There Should Be No Formulae on Foreign Policies

On the recent times, there has been hullabaloo in the media about South Africa shifting positions on its foreign policy.  These changes in position have elicited accusations and counter-accusations has sparkled a debate in the international relations academia whether foreign policy guide should be a rigid or flexible .

Although scholars of foreign relations led by the likes of McGowan and Shapiro have proposed various theories on foreign relation, I strongly believe that their can never be a general formula to approach broad spectrum of issues that bombard us each day. Each issue that crops up has its own uniqueness and reactions on it cannot be pegged par se on theories and formula outlined in a policy document.  

The idea that this document should be unbending in itself  irks as it brings an impression that people need to think along certain lines. Why should South Africa severe its lucrative business relationship with china just because of an insignificant visit by the Dalai Lama?

Each country operates under different, unique political, economical and social environment. The current status quo constant, the same foreign policy document cannot dictate relationship between say a country like Kenya and Somalia and Kenya and the United States. This is for a simple reason that these two countries have completely different environments and share different kind of relationship with Kenya. Therefore relationship between Kenya and the US will be more reciprocative than the one with Somalia since Kenya has more to loose with a severed link with the US than with Somalia. This is because Kenya benefits more from its trade ties with the US than Somalia not in terms of balance of trade but in the sense of corporate advantages that Kenya draws from this relationship.

It is therefore logical to say that an umbrella policy will not give required attention to the prospective partner since she will have to share it with another not so equally rewarding.  

Take another example in the principal of non-interference that graces most of these documents. When another country’s dictator stands in the way of the world’s general order will the rest of the world stand arms akimbo watching because they want to respect that country’s sovereignty?   

Policy should just be a general guideline, but reference to it should be a wholesome approach based on the surrounding factors on an issue emerging in the international arena. Foreign Policy documents must therefore be constantly reviewed to accommodate other new circumstances. The document should not abhor our reasoning and hinder critical thinking.

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA- KAKAMEGA

Feature-The Ikhonga Murwe

Travel Feature

THE IKHONGA

MURWE-The Place Where Your Sins Are Forgiven and All Your Problems annulled BY AMUGASHA KALENGEKA

It is 6:30 in the morning at the

South of Kakamega town. We are

Murwe-the mysterious crying stone

of Ilesi.The signature tune of a reverberating Isikuti can be heard

cutting through the thick fog laced

with the glorious sing songs of the

sonorous birds of Kakamega.

At this point we are facing the

Isukha community’s most sacred of treasures. Standing tall is a

panoramic view of a mighty 40

meters high granitic tor that has

features resembling the human

anatomy with ‘eyes’ dripping with

‘tears’  simulating someone crying.

The tor is green and thick with

mosses plowing most of its surface signifying survival through tests of

time, braving agents of denudation.

Our guide,Mzee Umahala Okubasu, 73,draws our attention to a caravan of semi-naked individuals coming through the Shiminyiro – a cave at the foot of towering rock.

“These are people of Oluswa

victims or in some case products of

incest”, said Mzee Okubasu,”they

have come here to be cleanced,

these rocks here have a magical

powers to clear away all your

iniquities  and problems-you just

have to confess and all your problems will glide away with the

morning sun”.

Shiminyiro is Luhya for, the

sqeezer, it refers to the attribute of

the rock that is believes to squeeze

out all the transgression from its

visitors.

Over the years the Ikhonga Murwe

has been a permanent feature that underpins the culture of the Isukha

people of Western Kenya. Apart

from Kakamega Forest famed for

its diverse birds and insects, the

Ikhonga Murwe projects significantly

as one of the pillars that

Characterize the western province tourism circuit.

According to Ephantus Kinyua,the

Western Kenya tourism circuit

manager, it is estimated that  about

3000-5000foreignors pay visit to

the mystic rock annually, pumping in

over ksh.3 billion to the economy in

form of the much needed foreign exchange.

As we take a sightseeing tour

around the crying stone we meet

with a snaking pilgrimage of

worshippers who have come to pay

tribute to their gods.

“They are from Legio Maria

sect”, Mzee Okubasu tells us, “they

make annual pilgrimage to this place

to fulfill their religious requirements”.

An eloquent skilled orator,

Mzee Okubasu takes us through the

myths, epics and folklores that

surround this gods bit of artwork.

Among the narratives imbibed into

Mzee Okubasu head is the story of

Nandi warriors who in frustration of

the stone’s sorcerous power that

helped the Isukha win wars against

them, tried to pull it down. It is said  the hundreds of warriors in the

failed attempt were struck down in

the rock’s lethal vengeance.

Oriedo Chuma, an anthropologist at

the mines and geology department

in Kakamega confirms that the

Ikhonga Murwe was formed 6

million years ago, long before man

walked the surface of the earth.

He explains that the ‘tears’ trickling

down from the rocks is

indeed poisonous water comingled

with quartz, alkali, feldspar and mica.

But to the Isukha people living

around the Ikhonga Murwe, the

crying is something they look

forward to because is a precursor

for good things to come.

It is no wonder that when famine

strikes, the Isukha asks the gods of

the mighty Ikhonga Murwe for intercession.

From fires petering out in the

presence of the morning light our

guide explains to us that some

rituals had just been carried out in

the heart of the night when it is

believed that the malevolent spirits

are asleep.

The western tourism circuit however

suffers some extreme setbacks from

the almost immotorable roads in the region.

Mr.Ephantus notes with deep concern

that the poor states of the roads and inadequate five stars

accommodation facilities has robbed

the region of the numbers in

tourism tariff in comparison to

places like the coast where Kenya

highway authority has concentrated

its efforts.

We culminate our journey by a visit

to the Isukha river, where water

from the sacred stones of Ilesi spits

into it with a thunderous gush. As

the Isikhu meanders through the

woods and the great Ikhonga

Murwe cry its heart out, we trace

our path back awed at the creativity

of mother nature.

Condom shortage? Blame it on Mututho

Condom shortage? Blame it on Mututho

The recently passed alcohol law is proving counterproductive if the sentiment in the grapevines is anything to go by. The reduction of drinking hours courtesy of this too much ado about nothing law has sends revelers into much thinking about a plan B. And from this thinking, a solution was hatched that seems more pernicious than the booze combined with its treacherous effects- the Red Light Districts.

The Koinange streets of this part of the world are alive today and kicking than never before. In stead of the booze (the condemned bottle) the drunkard now has with him a hip flashing night bird for company. A right thinking Kenyan can of course deduce the package that Mututho and the prostitute will be bringing to the harmless drunkard. The poor drankard who would have died in prime age of alcohol related ailments is now forced to either die early of STIs or rush for the revered rubber.

In fact in Nyeri ,(there is no doubt that people from this land are known to be the most enterprising in the country) night birds charge between ksh.300-1000 a round for revelers without condoms and as low as ksh. 20 kama una yako-as the advert used to say.

In such a hard time when Kenya is chocking with inflation necessitated by the greed in the oil industry, Ksh.300 let alone 1,000 is not everybody’s money. It is single meal’s budget. So a simple pack of three condoms that goes at 10 bob or sometimes free of charge would go along way in helping the poor ex drunkard save something at the same time have his fun.

Maybe we need to rethink again if we need this law again. But I don’t see us repealing it anytime soon. So, more rounds of condoms again Mr. Government!

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA-KAKAMEGA

University Elections –impunity at its budding level

It is saddening to see that elite university student who the society looks up to with so much expectation indulge in dodgy election theatrics in the model of voter bribery, hooliganism and smear campaigns.

University students as crème de la crème of the society are expected to be champions of proper governance and can only do so by providing proper models for the rest of the society to emulate.

Ironical as it may sound, aspirant politicians woe voters by buying them alcoholic drinks. The rowdy drunkards then pay back their benefactors by instigating acts of violence against their opponent.

In the same vain, candidates and election officials are nominated and appointed under curiously circumstances that cast aspersions on the credibility of the election process. Voting  is aligned in tribal patterns with aspirants urging their tribal foot soldiers to turn up in large numbers to vote for ‘a brother’. Most of all country’s party politics come into play and tribal realignment are taken to another level with top politicians grouping to support ‘one of their own’. Surely, are these the kind of leaders that we are grooming? Is this the kind of leadership that we want? Is this the system that we want to emulate?

Most of the student leaders use university election as a platform to catapult them to major elective politics in country. And if they employ the same gimmicks then the prospect of change in our political sphere becomes farfetched.  

And even more disheartening is the fact that other students applaud such misguided moves and even go as far as campaigning for and bankrolling such candidates. This is impunity at it is budding level.

In the 1990’s universities were known as parallel partners in the quest for transparency in governance and they were also a major player in the fight for multipartism. But with the current erosion in virtue, on what platform will universities stand to castigate errant leadership?

Universities are supposed to be centres of excellence where good leaders with good moral are nurtured. Therefore it remains solely to the university students and the administration to roll out sound models that the rest of the society will be eager to associate with.

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA

MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY-KAKAMEGA.

figure this out.....

Water Still a Pipe Dream in Kenya,

In the 1990’s the Kenyan government came up with colourful proposals and spirited campaign which ran under the slogan ‘water for all by the year 2000.’
The year 2000 then seemed too far and unreachable, but it has come and passed and the vision is just another in statistics of pipe dream. Now as the world celebrates world Water Day, Kenya has nothing to celebrate about, putting in mind the perennial water shortages in the country and graft allegations rocking the water ministry.

But water shortage is our own creation MAINLY because this country is endowed with wide arrays of water resources in form of reliable rivers and fresh water lakes spread evenly allover the country. What we lack is a proper and accountable management system in place to harness this resource for the good of the people.

Beside abundant lakes and rivers, our country’s highlands are dowered with adequate rainfall all year round. Unfortunately, this natural wealth is not tapped. In stead of being a blessing it turns out to be a monstrous disaster when it flows downstream to drown and displace people living there. The case of Budalangi’s annual floods is the unfortunate example.

As we speak today only 19% of all Kenyan has access to clean piped water. This leaves a good bulk of the population exposed to water borne diseases due to lack of this so much needed commodity.

In as much as only handful of people remain accessed to clean water; the problem of inconsistency in water flow to the few with taps will frequently persist. This is simply because the large population that is inaccessible to water will always puncture the pipes to draw water from them, effectively cutting the little water network in place.

It is also worthy noting that more than 80% of all people accessed to piped water are in urban area. There is dire need for the neglected rural areas to be connected with piped water not only to avert risks of water borne diseases but also to facilitate irrigation based agriculture if the country is to achieve food security for its citizenry.

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA-KAKAMEGA

SIDE NOTE:

World Water Day
The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. This site started in 2001 as a community space and repository where people can upload their WWD event activities and reports. The theme changes every year.

This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people ...and the urban landscape continues to grow.

38% of the growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt.

The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.

This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the defy of urban water management.

Save Water,Water is Life...some people somewhere are dying for lack of it.

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA-KAKAMEGA

LEADERS NOT SERVING YOU-THEY HAVE THEIR STOMACH

Kenya Has No Future in the Current Crop of Politicians

I have as much as possible tried to sit on the fence on the sizzling hot matter on The Hague but it seems I
can’t remain on the same position forever. Something needs to be made straight. And now!

First I would like to make it clear that the current political class is not there to serve your
interest, no, they have their only stomachs in mind.

When Uhuru Kenyatta is cornered because of matters of The Hague,we see him retreating to his tribal cocoon, rally his tribal loyalist and address them in Kikuyu to give an impression that their tribe is on the target here. So does Raila when the hit is turned to him.

What sycophants to these two leaders(if they are leaders at all) are not aware is that these people they so much hold in high esteem are not even thinking of them but their only personal gratification. When you strive to eke a living from the tough economic environment that these political elites create, their desire is to fulfill their personal ambition which is simply to be on record that they were this country’s president at some point. I don’t see how that is serving your interest.

The salvage of this country, I therefore want to believe does not lie in the current crop of politicians. Our messiah needs to come from somewhere else.

Quite disillusioning is a group masquerading as new visionary politicians when indeed their action sells them as a cut from the same old cloth as their predecessors who are not only their mentors but their fathers and buddies.

Look at Uhuru for example, for the years he has served in the government, he is not aware that the ministerial post that he is holding is not the president’s property but that he is there to serve Kenyans. Therefore according to your future president (Uhuru), he will not resign because the ministry of finance belongs to Kibaki and Kibaki has not asked him out.

As if that is not ridiculous enough, here is another one who would like to draw you into his fantasy-Kalonzo.Kalonzo wants you to believe that he is in fact doing you a favor by travelling around the world (of course your money foots all his bills) trying to dissuade the ICC against crucifying his friends. He is in fact telling you that his effort has drawn admiration from other countries and that from that admiration your country will be a super power in some days to come. And maybe you believed him and clapped for him. Your choice of course.

As this politicians take to the podium to expound their arguments, I can’t help but take note that Kenya has no future in them.


AMUGASHA KALENGEKA

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA'S WRITINGS: WASTED TALENTS-A novel by-AMUGASHA KALENGEKA

AMUGASHA KALENGEKA'S WRITINGS: WASTED TALENTS-A novel by-AMUGASHA KALENGEKA: " “Ha! Ha! Ha! d..."