Opposition Politics on Its Death Bed

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Opposition Politics on Its Death Bed

The ruling elite is running a well choreographed scheme to discredit the opposition as just another bunch of losers. And it has worked well. 

Contrary to popular hype of opposition being a government in waiting, opposition of the day looks like a distraught dance band with no rhythm nor key. Each member is trying an instrument here and another there.

Odinga’s charisma is waning, Kalonzo  has a reputation that only he can beat, Wetangula is just as good as another politician from the crowd, he has nothing phenomenon to offer. Opposition seems not to have any agenda.Or rather their agenda is to discredit anything the government does.

‘IEBC must go’ was supposed to be their baby. A ploy to put them back into relevance and steal them headlines and valuable airtime. But President Uhuru(or rather his think-tank)  is smart, he had nothing to gain by keeping the current clout of IEBC employed-he gave the opposition what they wanted and the opposition agenda crumbled under their own weight. They now have no agenda but a desperate attempt to hang on.

Jubilee  and company have their wallet full and loose; an irresistible temptation for a hungry opposition politicians to ignore. They have assembled formidable propaganda machinery never witnessed before. The military well-remunerated and content .Most recently, the president has assented to a bill to reduce interest rate charged on bank loans.

Opposition is fighting against a government with everything at its disposal. The president has initiated a strong foreign policy framework that has positioned an otherwise ordinary nation into a major player in geopolitics. He has foreseen construction of major infrastructural projects albeit with a lot of criticism from the economic fronts.

On the other side of the divide, a once fiery politician that was Raila Odinga  is now reduced into a burning shell,he has lost the thunder that endeared  him to the nation and he is just another tribal leader with presidential ambitions. He lacks in facts and tact. He is not the orator with the golden tongue of the 2003-2007 onslaught.

Odinga should have been a nationalist who history could have judged favourably,but his stint in the post 2007 government as the prime minister exposed him as a frivolous politician just like any other and a cry baby who could not be trusted to run a government.

He rewarded his friends and relatives with plum government position and forgot the cries of his lieutenants. He listened to sycophants and kicked out his key allies in the  Mudavadis  ,Balalas and Rutos of those days-and recently  his  ardent advocate Ababu Namwamba. He became good at creating powerful enemies.

The aging politician surrounded himself with his clansmen who were kin to have him retired from active politics through alienating himself from levelheaded politicians and key strategists like Miguna Miguna.The result is that his statehouse ambition that looked like a grab away is now a fancy dream.

Odinga of the day has established himself as the proverbial mud happy pig who would pick fights with lesser ,non-starters in the model of  Duale and Kuria. He has degenerated to a level of no return and it would be hard to market his brand.

For a man who has been synonymous with opposition politics for close to a decade,2016 must be the new low.The next general election is nigh. Time to redeem baba or time to let go?

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In absence of steadfast leaders Lounge lizards run the country

 Just recently, an Israeli court sentenced a once powerful ex-prime minister Ehud  Olmert to a jail term for graft. And note that Olmert was forced out of office the moment allegations (mere allegation) of graft began trickling in. That is how a powerful democracy is run.

In established democracies worthy the name, there are no sacred cows and immunity from justice in the fight against graft.

If nations’ topmost leaders stoop to listen to self, they realize that only them have powers to stop corruption from grinding a country to a halt. He lets systems of government operate independently with no interference from lounge lizards,sycophants,awkward bedfellow and all the cacophony that surrounds the ruling elite

 If a country's leader righteously ignores the advice and  innuendos from indolent hangers-on, he gets at the helm of things and can make sound judgments.He is not prone to to be held ransoms at whatever cost.

The only problem where democracy is on sale is that elections are expensive and no presidential candidate wants to put a full gamble on it. Therefore, in the process of a campaign, he attracts all sort of loaded individuals and corporate that are eager to jump into his bandwagon. At this moment,It does not matter much how  the corporate and the flashy individual earn their bread. All it matters this time is that they are dumping loads of money at a campaign basket.

These benefactors and their cronies eventually run the affairs of a country through arm twists and blackmails. The head of state and government, commander in chief of all armed forces becomes their stooge, a puppet they can manipulate. He cannot make decisions that are detrimental to his benefactors and he is effectively in their pockets. After all, they paid the piper.

But that is not all, the political will to exterminate the rots and run a successful nation still lies with the top most leader. Unless he is not steadfast enough, he can choose to whiff out the lame ducks and play by ethical rules.

This begins in early days of the campaign. A righteous candidate does take money from all and sundry. He only associates with entities that are in legitimate business and allows into the basket only clean monies.

The president should rid of himself these strange no-do-gooders and other bedfellows as early as possible. This allows everyone to be accountable without need for political interference, midnight lobbying and blackmails from these high priests of graft.

In as much as the masses would like to bring its leaders to account, they must answer a few fundamental questions that go begging every election year. Why are you (not we) voting for this candidate? Do I know this candidate is,or am I relying on what others say about him? What are his ethics?

And thereafter, the masses will not accept to be bribed or brainwashed.

Russia vs Turkey: Who is the big boy?

The Russian regime warned Ankara that consequences would follow downing of their  plane and eventual killing of their bomber pilot.

For the records, Moscow has vehemently negated claims that the bomber jet had illegally crossed into Turkey airspace with Turks maintaining that the Russian plane refused to take order for change of course.

Now all this has turned out into a diplomatic push and shove that has seen Russia adopt a mean policy-Restricting Turkey’s imports into Russia, terminating employment contracts for Turkish professionals in Moscow as well as numerous gaffes and glitches.

On the other hand, the supporters of the former Ottoman regime are adamant of Kremlin’s sanctions arguing that they can do without the Russian prostitute imports to the rich Turks.

Vladmir Putin,a level 9 black belt karateka is a student of the ancient soviet union, he employs the time tested sanctions with  cold precision only Putin can master. Turkish shoes can’t get their free reign into the Russian market like before, there is no repatriation of foreign exchange to Turkey due to job cuts, Turkish fruits will rot on the farm. As war artillery glide closer to Turkish borders.

In short, Turkey has to pay.

On the other hand, Erdogan does not have to content with the secessionist Kurdi population but he would also be checking behind his back for a Russian rocket.

The situation is grim, and warmongers are waiting with bated breath for the fireworks. It is yet to be exactly clear how the European powers and the US will be factored into this equation.

Ankara is a budding power, a strategically located nation with a huge role in geopolitics of southern Europe and western Asia. With an economy on the positive trend and a good chunk of share in the international trade, Turkey’s influence is indisputable. Where as Russia for its stance on Crimea attracted criticism which led to it being bungled out of the G8,the old flame still burns from its belly and is not the  type to buckle from a challenge. Russia will fight.

The two leaders are going toe to toe.Erdogan warns Putin not to play with fire; Putin thinks Erdogan has just squeezed the wrong testicles. Battle line is drawn, but who will pull the trigger first?

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Self-esteem;

This article was written for the second issue of Belles Magazine Kenya, Women's Publication...

Amugasha Kalengeka

A very thin line separates an achieving woman from the rest of the crowd that has not much to floss about Amugasha Kalengeka reflects on the making of a power woman…

Do you like what your mirror tells you? Do you care or retain too much opinion about what other people think about how you look? That is not your problem; it is their problem, right? I would not give a hoot either.

Power women are built around their self-esteem. They ooze of confidence, soar with the eagles and no amount of negative comments and cynicism can sway their feel good image of self.

If you think you cut below the mark, take this as your homework; get acquainted to any woman at the helm of things out there and she will tell you that getting comfortable in your skin is a major step towards your personal growth in various facets of life. Be it your career, relationship, business you name it.  

Women with sleek sense of self-esteem strike and maintain contacts with ease, get promotion or cut lucrative deals for selves and their organization.

 These, they accomplish while their peers spent  much of their time on the mirror b**ching about things lipsticks as the rest fall unconscious from hunger (apparently to slim up).

Ok, I haven’t seen anyone who has managed to run out of their skin. It is the feel good air that you create around yourself that rubs on the people around you. If you think of yourself as beautiful, voila! beautiful you become! You don’t ask people for approval ,like if  they think you are too plump or too dark because you know that you can be only you and nobody else ,and appreciate it just right.

Not everyone has to think of you in their terms.  What some people will see as a butterfly some people struggles to see the inherent caterpillar. Others that give not so appealing complement might just be doing so to cover for their personal feelings of inadequacy. By pulling you down, they feel sufficiently elevated. Smile and walk away.

So, being tall, dark, short, light-skinned only strikes from the angle you want to gloss about. It hasn’t  ever defined anyone’s destiny unless one want it to.

Forget what a guy thinks of a lady. If he is the dumb type, today he will be infatuated by curvaceous looks tomorrow he worships and kisses the exact opposite.Mmmm?!

Observe your diet; hit the treadmill to keep yourself fit and not to please a mortal soul. Wear that sexy lingerie, keep the mascara not to earn anyone’s approval but feel good about self.

When you are comfortable with self, you direct your energies and resources towards other worthy course. You have no time musing over what other find to be inadequacies. You are in control, you prosper and they call you power woman.

Will Rwanda dethrone Kenya as the next big thing in East Africa?

Rwanda is now stable. Economy on the rise and some pundits think it is on its way to claim a place in the bargain of nations-and while at it, dethrone Kenya as the East Africa’s economic giant. That’s a blatant lie.

Rwanda acquires a new constitution in a semi-democratic referendum that clearly hoodwinks a section of’ international community’ and a majority of voting Rwandese masses.

Let’s first be clear here, ‘international community’ especially the US had no business in telling Kagame whether he was right or wrong in seeking to extend his term. It is none of anyone’s business except the Rwandese public.

Yes, that referendum was well choreographed to suit the incumbent president’s interest is a fact. And that the pro-new constitution campaign was a well- oiled state machinery is unquestionable-it is standard practice anywhere in Africa …and yes again only Rwanda says and decides if they want to die by the firing squad or mercy killing.Either way they already had elected themselves to die.

In any case, if international community (if there is such a thing at all as international community, since this term is construed in many context to mean the west and its lynch mob)  had the heart to assist an ordinary Rwandese, should by matter of help only have funded public education done by Rwandans themselves  to elaborate on contentious issue. Or even encourage a healthy public dialogue on whether to adopt or not to adopt the new sets of laws.

 Not telling Rwandans what they need to do! Who the f**k is US to Rwanda anyway? A messier? A brother? No, just a lousy capitalist protecting its interest.

No two economies share the same dynamics, it is therefore preposterous for  Uncle Sam and other cry babies to demand methods  that they think should work for Rwanda. This is outright, uninvited interference into the running of a sovereign state.

That is where the west lost the plot to China. Nations are no longer easily duped by promises of a big brother’s protection. They engage in give and take like equal partners and if this is not the case, everyone walks to different directions.

In the illusion of peace is a deep seething anger of the Majority Hutus who unenthusiastically stay under the government of a former Tutsi rebel fighter. There is fear of each other rather than the requisite respect. And at the slightest trigger-well, fireworks! The poor Hutu have no choice but to be bought into submission by the affluent and politically well-positioned Tutsis.

For a landlocked country barely the size of a Kenyan county, Rwanda is still a toddler in its diapers and cannot match the economic clout of veteran wheeler dealer that is Kenya.

Kenya is power broker, a nasty competitor who won’t be bullied by seasoned powers in quest for what she wants. She ventures into the wild, beat her nemesis silly, strangle her and display on the roadside as warning for would be detractors. With the aid of an unassailable intelligence and counter-terrorism mechanism, Kenya walked into the murky waters of global terror with umpteenth success. And to smash rotten eggs on the faces of the west, dared into the domain of Al Qaeda that the US with all hullabaloo of its military strength failed miserably.

The East African bully does not rely on aid and grants like Rwanda. Funded by a budget purely from it pocket, boast of a growing number of middle class population, has increased energy production and has a well defined foreign policy that defines its terms of engagements.

Kenya’s multinationals are reaping big in the African market and its technological might is at par with the best in the world.

So can Rwanda take Kenya’s space? Not in the next century. Rwanda is in the league of South Sudan and other Banana republics. Kenya is flexing its muscles against the best of the world powers and can only play in a friendly tournament with Rwanda but not the same league.

Rwanda has first to learn its steps. Learn to bite, chew  and swallow before he can partake into competition with dirty fighting Kenya-just ask the least developed nations that were at the WTO summit. They were into a bargain for a common voice with Kenya as the lead prosecutor for their course.But what happened? Kenya spit into their faces and told them that it is not about a group of nations- it was individual effort. She went for the juggler of major powers, got her cut of the deals, sealed and walked away-as the rest waited for father Christmas to hand them goodies. Forget it! You gotta have your own balls to impregnate the fair damsel.

That is Kenya for you, the world's next big thing!.

Stubborn Gunners Raids Anfield to Keep Alive Champions League Dreams by Amugasha Kalengeka

Yet again Robin Van Persie does not disappoint, measures up to expectations and hammers in a brace to beef up arsenals champions league campaign.

But that is not all, RVP (as the gunners captain is fondly called in the realm of arsenals’  fans )knows very well that his golden boot chase is up and running-a  befitting crown for superb finisher in his caliber.

Now the gunners lies comfortably at position four on the table- just four points behind Tottenham ,another London club that fell victim of arsenal’s bullet last weekend .

It was an epic journey .Arsenal survived an eleven minute horrendous side net, a couple of counter attacks from the home side and a seventeenth minute penalty to carry the day.

But what clearly comes out is that the arsenal team defense is coming of age, that is, if their composure and heroics are anything to put on the table.

The guests would however be grateful to their young Polish custodian Wojciech Szczesny for his outstanding saves between the posts. He does it well by purring off a penalty spot kick and a subsequent rebound both by Liverpool seasoned hit man Dirk Kuyt .

Liverpool buoyed by an ecstatic crowd in the 45 thousand plus stadium were on the prowl most of the 1^st   half making arsenal get contended with half field play.

Notable on the attack is Liverpool’s controversial forward Luis Suarez who makes a fantastic  39^th minute dribble past arsenal defence but he fails to find the back of the net. Another chance for Liverpool in the score sheet is denied by the wood work.

A frail arsenal in the 1^st half had a disjointed game.Passes could not connect, and one could say they were lucky to survive Liverpool’s hearty attack.

The hosts were at it again, the crowd humming forcing a panicked Laurent Kocielny own goal in 22^nd minute when he connects with marauding English Jordan Henderson volley.

But Liverpool fell by Van Persie header after the defense failed to clear Sagna’s  31^st  minute superfluous cross .

Second half was a balanced session, a first half ineffective arsenal found their footing, with Liverpool serious threat-a pall driver by Downing going wide.

An injured mikel arteta 48^th minute substitute Abu Diabi proved in effective forcing Wenger to recall him back for the youngster Alex Chamberlain.

 The difference in the game was however  Van Persie’s 90^th minute goal from Song’s cross-a goal that cast the carling cup champions to the 7^th position in the league standing, giving arsenal a crucial three point cushion against fellow champions’ league contenders Chelsea.