
Education as we know it is reversing itself in that the student will be able to complete their education at their own pace, similar to the education of students in the one room schoolhouses. Students will no longer be grouped based on age. With computers being able to do some of the work of the teachers, education will become more individualized. 

Add caption

e-learning lab set-up

SELF MADE KING WHO HAS LEAD HIS MONARCH TO ANARCHY AND PARIAH

His “majesty ‘ king Robert Gabriel “Bob “ Mugabe of southern Rhodesia “Monarch “commonly known as Zimbabwe should consider his blatant and reckless utterances before the world retaliate on him and bring him down and his kingdom tumbling. King Robert was among the enigmatic continental statesman who has been cherished for liberating southern Rhodesia from colonial rule. The Jesuit educated intellectual had lead a protracted guerrilla war against Britons in Zimbabwe.

Today the blatant self styled king has become an international pariah and his monarch is still enjoying patronage privileges of an oriental despot. The founding father of southern Rhodesia has turned against the will of his people and is trying all means to remain at helm of power till he dies.

Today Zimbabwe has become Mugabe’s absolute monarch and Zimbabweans have been held at ransom. Ten years ago New Africa magazine based in London voted Mugabe as most popular African leader ,today the queen of Britain is shamelessly stripping the tyrant all the honors on him as Zimbabwe  remain suspended from commonwealth group of countries .

 Mugabe draconian rule doesn’t value human or democratic rights of the people it ought to represent. Recently on campaign trail he said he wont let an even like election rob Zimbabweans their sovereignty. Though the monster seem to be determined to stay in office ,Morgan Tsvangirai  leader of opposition Movement For Democratic change [MDC] is posing a real threat to the aging King. Tsvangirai has overwhelmly portrayed extraordinary leadership values, determination and courage to safe Zimbabwe from jaws of total anarchy. The star of charismatic buoyant leader of MDC have kept on rising with each single day Mugabe is remaining in office .Tsvangirai whom is being purported as western puppet by Mugabe has also undergone through tribulations, torture and humiliation on the hands of Mugabe and his tyrannical regime. His followers have not been spared either ,MDC claims the army and ZANU –PF militias have tortured and killed more than 70 people whom had pledged allegiance with MDC.MDC secretary general Mr. Tendai Mbiti have also been arrested and charged with treason and subversion .

Mugabe is leading an isolated government in the world we are living today where there are no room for dictators .Voices of many nation have been heard condemning Mugabe and his cronies .Tsvangirai have pulled out of the runoff citing the process has already been frauded. ZANU-PF has totally edged TSvangirai out of context by controlling his campaign and detaining him thus leading him to campaign under virtual secrecy .Nobody expect democracy to prevail under such skewed playground. The process can’t be free and fair thus Tsvangirai decision to pull out was applauded by international community. The process seemed more in war than democracy. The violence and intimidation against MDC and its supporters precludes possibility of holding a credible run –off. Mugabe and his stalwarts could not guarantee free polls because they fear humiliatingly defeat.

To me Mugabe hardliners want if worst comes to worst a negotiated settlement which could establish Tsvangirai lead transitional government with substantial participation of ZANU-PF stalwarts so as to mitigate impunity against themselves.

Tsvangirai needs AU, UN, and SADC backing in order to participate in run off, a condition which seems not withcoming. He will also need international and independent nations observers  to remain in ground until the election is announced .Modalities to facilitate his taking over if he wins should be provided by UN to avert a situation where Mugabe and his cronies in the army against staging a coup or martial law against Tsvangirai victory. The previous elections in Zimbabwe has been marked with great manipulation and suppression of dissents

As many Africa leaders condemn Mugabe administration, it will be noted that South Africa President Thabo Mbeki has failed to criticize his ally. Thabo Mbeki cannot be trusted to deliver a verdict on Zimbabwe situation. South Africa quite diplomacy is aggravating the situation in Zimbabwe ,the situation now is degenerating to a rapidly unfolding humanitarian crisis that require  rapid response .Mbeki is shielding Mugabe and his reluctance to condemn him has deeply undermined his credibility particularly in the eyes of opposition MDC .We are totally casting doubts opun his effectiveness in solving current situation

The world is outrageous against Robert Mugabe ,its about time Mugabe step down  voluntary or we witness another IRAQ situation. Zimbambweans today have been white washed by his leadership policies and almost left naked as winds of dictatorship howls around them. Mugabe stand to be accused of all his atrocities against humanity, he has ripped the economy of once Africa vibrant nation while as hiding on values of statesmanship, patriotism and sovereignty.

As thing get hot on heels of king  Robert his stalwarts are chiseling away the doctrine of impunity which will deny Zimbabweans chances of putting Mugabe and his cronies  on trial for democracy sabotage, defrauding human rights, corruption and incompetence .

Sooner or later the beast will be long dead, its Ghost will however haunt Zimbabwe forever .Go Morgan go ,tear the beast by his heart . Long life Zimbabwe and May God bless Africa.

John muthoga  wambugu

muthogajohn@gmail.com

THE GREEN CONVECTION STATUS OF MIND

For those of us who have seen it coming right from the quest for multi party democracy in early 90's to this date,we need not to be reminded where we've come from.
It was journey that some of us got lost behind, and when the battle got sour and dread a lot of us wept and moaned, we was like the lost children of Israel searching to be flee in this East Africa world region. As a teenage i saw grown men cry, battled and bruised but they couldn't kill their spirit. We’ve all been fighting for a noble cause; let no man enthuse in our kindness. The proponents of the draft constitution should concede a defeat, how dare are they to reduce the quest for draft to witch hunting .Timeless in case we never been acquainted, mindless violence, we are still letting them paint it in our society.
The NO proponents dwell on the chauvinism of making extraterrestrial life in our own image. If they want us to belief what they are telling us is true, they ought to have advocated for that when the draft was still in formative stages. None rose to the floor of the house and indeed question the contentious clauses. They are indeed portraying our country as a bellicose nation. Their attitude towards opposing the draft reflects their character in mind. Indeed they are prejudiced people who are intolerant of any opinion differing from their own.
In my opinion, it obvious that these guys are campaigning against the draft to salvage their ill-gotten wealth, to test their popularity in preparedness to 2012 general elections thus raises their political profile. We cannot overlook the former president factor in the no campaign; it’s possible these bigots are paid thugs meant to demonize the draft.
Not dwelling so much on what the draft entails, let’s disregard those who are against the draft and vote YES on the upcoming referendum. Strong rule the weak, but the wise rule the strong
It's more to a war than just getting it on, Conceal your form, cover your footstep’s
Stay prepared I don't care if no one's spared
Am tipping the scale and am double sure that the wind shall prevail and the boat shall forever sail, its in our hands.Like MATIBA said “LETS THE PEOPLE DECIDE” 
We are true patriot of this land; we need to exercise militant devotion to and glorification of our own country. The proposed constitution will be a milestone as far as the struggle for second liberation is concerned.


muthogajohn@gmail.com

RATIONAL PESSIMIST

I am writing this irate note to urge you all citizen of good will shun this rational pessimist as he try to purse his egotistic agenda. 
The former president discordant and bigoted attitude towards the proposed constitution leave us with cheer utter and disbelief .The senior citizen however is blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion intolerant towards others. The retired president is traversing the nation campaigning against the draft constitution and we all know the ostensible truth behind his invigorated efforts. It’s therefore apparent that the former KANU’Slinchpin is trying to protect his vested interest on issues that he feels might be subdued to public scrutiny if the draft constitution passes. He is thus trying to pursue his personal interest at the expense of the nation. 
The former oriental despot has seemingly voluptuous appetite and zeal towards scheming and orchestrating propaganda. 
Our civilization is shifting from science and technology to rhetoric and litigation. His recent thin sliced rhetorical attack towards the sitting president shows how he is determined to deny the country the new rule. It also reflects how desperate he is to block the draft from the shelves of jury. I am also tempted to reason if this man had anything to do with the controversial ruling onKADHI’S court or the altering of the draft. 
The current president is determined to bring reforms in the country; we have all seen what have happened to our fellow countrymen in previous years during the struggle for second liberation. This is the second time that the sitting president is trying to have a new constitution enacted in Kenya. The thought of blaming him for failing to adopt the new rule within the first 100 days in office is not only obnoxious but also ambiguous bearing in mind his health status when he took the office. 
A blatant attempt by MOIto urge Kenyans to vote against the draft is completely lacking subtle beyond no reasonable doubt. As Kenyans we ought to know to follow the proposed course of action as purported by MOI and his entourage is to invite retributive justice in its execution or outcome. We need a new constitutional dispensation in this country 

muthogajohn@gmail.com