after kenya, zimbabwe …. bad precedences?

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So the big news coming out of the continent today is the big signing of a deal between Robert Mugabe and his long-time foe Morgan Tsvangirai. The deal guarantees Tsvangirai, the legitimate winner of the last presidential elections in Zimbabwe, powers for the day to day running of the country while Mugabe still leads the military and the cabinet.

This deal is kind of the same that Kenyans adopted after the disputed presidential elections last December. While in Kenya’s case it wasn’t as clear as to who won the election, in Zimbabwe it was as clear as the springs of Nyandarua that Morgan Tsvangirai beat the senile Mugabe in the polls. The sharing of power with a political thief in the mold of Mugabe is an affront against democracy. The nature of democratic elections is that winners take it all. Losers should accept the results and wait for the next election cycle. This applies equally to incumbents and the opposition. I was mightily pleased with the poise by which UNITA handled its loss in the just concluded elections in Angola – although if you ask me I think they should pull up their socks and grants Angolans true democracy by being more competitive.

Anyway, as happy as I am for Zimbabweans, I hope this phenomenon – of presidents stealing elections and then appointing the real winners prime ministers – does not catch on on the continent. I hope that Kenya and Zimbabwe are the last to go through this weird electoral circus.

zuma wins another battle, more reason for africa to be afraid

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Jacob Zuma, the almost certain next president of the most powerful country in Africa, has just had a corruption case against him thrown out of court on the basis that it was politically motivated. While there might be some truth in this, it is still an affront on justice. There is no denying the fact that Zuma’s strategy all along has been one of intimidation of the South African justice system and me thinks that it is a travesty that this court bought into the politics argument against this case.

For the rule of law to prevail, there has to be a perception by all that no one is above the law. The exoneration of Zuma sends the wrong message. A message that political connections elevates one above the law. This is why, the leader of his youth wing is still running around threatening to kill people with impunity. Sad shame. And to think that in a few months this clown of a man who believes that showering after sex prevents aids infection will be the most powerful man in Africa just makes me sick. He is a populist and has absolutely no respect for the law. And worst of all, he may turn out to be the typical African leader – immensely loved by the masses but worth not even a bucket of spit in terms of policy and general vision for the country. Zuma supporters point to his popularity as a reason for his detractors to leave him alone – but they forget that Mugabe, Moi, al-Bashir, Zenawi and many other sub-grade African leaders were at one time populists in the mould of Zuma.

angola – another chance for democracy in africa

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The sunny optimism that greeted the democratic awakening in Africa in the early nineties may be nearing twilight but there is still hope. Even as states like Kenya, Zimbabwe and even Senegal waver in their quest for liberal democracy, there is still a sliver of hope in the likes of Angola – a former war zone which holds elections tomorrow.

Angola has been for some time one of the fastest growing countries in the world. It is Africa’s soon to be largest oil producer (mainly because the Nigerian behemoth can’t get its act together) and with the help of the Chinese has recently embarked on a mission to build infrastructure throughout the country. The wealth may not be evenly shared out, but the country as a whole is better off than it was a decade or so ago.

So it is really hopeful that they will be having elections tomorrow. Yes there will be problems. Dos Santos has all the power in Angola and will definitely not hold completely free and fair elections. But this is a start. A few times over and the Angolans will internalize voting as a human right and realize their duty and moral call to chart the way forward for themselves through the ballot.

I am almost certain that Dos Santos’ MPLA will win the Friday election. But UNITA should not give up. Democracy is as cultural as it is political. Their time will come. Get to parliament, constructively oppose the government and be the watch-dog for the people. And help spread the idea that Africans are and ought to be in charge of their lives. Not governments. Certainly not NGOs. Not the church. Not the West. But Africans. Africans in Angola, Africans in Sudan, Africans in all war-ravaged regions of the continent.

talk of getting your priorities wrong…..

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So there is this story on the BBC website about the Nigerians raising about US $630,000 that they intended to contribute to the Obama campaign. This is as ridiculous as it is stupid. First of all, if these people care enough about Obama they would have visited his website already and noticed that when you try to contribute money you get asked specifically whether you are a US citizen – US politicians are prohibited by law from receiving contributions from foreigners.

Second, these people have got their priorities all wrong. Why raise so much money to send to the US? Aren’t there enough suffering Nigerians and Africans that this money might have helped? Come on Nigerians. Come on!

communication, communication, communication

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So  I am a bit frustrated this morning. I am frustrated because after about fifteen minutes of searching, I cannot find any contact information for the offices of the Prime Minister and several other ministries of the Kenyan government. How hard can it be to put these up? How hard can it be to have someone check the mail and/or the email and at least respond to inquiries and all – I am sure there are lots of Kenyans who can do this as a part time job with almost as much pay as the clowns running our government spend on mineral water whenever they attend their many conferences and workshops.

Speaking of workshops. Do we really need all of them? Can’t government be run by competent people who don’t need training in expensive hotels every two days? My hypothesis is that the only reason we have so many workshops is because we have way too many people from villages in Vihiga, Karachuonyo or Maragua in high places. The Kenyan government need not be as expensive and complex as we’ve (or more accurately they’ve) made it.  In reality, it ought to be a team of experienced and knowledgeable technocrats focused on delivery of services and the betterment of Kenyan lives and not the hordes of half-illiterates who invariably betray their ignorance whenever they open their mouths on tv – my latest favorite being that prisons guy who said the buck never stops (I am not sure he understands what this means).

But I digress. All I wanted to know is the contact information of the vice president and prime minister of the Republic of Kenya. Anyone with this information?

PS: The Kenyan Olympic team did me really proud. Hongera!!!

zambian president dies in france

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Levy Mwanawasa, the president of Zambia, has died in a French hospital. Mwanawasa was admitted in the hospital after he suffered a stroke several weeks ago. The country’s vice president, Rupiah Banda, has assumed the position of acting president, at least until new elections are held.

Mwanawasa became president in 2001 and has been a darling of the West particularly due to his distaste for corruption and love of free markets. In the last election, his opposition opponent accused him of selling his country to the two Asian giants; china and India.

It is important to note that Mwanawasa along with Kagame, Khama and Wade are the only African presidents who came out to forcefully criticize the murderous regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. He will be missed for his honesty and love of straight talk.

army takes over mauritanian government in a coup

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Well, if you thought the era of coups was gone, think again. The Mauritanian army has ousted the country’s president, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, in a bloodless coup. The army has cited the president’s overtures to Islamic fundamentalists and his recent sacking of four of the country’s top military commanders as the reason for his ouster. The president has apparently been getting too close to Islamic fundamentalists and supposedly planned to build a mosque within the presidential compounds.

He and his wife have also been accused of corruption. Earlier in the year the president narrowly avoided a vote of no confidence in the nation’s parliament. The EU has threatened to withhold aid the Mauritanian if the president and his prime minister – both detained by the coup leaders – are not reinstated soon.

The leader of the coup, Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has instituted a state council in place of the presidency. It is unclear how long he plans to rule the country.

Mauritania, a former French colony, is a vast country in West Africa with a population of 3.4 million. It is predominantly Arab and is a member of the Arab league. The country has large deposits of iron ore and in 2006 struck oil, making it one of Africa’s newest oil producers.

senegalese shame

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The events in Senegal last Monday are yet another blow to the democratization of a very undemocratic continent of Africa. Senegal has always been a beacon of hope and a symbol of sobriety in the most turbulent region of the African continent. But even its impressive track record could not stop Abdoulaye Wade, one of the few African leaders I have respect for, from extending the presidential term from five to seven years. Why Wade, why?

At a time when you are criticizing Mugabe for being a despot, don’t you think it is inappropriate for you to extend your own term? The Senegalese parliament should go jump over a cliff for this.

(any English speaking Senegalese people out there?)

kenyan new aids figures, cause for concern

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Late last year I wrote a peace congratulating the Kenyan government and all those involved of having done a commendable job in reducing the HIV prevalence rate to 5.1%. But new figures out indicate that things are much worse than this. It turns out that the prevalence rate is 7.4% with about 1.4 million Kenyans between the ages of 15 and 64 infected.

Even more worrying is the fact that more than 83% of those infected do not know that they’ve been infected and less than half of them use condoms. The new figures also reported that 10% of married couples in Kenya are infected.

It goes without mention that this should sound an alarm among Kenyans. The truth needs to be put out there. It is true that Kenyan men, and to some extent women, are behaving badly. It is also true that they are not using condoms while at it.

What needs to be done is (I am no expert but this is sort of common sense):

1. The public should be educated bluntly about proper sexual behavior. There is no point in acting like people are not having indiscriminate sex while they are. Men especially should be constantly reminded that they should not be putting their families in danger by their bad habits.

2. Condoms. Condoms. Condoms. I don’t care what the church says. People are having sex. Abstinence is, I concede, the best prevention method. But what do you when people, in their fallibility cannot put down the natural urge to have sex? I say the government should avail condoms, not just to teenagers but to married men as well.

3. Empower women. Empower women. Empower women. Empowered women will be able to say no to unprotected sex. Empowered women will not be forced to have sex in exchange for food on the table for their children. Empowered women will raise well mannered, morally upright children who will not grow into deviants running around having indiscriminate sex.

EMPOWERED WOMEN WILL PROVIDE A SOUND FOUNDATION TO SOCIETY.

These are just three things that the government can do to prevent the figures rising further than 7.4%. They may seem sort of naive, but the truth is they are achievable. They are achievable if the folks in Nairobi behaved like the leaders they ought to be and strove at changing society – for this is part of leadership. Kenya and indeed African leaders can change the course of this terrible disease if they want to.

Some of them like our dear president have more than one wife (or some other hazy definition – partner, wife, concubine etc). What message are we sending to the young. When leaders are allowed to run around having illegitimate children we set a bad example. It should start with leaders having responsible sexual relations and then preaching to the masses to have responsible sexual relations.

Otherwise millions more will die. Millions more will be orphaned. And millions that could have been spent building roads and schools will instead be spent on funerals and health costs.

I think I’ve caught Obamamania too

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The speech and the pictures from Berlin did it all. I am a news and political junkie (no apologies) and have been keenly following the US presidential election ever since Iowa set things rolling in December of last year. Until today, I had been caucious about Barack Obama – I mean I read his two books and saw in him a great person but I never really bought the idea that he is the man the United States and the world needs right now.

In Berlin, Obama won me over. More than 200,000 Europeans and citizens of the world (I saw some Angolans in the crowd) showed up to hear him speak about world unity and the idea that we can change things and make life better – however marginally – if we choose to. What won me over was not Obama the person – for I have always admired Obama the achiever – but the idea that he embodies. The idea that this is the time for change and that he can mobilize not just his fellow Americans but citizens of the world into action for a worthy cause.

People like Obama – who can inspire millions – are hard to come by and I think that is why the world over most have come to like this son of a one time goat herder as he likes to remind everyone listening. It is my hope that America will realize how much of a difference it will make to have a president that can inspire beyond their own borders and vote Democratic. But then again knowing Americans (well sort of since I’ve only been here for three years) a part of me still remains apprehensive about the sincerity of the poll numbers I am seeing so nothing is a safe bet yet untill I see Barack Obama on the steps of the US capitol being sworn in as president next year.

slavery in mali, sick and utterly disgusting

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The IRIN News website reports that thousands of Malians are still living in slavery in the North of this desert country.

It is a shame that in the 21st century we should still have Africans, of whatever descent, enslaving their fellow countrymen. Last year I wrote a piece on the situation in Mali and pointed out the developments that have been made in the fight against this most heinous crime. Locals however report that in the Northern towns of Gao and Menoka the vice is still rife with Touaregs as the culprits inflicting mental scars on the local Balla people.

Where is the AU on this? Where is ECOWAS on this? Slavery is a most degrading crime and should not be allowed, not only because of what it does to the immediate victims and their families, but also because of the legacy it creates. To erase the effects of this practice will take generations, and the sooner it ceases, the faster the Balla will begin the healing process and may be some day normalise relations with their former slave masters.

al-Bashir accused of war crimes and genocide in Darfur

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At last there is some international organisation with some spine. Although the practicality of this accusation is doubtful – nobody even dreams that al-Bashir, the genocidal president of Northern Sudan will ever appear in court for his crimes in Darfur and beyond – the symbolism behind it is powerful. It is powerful because it says it like it is. President al-Bashir’s mission in Darfur is genocidal and utterly criminal. Yes, he is is fighting rebels intent on dislodging him from power (and as I have stated before I am no sympathizer of rebel movements) but the way he is doing it in Darfur is not the right way.

The prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, brought the case against al-Bashir on account of the more than 300,000 deaths in Darfur over the last five years.

Again, al-Bashir may never see the inside of a cell in the Hague but it is a triumph for justice, or more appropriately, the quest for justice. Almost half a million have died and millions displaced while the international community ‘dillies and dallies’ about Sudan’s sovereignty. A nation forfeits its sovereignty the moment it starts butchering its own people. Period.

Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir and his kind throughout Africa and the world should be made aware of the fact that there are people out there who are dedicated to bringing them to justice. As usual, I am disappointed by the AU’s reaction to all this. I am kind of curious as to how the more outspoken (radical) presidents on the continent – Senegal’s Wade, Botswana’s Khama and Rwanda’s Kagame – will react to this. I hope that they will continue in their commitment to telling it like it is, unlike their more defensive counterparts.

On a related note. I wish more Darfuri rebels and Janjaweed militia alike could also be brought to book because all three parties (the JEM rebels, janjaweed and the government of Northern Sudan) are causing untold suffering to innocent civilians in this war.

Kimunya exit a loss for kenya

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Politics is a dirty game. To that let me also add that all human beings made of bone and flesh are fallible. These two truisms proved their worth once again today when Kenya’s Finance Minister Amos Kimunya resigned in connection to the fraudulent sale of the corruption tainted Grand Regency Hotel.

Corruption accusations, whether valid or not have robbed Kenya of one of its better Ministers in the post-Moi era. Kimunya was, for the most part, a man of principle sprinkled with pragmatism. He is credited for having brought macroeconomic stability to the Kenyan economy and restoring some sanity in the formulation of the government’s monetary policies. Most of all he is the man who was at the helm when Kenya had its best annual growth rate outside the first two decades of independence.

Most of his political detractors may have taken mileage out of the Grand Regency saga but the true loser in this case is not Mr. Kimunya but the Kenyan economy. Yes the man may have erred but by throwing him out we risk discontinuity in the setting of the economic agenda, which besides security, is the most important function of any self respecting government.

I am not saying tha there are no more Kimunyas out there or that corruption in any form should be tolerated. All I am saying is that the chances of our next Finance Minister being as successful as Amos Kimunya was are pretty slim. Most of our cabinet ministers are total clowns – I picture Kajwang singing and dancing on tv, Martha Karua with her vitriol etc etc. To me, Kimunya was one of the most level headed cabinet members and his loss is a real shame.

a tribute to Africa’s greatest son

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Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the former president of South Africa and arguably the greatest African ever in recorded history celebrated his 90th birthday the other night in London in an even attended by big shot politicians and celebrities. Listening to the comments made by those in attendance reminded me of just how important this man has become – not only to Africa but to the entire world. “He embodies the stand against injustice and poverty the world over,” one commentator said.

To me, the most striking thing about Madiba is that although he spent most of his life fighting against the evil apartheid regime in South Africa, the post-apartheid Madiba did not harbour the hatred or anger that you would have expected from someone who suffered so much under the system, including 27 years spent in jail. Instead, Madiba managed to channel the goodwill he earned towards reconciliation and a focus on issues affecting the poor and forgotten people of this world.

Perhaps a closer scrutiny of his personal life may reveal some faults – as I found out when I read his biography last summer. But these faults only serve to confirm to us that he is indeed human, and thus make him even more precious because his achievements are simply beyond most of us. He is easily the greatest African to have ever walked on this planet in all of recorded history.

He has undoubtedly entered the pantheon of hallowed Africans in history. Thank God for Mandela and may Africa bring forth more sons and daughters like him, especially in these very difficult times.

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY MANDELA. YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER, IN US AND WITH US.

How much longer will the world sit back and watch?

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As usual, the news coming out of Zimbabwe are not good. Images of armed youth chasing and beating opposition supporters and reports of whole villages being overrun by government operatives for the simple crime of voting for the opposition are in the least very sickening. Robert Mugabe, the ancient independence hero of the republic of Zimbabwe has vowed to stay in power and told his opponents that only God can remove him from power. Perhaps it is time Zims remembered the Biblical note that God works through the hands of men and do the necessary. The old man should be removed from office and exiled to some island in the indian ocean, or better still he should be exiled to Britain – the land that he has grown to hate and blame for all the ills affecting his people.

The problem in Zimbabwean has again exposed the dysfunction that is the continent of Africa. The de facto leader of the continent, one Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is on record as to having said that there is nothing wrong with Zim and that the international media should tone down on the negative reporting. Mr. Mbeki must be mad. The other presidents on the continent couldn’t care less. A few of them have voiced concern but without offering any concrete solutions. For now they seem to be bent on protecting one of their own. A real dirty shame.

The wider international community has also bought into the tactic of all barks and no bite. It has been left to the BBC, CNN and the spokespeople of the state department in the US and foreign ministry in the UK to condemn the actions of ZANU-PF and their supporters in ZIm.

I think it is time civil society groups across Africa held demonstrations to force their leaders to step in and talk old Rob out of power. The man is 84 and has been in power since 1980. In this period Zim has descended from being a food exporter to a country where millions depend on international food aid. It is time for him to go. And it is a real dirty shame that Africa and the rest of the world continues to sit back and watch as old Rob continues to sink his country deeper into the ground.