Just went there, as I always do, once in a while and found this:



What happened to such a good blog or have I missed something?

Ever since the Government announced its intention to sell off a portion of Safaricom Ltd, there has been confusion about the company’s fair market value.


Vodafone PLC had offered $100 million about (Shs 6.7b) for an additional 10 per cent stake but the Government refused saying that the offer was too low. At that price, Vodafone had valued the company at Shs 67 billion (6.7 x 10 = 67). Then in this year’s budget, the Government announced that it expects to raise Shs 35 billion from the sale of 25 per cent of Safaricom through an IPO at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. That puts the value pf the firm at Sh140 billion (35 x 4 =140).


But recently, ODM, when criticising the sale of 51 per cent of Telkom Kenya to a strategic investor, stated that with 8 million subscribers, the fair value of Safaricom is about $8 billion or Sh520 billion.


Is the fair value of Safaricom Sh67 billion, Sh140 billion, or Sh520 billion? Investors value a company based on its potential to make good returns. This is assessed from profits and value of net assets. Safaricom made Sh12 billion in 2006/07 and had Sh33 billion in net assets at the close of the financial year. To get a fair value, we compare it to an equally profitable company and one in a similar line of business.


In the first category, East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) is appropriate. It made a profit of Sh6.1 billion 9after tax) in 2006/07 and its shares are valued at about Sh150 each at the stock market. EABL ahs 659 million shares, therefore, its market value at the NSE is about Sh99 billion. This means that investors are willing to pay about 16 times the profit for ownership of this company. If we apply the same ratio to Safaricom, we get a market value of Sh192 billion (Sh12b profit times 16).


The net assets of the two are Sh19 billion for EABL and Sh33 billion for Safaricom. That is, EABL’s value is about 5.2 times its assets. Therefore, using the same factor, the market value of Safaricom should be Sh 172 billion (5.2 x Sh33b).


Among those listed at the NSE, the company in the closest line of business is Access Kenya. It made Sh47 million in net profit in 2006 and had Sh130 million in net assets on 31st December 2006. Its current market value is about Sh3.6 billion. Applying the same factor to Safaricom yields a value of Sh924 billion- higher than the total value of all the companies at the NSE! Comparing the net assets of the two companies yields a Safaricom value of Sh 913 billion. The average value from the above calculations is Sh550 billion.


Nonetheless, the government expected Sh 5 billion from the sale of 51 per cent of Telkom Kenya but it got almost Sh 27 billion. If it can repeat that feat, then we can expect to get about Sh190 billion from the sale of 25 per cent of Safaricom. That translates to Sh760 billion.


(Article appeared on Sunday Nation 25th Nov 07. Article by Mungai Kihanya – www.mungaikihanya.com)

I am not good at announcing my blogging sabbatical leaves and returns. I just vanish and reappear in the hope that I do not have fanatical disciples whose daily bread is my lost mind. Sometimes I feel like I was abducted and re-engineered to do their bidding. Not fans. Aliens. Not a good cause!


Rose Kimotho of Regional Reach, well known for Kameme 101 FM has done it again! This time with a 24 hour news channel, Channel 29, dubbed ‘K24’ – All Kenyan, All Time. I thought it will be a TV version of Kameme FM. Nay. It has shed the expected vernacular focus. K24 has a sizeable number of new faces in the media industry. In its top cream team is Eric Latiff who started in Kameme, went to KTN as a news anchor and is now back to his roots. Another media golden chap is Bernard Otieno, former Nation TV sports news presenter and a mid-morning presenter at Nation FM, now Easy FM.

As usual, we sit in the periphery and observe its progress. Going by the fact that it is only one week old, broadcasting test transmissions, with big shots in the corporate world choosing to advertise on it, it is on its way up or down.


***


I have heard people singing worship to NTV’s ‘Cobra Squad’ scripted and directed by Alfred Mutua, the Kibaki Government Spokesman whose hobby is into scripting action movies. Ha! It reminded me of the days of KBC ‘Tahamaki’ the crime bursting action series in my boyhood. Maybe it is the age gap, but Tahamaki made me shiver to the point of nearly wetting my pants. It made me harden my resolve to check under the bed, an unconditional reflex routine to date.


Cobra Squad is naught! The storyline may make some sense to be less harsh on Mutua but the characters are fake and unconvincing! The storyline is a plot not a reality. The stunts are bogus! The gun shots are flashy! The toy house bursting into flame was phoney! Dubai is a mirage, super-imposed images! Alfred should focus on making his characters internalize their roles. Mutua should watch more of Tahamaki re-runs.


NTV should invest in something better, maybe rekindle Wingu la Moto. Just like KBC should find something better for Inspekta Mwala to do.


On the other hand, thumbs up to ‘Tahidi High’ on Citizen, ‘Makutano Junction’ on KBC and ‘Papa Shiradula’ on Citizen. Mama Kayai and Ojwang’ in Vitimbi and Ondiek and Alexander Josphat in Vioja Mahakamani still make my increasingly stone-faced face crack a smile if not a laugh.


***


I bought a loaf of bread the other day. It has been a while since I bought one and was shocked to be charged Shs 32 for the 12 or so slices of 400grams of puffed up wheat. The kiosk mama told me that is one of the cheapest brands! What’s wrong with our economy? What happened to the 22 slices of bread we used to share in a family of six? Really, times have changed and things are better, aren’t they?


Surely, this would not have been enough for our gluttonous stomachs then! Such spiralling prices remind me of the Kibaki’s much touted 7% growth. High bread prices mean better prices for wheat farmers, they say. I have slight of doubt about that but not feeling fiscal and monetary at the moment.


***


And the dollar! Kibaki is so good it has depreciated and our Shilling is much stronger. In a matter of months other African countries will base their currency to the strong Kenya Shilling. I think it is time we shifted our base currency to the Euro or even better the Japanese Yen. Our export producing farmers and tour operators are not having a ball.


***


Into politiks, ‘mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ I always wonder whether either of them has the future of Kenya at heart. If so, then, we have very patriotic, nationalistic and angelic individuals among us, whose interest it to better the lives of Kenyans.


To consider the good of others before theirs. Ready to die for the world in general, Africa particularly and Kenyans specifically! No selfish interest, no vengeance, no hate, not tribal, just the general good of mankind. For whom is heaven created for? Kenyans are screwed! Damned if they do, damned if they do not.

Dr David Awour, the scientist who prophesied in February this year that Nairobi will be hit by massive earthquake destruction is at it again. A week after the seismic tremors experienced in most of East Africa, he has prophesied that more catastrophic destruction is on its way.

God is still angry with Nairobi and has vowed that Nairobians will wake up one day and not know where to go to work. Most of the buildings will be brought to the ground by the quake. The bone of contention is more on the sins of the men of God who have desecrated God's altar and done abominations more than that Nairobians yields to the sinful nature way too much. There is no way out for sinful Kenyans unless they repent in sackcloth in a national day of prayer. Yeah, sackcloth! God will accept no other penitence other than the one done in sackcloth. Full Stop.

My business mind tells me this is a golden business opportunity to convert sisal sacks into wearable sackcloth. I hear sounds of Amen. If simple tremors occur now, Kenyans will troop to my stall full of sackcloth. I will just make sure it is away from tall buildings and is made of sackcloth. It should be next to open ground where people can kneel and cry to God. It will be safe from the collapse of tall buildings. I digress.

Massive earthquake destruction will lead to loss of lives in Kenya, says the prophet. Inquisitively, I ponder: Is death really a punishment? To me death is an eventuality. If you escape gun shots, disease -terminal or otherwise- accident, murder, fallen buildings, lightning strike, drowning, earthquake, famine, suicide and all others causes of death, death will still be your destiny, a certain eventuality. Does it really matter that you don't die today and die tomorrow? Between a JP who lived in 001BC and one who lives in 2007AD, who is more advantaged? Who will have more life than the one who will die in 500PC (Post Christ). Does it matter if a departed loved one died a day later? Mmh I am mixing things here.

Another angle to it, is, why is God interested in atoning Kenya, Gomorrah style? I thought the biblical gospel as opposed to the old testament decrees that God has allowed the rice to grow along with the weeds? Only in harvest time will the rice be separated from the weeds. Rice to be threshed and put in the barns. Weeds to be gathered in bundles and burnt. Attempting to burn the weeds as they grow in the rice fields will burn the rice as well. Let them grow until harvest time is the biblical philosophy. Or is Kenya full of weeds relative to other countries?

Well, judgement day is nigh according to the prophet. Repent or perish! Just like John the Baptist's voice that cried in the wilderness, will Kenyans listen? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, if you are in Nairobi, stay away from tall buildings.

It was one of those visits to the village. This was one of those clear sky and warm afternoons; a cool fresh breeze blowing from the east obviously making its journey to the west. All was calm and cool; peace having bonded with soil. I was strutting around enjoying the clean air oxidized overnight by the majestic blue gum trees which towered above all. These exotics “mithili ya ukoloni mamboleo” cunningly and quietly sip the underground water reserves that my grandson will one day need. There are no more indigenous Mugumo and Muratina trees that once skirted the horizons of this area. I would frequently stop to receive accolades from the ever smiling villagers.

In a huff, everyone in the shopping centre started running helter-skelter. The dreaded Mungiki gang had raided the village. No one would say so as they referred to the gang as “watu wamekuja” (people have come!). Before the stupid city boy in me could ask which people, everyone had vanished! Only then did I see vicious well-built young men like me carrying pangas and machetes charging towards me. It dawned on me that there are times you do not need to negotiate death with death. I ran as fast as my feeble legs could carry me. (Ha! I ran as fast as a deer….good old primary school days).

The only way out was to the local Wamicuba pub as all other shops were closed and there was no one in sight. Talk about survival. The usually crowded market was now empty with scattered vegetables and mitumba clothes the only evidence that minutes ago warm-blooded creation filled the place. I made a desperate dash for the Wamicuba pub as the waitresses struggled to close the doors.

In a second I was in and the waitresses had gone to hide after a failed attempt to close the doors. I did not make it far inside given that the place was dingy. It was my first time there and therefore I could not make out the geography of the pub. I knew there must be a backdoor to the court behind the building. I had to look for it fast and probably hide in the tea plantation beyond.

I did not make it. For one, some young drunk men blocked my way. Secondly, two members of the gang, Kamau and Njoroge caught up with me before I could decide in my head whether that was a staircase I saw to some rooms up there. The possibility of upstairs confused me since there are no storey houses around here. The young men sobered up from their kalikali gaze once they saw Kamau and Njoroge brandishing their newly sharpened pangas. One young man told Kamau not to harm us since we were all “inside the house” an apparent reference to Mungiki membership.

There was a moment of relief as Kamau smiled and it looked like he and his gang aide will leave us for more catch out there. Kamau is a bright young man and he demanded proof that we were all truly inside the house. In his mind he devised a simple way of telling the wheat from the tares; the greeting style! It was not a simple handshake affair.

Kamau clamped his fist and directed it towards me.

“Hii hooo!” Kamau roared. I was caught between the estate sewage and the Nairobi River. What do I say now? I wondered.

“Hiii” I muttered. There was no two way around it. Fate has conspired. Kamau slapped me hard and pushed me to the left.

“Kumbafu hii!” he snorted in satisfaction. In an instance, I was uplands meat. Ukitaka kuchinja nguruwe, chagua aliyenona, the Swahili say. I was a fat one to Kamau.

“Hii hooo!” Kamau roared again, clamping his fist towards one of the once-intoxicated man.

“Tiririki!” came the response with a firm knot of the clamped fists. That was it. The rest had it easy and I was led to the slaughter house.

I thought of running from where I had fallen when I failed the test. In a flash I saw my headless body gasping for breath and spurting blood like I was having a bloody orgasm. I saw my skinned head grinning from a green paper bag in the market place. I realized I deserved better or at least my flesh needs some decent treatment even in death. It had served me well for over twenty years. Furthermore, I could not just run from Kamau and Njoroge, his lot were too friendly it hypnotized.

I was led out of the Wamicuba pub. According to Kamau, they would not kill me, but I needed to be cleansed. They had to take me to the Italian from Sicily to be cleaned. We set out for the cleansing ceremony in the mountains, Kamau and Njoroge leading the way. They were sure as death that I was not running away. Like sheep being led to the slaughter house I followed loyally. There are times in life when you run out of options and destiny takes over. We passed by my shamba where I was growing grass for the government (ama hii gava ni ng’ombe?). I had even secured a Nissan urvan van which I used to ferry cut grass to the government silos.

Njoroge was curious and furious that I never converted the Nissan into a matatu. He was concerned that I denied them income. However, since I worked for the government I was an asset. There was no way the government would kill or imprison me. He reasoned further that while I worked for the government I would assist “The House” in varied ways.

As we approached the mountains, we had to jump some barbed wire fence that separated the village from the Nyayo Tea Zone plantations. It was an easy deal for Kamau and Njoroge to jump off the fence but the city boy could only manage to pass in between some two barbed wires that ran parallel to each other. The city boy got stuck as he bent and attempted to pass through the wires.

When I looked up, still trapped in the barbed wire, I saw a former school mate who was picking tea for the government. I asked for his help in getting through the fence and he pointed to another opening that would fit me. Still I let out a desperate whisper for help. “Unaona venye naenda, tafadhali nisaidie”. That was supposed to be a coded message to him that other than the wire trap, I was also in another trap that I needed to be rescued from.

Not far from there we arrived at a thatched hut inside the Aberdare ranges where the cleansing ceremony would take place. Kamau and Njoroge went in to brief the Italian from Sicily of their conquest as I waited outside. Down the valley I saw the majestic Chania River clear as crystal gushing down the mountains. A spot along the river bank where the cleansing ceremony would take place had been cleared. On the opposite side, more recruits were arriving, being led quietly down the valley to the slaughter house.

From the thickets behind the thatched hut, slowly, men draped in long jungle jackets and face painted in black mud started emerging. They were armed and were quietly surrounding the hut. They were the deadly Kanga squad from the Kenya Police who have been charged with the duty of clearing the Mungiki gang. My plea for help through my former school mate was bearing fruit.

The Kanga squad started shooting randomly towards the hut and the surrounding. As far as I knew none of the gang members nor the recruits had guns to return back the fire as the police spokesman would say. There was no ‘shootout’, just one-way shooting of the Mungiki gang and the recruits who were yet to join the gang. I was caught up in the melee. I was also a target of the Kanga squad despite being the one who asked for help.

When fate seemed thick, I switched to my duo role of a government task-man taking breakfast in a five star hotel as I prepare to make a presentation of how we will deliver the Teams Fibre Optic Cable by June next year. In front of me are eggs, bacon, cornflakes, uji, fruit salad, sausages, an assortment of beverages and bread. Anyway which one of the two would a city boy prefer; in a thicket being shot at and pumped with bullets or taking a fatty breakfast?

Reuben Kigame, a popular Kenyan gospel artist and Christian apologetic is set to remarry on 3rd August 2007 to one Julie Alividza Mugone. Kigame as a singer has a number of gospel hits to his name such as 'wan wadhi ka Yesu', 'wastahili bwana' among others with his Sifa Voices team. As a christian apologetic, he once stood against Benny Hinn's doctrine while the latter was on an evangelical mission in Kenya in 2000.

Kigame, who is blind, lost his first wife, Mercy, in a tragic accident on September 6 2006. For Kigame's young family, relatives, friends and fans, this was traumatizing news and all wondered how Kigame will sail through the loss. He had just launched Fish FM, a Christian radio station in Eldoret. Getting another helper will go a long way in helping Kigame and his young family cope with life.

According to the Bible a spouse is bound to the other as long as the partner is alive. After death one is allowed to remarry. A believer -allow the spiritual lingo- can also remarry if the unbelieving spouse leaves them. However, such a believer cannot seek divorce from an unbeliever so as to remarry. Except for divorce cases caused by immorality, one cannot remarry after divorcing. For the latter, they should remain single or be reconciled. If you are still married, you cannot remarry. Young widows should remarry asap! Over 60 are advised not to. They should be taken care of by their children or the church. If you remarry e.g. after divorce, you cannot remarry your former spouse if you leave the new spouse.

Listening to Paul, it is better to stay single, always; a sure way of human extinction!

A little excitement made me rush for the Nairobi Stars, the new tabloid on the street by Kiss FM. Despite the aggressive marketing campaign, it failed to impress and will be a while before I grab another copy. Could be I am not in the target market niche. I seriously wonder what went wrong at the editorial desk and the printing press:

• Despite being all coloured, the front page colour scheme was dull and not catchy.
  
• Coloured photos would have appeared attractive on glossy paper.
• Wondering whether they lacked a good artist to design the Nairobi Star Logo.
  
• www.nairobistars.co.ke is non-existent and so is nairobistars.com. Misrepresentation!
• Juicy headlines, no meat; just like the standard.
• Assistant health minister abortion assertion is one-week old news...a detailed account of how he helped a nun get an abortion would have been better.
• Story on Jeff Koinange lacked flesh, just stating the obvious and the rumoured.
• Where is the column by John Githongo? Hopefully his diary while in government and not preachy stuff on corruption, if his column ever comes
  
• Kamlesh Pattni on business: why Pattni of all the 'businessmen' in Kenya?
• How to start a business Pattni's way;
• Research: Know the big shots, who they listen to and how much cash will move them
• Expert Advice: A little pressure from above will make experts throw caution to the wind and you have your way. CCTV works wonders when distributing cash to politicians
  
• Documentation: Shred, shred, shred and physically trample the hard disks
• Patience: Greed is not being impatient.
  
• Risk: Be prepared for extended remand sessions, long hours testifying in commissions of inquiry into your business acumen and genius, public name calling etc. Money made in business still guarantees you a good life
  
• Good article by Carol Mutoko...had to 'bail' out her mom from industrial area police station for overlapping using an old police friend. Reminds me of "Do you know anyone?" Me thinks her column is better off as a blog post in KBW than in Nairobi stars.
  
• I expected something to the effect that Radio Africa Ltd will be listing at the NSE in the next four years in a public IPO.
  

Just like the Business Daily by the Aga Khan/Nation Media group, Radio Africa Limited (owners of Kiss FM, Classic 105 and now Nairobi Stars) have the financial muscle to sustain Nairobi Stars for as long as it takes without making money from sales. In addition, as long as full page adverts keep running through the pages, our 35bob does not matter anyway. With that in mind Nairobi Stars will keep printing, hopefully they will improve over time but for now I go back to good old time religion: the Daily Nation. Wish them well.

I still think politics sells. Politics is part of real life stories that happen every day. Even Business Daily shelves its business angle whenever there is huge political story.

Too bad that such a crazily marketed paper would not join the ranks of the Daily Nation and Standard so soon. Kenyans know no tabloids, just the gutter press!

The current debate that is even causing fist fights as per TV news yesterday has to do with legalization of abortion. Both KTN and NTV last evening in their 9PM prime news opinion poll had the same question: "Should abortion be legalized?" Viewers voted Yes/No via SMS.

I followed both stations' results at the end of the news bulletin.

KTN viewers voted:
Yes - 15%
No - 85%

whilst NTV viewers voted:
Yes - 15%
No - 85%

Interesting to note that same question got similar results. The polls are not scientifically representative of Kenyans views but are indicative of Kenyans antipathy to the abortion debate.

The abortion debate meeting where pro-life activists engaged their pro-abortion counterparts in fist fights was organised by the human rights commission under a theme of women should have the right to choose. Asst minister for Public Health Dr. Enoch Kibunguchy -a gynaecologist turned politician- even admitted to having performed an abortion. He shares similar sentiments to legalization of abortion as his boss Charity Ngilu whose attempts to introduce abortion debate earlier in her tenure with a leaning to have it legalized hit a dead end.

One of the "lesser" contentious issues within the Wako draft constitution that was overwhelmingly rejected in the 2005 constitution referendum was a "backdoor" to legalization of abortion. The rejected constitution stated that life begins at inception. It went further to state that abortion is not permitted except as provided in an Act that was to be legislated by Parliament. Therein - in the Act to come- supposedly lied the trojan.

Kenyans are largely and religiously conservative. Issues like abortion are clamped in the same realms with homosexuality and to an extent prostitution where despite the fact that they happen in broad daylight in full view and participation of those who reject them, writing them into law is viewed like sending the Kenyan soul directly to hell without the benefit of a sojourn in limbo where destination-hell is fifty-fifty.

Just wondering.

I have been four-legged since March this year. It has been an interesting moment for me as I join the working nation on a jpmobil. I have seen Kenya in a different viewpoint and have learnt some good lessons as well as made several observations. Above all, I am learning to read the unwritten rules:

• Know the Highway Code but always remember the Matatu ruleth the highway. Give way.
• 
  
• Don’t change route just because someone calls an FM station and said there is a bad jam ahead. Even if he says he has been in that jam for the last four hours. Most often it is bad but not as bad as it is put, he is competing with his wife. Whose call will be picked, his or his wife’s? It is also a pastime for lonely guys who are stuck in traffic.
• 
  
• Always keep your boot clean, it may come in handy when you offer “unwanted lifts”
• 
  
• There is always a cheaper petrol station ahead, stop worrying about the red fuel alert.
• 
  
• Overlapping is overtaking on the left side. Is overtaking illegal? Get used.
• 
  
• A roundabout is for all vehicles; stop the “stick to your lane” nonsense
• 
  
• There are no zebras from Nairobi National Park criss-crossing the city, whiz past those white and black lines, lest I test my honk decibels on you.
• 
  
• Scientifically, the other lane is always moving faster; practically there is no problem filling in the crossword puzzle on the road.
• 
  
• Jesus said we love each other. Do not fret. That is why I am as close as I can be. Spread the word.
• 
  
• I know it is a roadblock but it is still thrilling to beat you to it.
• 
  
• Friday night? Saturday evening? Keep off the road you teetotallers of little faith; our cars knoweth the road home.
• 
  
• My name is a cyclist, I am proud to be a Kenyan. Spill not my blood.
• 
  
• We are a misery lot. PAYE, VAT, Road Levy, Insurance premium, rising fuel prices, car loan, mortgage etc. We can’t help being stone-faced.
• 
  
• Kibaki government is doing a good job painting the road in solid and dotted yellow/white strips to liven the road experience. Whoever told you such lines had a meaning is an idiot.
• 
  
• Without a policeman in sight, the traffic lights are just that: fancy lights. Move!
• 
  
• You are still a kid; brace yourself for more practical learning lessons.

Hadithi hii ni ya ukweli. Ni vitendo ambavyo wengi wetu tunavijua, kwani vilitendeka hapa kwetu. Watu wengi watakaoisoma hadithi yenyewe pegine watapajua mahali ambapo pametajwa. Ingawa hivyo, hii si hadithi ya mahali pamoja, ni hadithi ya yale yaliyotendeka kote nchini Kenya, na hasa katika jimbo la kati la nci hii yetu.

Hadithi yenyewe ilianza mwaka wa 1948 wakati Meja Blue na vijana wenzake walipotoka vita vya pili vya dunia na kurudi hapa Kenya. Meja Blue, na wengine wote ambao majina yao yametajwa hapa si watu wa kweli. Ni mfano tu wa watu wengi waliohusika nay ale yaliyotendeka.

Miaka kumi iliyofuata, yaani kutoka mwaka wa 1948 mpaka mwaka wa 1958, Meja Blue, Mumbi na watu wengine, waliandika historia ya Kenya katika orodha ya historia ya vitendo vya ushujaa vya wanadamu kote duniani. Ingawa hivyo hakuna ajuaye majina ya wengi wao, habari za vitendo vyao na hata makaburi yao yako wapi. Hata hivyo, uhuru tulio nao ulipatikana kwa damu na maisha yao. Kitabu hiki ni kumbu kumbu lao. Ningetaka kiwe kikiwajulisha watoto wetu, na watoto wa watoto wetu, taabu zilizowapata baba na babu zao katika juhudi zao za kupigania uhuru.

Wote waliotoa maisha yao kwa ajili ya uhuru wetu nawapa shukrani kwa moyo wote. Isingalikuwa wao, pengine hata nisingekuwa na uhuru wa kuliandika kitabu hiki. Mungu azirehemu roho zao milele.

…

Mvua ilizidi kunyesha. Maji ya mvua yalichukua mchanga na kufanya maji ya mito kuwa na rangi nyekundu kama damu iliyokuwa ikimwagika katika nchi nzima. Mabondeni maji yalitapakaa pote. Vyura nao wakajaa mitoni na visimani, na kufanya mashindano ya makelele kila jioni. Huko mashambani majani yalimea. Kwingineko hata mahindi, maharagwe na viazi vyote vilimea vyenyewe. Hakuna mtu aliyeruhusiwa kupanda chochote mashambani ili Mau Mau wasiende wakakitumia chakula kile, lakini hata hivyo, vyakula mbalimbali vilimea na kukua kati ya majani mengine.

Wanawake na wanaume walizidi kufanya kazi ya “Gitati” yaani kazi ya lazima kwa kila mtu. Kazi yenyewe hailuwa ya maana. Ilikuwa kuwaadhibu watu ili wageuze nia zao. Kila jioni saa kumi na moja watu wote walikusanyika nje ya kituo cha askari walinzi, na kuhubiriwa ubaya wa Mau Mau. Siku nyingine, wakuu wa serikali walikuja kuwaambia watu kuacha matata. D.O. mmoja aliwaambia watu wasipofanya hivyo atawakata vichwa vyao. Mwingine aliwaambia atawahamisha wote. Wahubiri wa injili waliwaambia watu kwamba wataangamia wasipoacha Mau Mau.

Ingawa watu wote waliwaambia watu kuacha Mau Mau, hakuna hata mmoja aliyewauliza watu kwa nini wanapigana, wala kusema kama vita vikiisha aerikali ingefanya nini juu ya ubaguzi, na ukosefu wa mashamba. Serikali iliamini kwamba Mau Mau ni watu waliojigeuza wakawa wanyama na hawakuwa na chochote cha halali walichopigania. Lakini watu wote, hata watoto wadogo, walijua walichotaka. Walitaka uhuru; walitaka mishahara sawa kwa kazi sawa; walitaka kusiwe na ubaguzi wa rangi.

Vita viliendelea. Nyumba za watu zilichomwa moto. Vijiji vilijengwa. Vikundi mbali mbali vya kupigana na Mau Mau viliundwa, watu wengi waliuawa, wengine walihamishwa, wengine wakafungwa, na wengine wakachukuliwa mpaka msituni na Mau Mau. Bila shaka mambo yalichafuka sana nchini mwote. Ingawa hivyo ma-chifu, na wafanya biashara wengine, walitajirika sana.

…

Jumatano siku moja, watu wote wa kijiji cha Ngaini waliamka asubuhi mapema na kukuta kijiji chote kimejaa askari wa K.A.R. polisi, na askari wa ulinzi. Hakuna mtu aliyekubaliwa kutoka nje ya nyumba alimolala.

…

Baada tu ya dakika tatu au nne, mapigano yalikoma ghafula kama yalivyoanza. Waliletwa hapo mbele yao, huku watu wakijionea na macho yao, waume watatu ambao walikuwa wamekwisha kufa. Wote walivalia makoti meusi machafu, na nywele zao zilisukwa kama za wanawake. Kila mmoja alikutwa na bunduki ya kujitengenezea, na chombo kidogo begani walichotia chakula. Walilazwa chini hapo mbele ya watu na wote wakaulizwa kwenda kuwaona.

Pamoja na waume hao, waliletwa Mahinda na mke wake, wote wawili wakiwa na pingu mikononi mwao. Ni nyumbani kwao hao Mau Mau walimokuwa wakitoka walipouawa … Sheria ilikuwa imepitishwa kwamba yeyote angepatikana akienda wala akiwa pamoja na Mau Mau ni lazima atanyongwa.

… Mumbi aliwatazama vijana hao watatu waliokuwa wamekufa, na mara akakumbuka marehemu mpenzi wake Maciira.

“Kwa nini wakafa? Na ni watu wangapi watakaokufa kabla ya kupata uhuru au tutakufa sisi sote?” akajiuliza moyoni. Hakuwa na la kusema, na kama watu wengine, alinyamaza kimya. Hakuna mtu aliyesema lolote kwa muda mrefu, lakini wote waliwatazama vijana hao na Mahinda na mke wake. Waliwasikitikia na jambo hili liliwafanya kuichukia serikali ya mzungu zaidi.

Baada ya dakika labda kumi hivi, D.O. alifika mbele ya kundi la watu huku akifuatiwa na chifu na askari wa K.A.R. Wote walivalia nguo za kivita na kila mmoja wao alikuwa na bunduki

…

“Ninyi nyote mnawaona hawa watu. Hawa ni Mau Mau, na Mau Mau ni adui wenu. Mau Mau ni wanyama si watu. Ni wao wamewaleteeni taabu hii na mtaendelea kuwa nazo mpaka mtakapowalaani, na kuwatoa kwa vikundi vya serikali ...

Najua kuna watu kati yenu, kama mzee huyu na bibi yake, ambao wanazidi kuwapatia chakula magaidi. Watu kama hawa ni adui zenu, na serikali haitawaruhusu wao kuishi pamoja na watu wengine. Ni lazima wahamishwe na hamtawaona tena. Kama mtu mwingine yeyote akipatikana akiwapatia magaidi chakula, ni lazima nay eye atahamishwa”

D.O. alinyamaza kidogo na kutazama nyuso za watu. Wote walionyesha chuki, hasira na msiba. Kwao hao si wanyama. Walikuwa ni watoto wao, mashujaa waliotoa mioyo yao kwa nchi yao.

…

Wote walikuwa wamenyamaza kama kwamba hawakutaka kusikia maneno ya D.O. Wengine wao walikuwa wakimlaani na kuilaani serikali ambayo haikusikiliza Waafriak lakini iliwasikilaza wazungu wa mashamba ambao walitaka Waafrika wawe watumwa wao. Wao ndio waliokuwa adui za watu na wao ambo walileta taabu walizokuwa nazo.

Nakala kutoka kitabu cha “Kaburi Bila Msalaba” kilichoandikwa na marehemu P.M. Kareithi na kutolewa kwa mara ya kwanza mnamo mwaka wa 1969

************************************

“
Looking back to the start of my research in the summer of 1995, I had no idea that nearly ten years later I would write a book about wide-scale destruction in colonial Kenya and Britain’s vigorous attempts to cover it up. I was a Havard graduate student during those early days and had become fascinated with the history of the Mau Mau uprising, a movement launched by Kenya’s largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, who had been pushed off part of their land in the process of colonization.

From the start of the war in October 1952, tales of Mau Mau savagery spread wildly among the white settlers in the colony and at home in Britain. Mau Mau was portrayed as a barbaric, anti-European, and anti-Christian sect that had reverted to tactics of primitive terror to interrupt British civilizing mission in Kenya …

While the Mau Mau insurgents claimed they were fighting for ithaka na wiyathi, or land and freedom, few people in the Western world took seriously the demands of these so-called savages. The Mau Mau were said to be criminals or gangsters bent on terrorizing the local European population, and certainly not freedom fighters.

The British mounted two parallel responses to the rebellion. The first was in the remote mountain forests of Kenya, where security forces engaged in a drawn-out offensive against some twenty thousand Mau Mau guerrilla insurgents. In difficult forest terrain it took over two years and twenty thousand members of Britain’s military forces, supported by the Royal Air Force, to gain control over the Mau Mau insurgents, who were armed largely with homemade weapons and who had no military or financial support from outside Kenya.

The second and lengthier campaign was directed against a much larger civilian enemy. The British and their African loyalist supporters targeted some 1.5 million Kikuyus who were believed to have taken the Mau Mau oath and had pledged themselves to fight for land and freedom. The battlefield for this war was not the forests but a vast system of detention camps, where colonial officials reportedly held some eighty thousand Kikuyu insurgents.

…

Certainly, the Mau Mau war was a fierce struggle that left blood on the hands of all involved. But in considering the history of this war, we must also consider the issue of scope and scale. On the dreadful balance sheet of atrocities committed during Mau Mau, the murders perpetrated by Mau Mau adherents were quite small in number when compared to those committed by the forces of the British colonial rule. Officially, fewer than one hundred Europeans, including settlers, were killed and some eighteen hundred loyalists died at the hands of Mau Mau. In contrast, the British reported that more than eleven thousand Mau Mau were killed in action, though the empirical and demographic evidence I unearthed calls into serious question the validity of this figure.

I now believe there was in late colonial Kenya a murderous campaign to eliminate Kikuyu people, a campaign that left tens of thousands, perhaps hundred of thousands, dead. Mau Mau has been portrayed as one of the most savage and barbaric uprisings of the twentieth century. But in this book I ask we reconsider this accepted orthodoxy and examine the crimes perpetrated by colonial forces against Mau Mau, and the considerable measures that British colonial government undertook to conceal them.

“

Excerpt from the preface of ‘Britain’s Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya’ by Caroline Elkins

There is no other better way to spend Madaraka day than to revisit our freedom history.

Hope you had a good one.

" Following the recent events arising out of some failed sections of roads under rehabilitation in Mombasa town and the subsequent public debate on roads related issues, the ministry would like to clarify some issues related to the ongoing works in Mombasa.

... The failed section of works under rehabilitation in Mombasa which were less than 2% of the works carried out were as a result of overheated bitumen which made the bituminous mixes become brittle hence disintegrated under loading and ingression of water.

The ministry engineers had already instructed the contractors on 4th May 2007 to remove these defective works even before their failure was apparent to the public ...

... The ministry has always endevoured to ensure that good quality work, meeting the required standards and specifications, is carried out without any compromise

... Incidentally, immediately after the illegal arrest and prior to the matter being raised in Parliament, I had personally written to the permanent secretary, secretary to the cabinet and head of public service expressing my concern about the unprocedural behaviour of the government spokesman. I have not received a response on the matter to date. What conclusion would anyone arrive at when a senior officer from that office carries out illegal action and the chief administrator of that office refuses to respond to my concerns?

... It is perplexing to note that some journalists are stating that the illegal arrest of contractors and engineers is a small matter hence implying that I should not have complained the way I did. The arrest was illegal and was ordered by unauthorized person. The person who ordered the arrest is a journalist and is therefore not surprising to see him being protected by some of his professional colleagues... rather than insults being directed to me from people like Gitau Warigi, who clearly had not done any homework on the matter.

... in conclusion, I would like to assure the members of public that the ministry will strenuously ensure that all works undertaken meet the highest standards of workmanship..."

signed
Simeon Nyachae
Minister of Roads and Public Works
Daily Nation 28.05.2007

The culprits had to come up with a "clarification"

"...Dhanjal Brothers Limited notifies...the portion of the works carried out so far for the rehabilitation of the World Cross Country Championship in Mombasa in March 2007 are still intact and have not suffered any premature damage or deterioration... Any unwarranted arrest and detentiaon was illegal and improper."

Daily Nation 30.05.2007

In the Sunday Nation of 27.05.2007 this is how Gitau Warigi 'insulted' Nyachae;

"Dr. Alfred Mutua lands in Mombasa, then poses theatrically along a potholed road, orders the arrest of several contractors and government engineers, then all hell break lose.

It's not right ... ordering the police to arrest whomever he doesn't like. I am not even sure the sanctimonous Mr Simeon Nyachae ... has the authority to do that...

Mr Nyachae's reaction has been particularly disappointing and has only confirmed the highly intemperate nature of the man...

Does he honestly realize how funny he sounds when he threatens to resign from the cabinet because of somebody like Dr Mutua? Why doesn't he go ahead and do so anyway? Frankly, this was the kind of simple misunderstanding that could have been resolved without Mr. Nyachae having to throw a tantrum. It is beneath him, especially when the object is Dr Mutua.

Mr Nyachae's subsequent attempt to link the Magarini by-election is too bizarre and far-fetched to be taken seriously. "

Dr Alfred Mutua, the Government Spokesman had issued a statement regarding the shoddy road works on 18.05.2007
" It is disheartening to see that Government efforts to beautify Mombasa and to improve its infrastructure have been let down by shoddy construction of the roads in the city.

The Government is spending over 400 million shillings to rehabilitate the roads in Mombasa. Therefore, it is totally unacceptable that barely two months after construction of some roads, potholes have reappeared."

Abraham Maslow in his classic theory of human motivation, observed that as human beings meet their basic needs, they seek to satisfy successive 'higher needs' that occupy a set hierarchy. What that means, in simple terms, is that people are never satisfied. We are always seeking a higher 'high'. Quite hopeless if you ask me.

It is for the same reason that management gurus tell us that money is a poor motivator. In extrapolation, there is nothing that beats the disillusionment of success. After a trivia challenge at Longonot, you get psyched to conquer Mt Kenya. As soon as you are at the Batian peak you desire the Mt. Kilimanjaro challenge. This continues until you get to the peak of Mt. Everest. This may go on until you realise that you want more than the world can give.

In the Maslow's need hierarchy theory, I am always surprised that sex is a basic need. I thought it can always wait until later as per all the campaigns that have been drummed into my rebellious head. 'True love waits', 'Nimechill', 'SeINO (Say No) Sex is not Oxygen' , 'No Ringing No Dinging' and such. In the wikipedia article, excretion is also listed as a basic physiological need. Nairobi city council should know that and give the men who like watering their flower beds a break?

At the peak of the pyramid is the self-actualization level. This is where one's full potential is exercised after all other needs are satisfied. Very few get to this level and none get past this unless they burst out of their mortal shells. I see it as a godly state, the satisfaction of being beyond most human problems. At this stage people get consumed by a desire to live a legacy, to be respected, revered and to some extent worshipped by other human beings. It is a culmination of all that is vain and a push to transcend negative karma. There is a shared notion that service to humanity, Mother Teresa style, is the best and most content way to be self-actualized.

These are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I read Esther Passaris' two-page newspaper advert of her new found vocation. Despite her controversial fight to maintain a monopoly in street lighting, her intentions in poverty eradication are good and her cause need to be supported. Hopefully this is not a public sympathy whipping gimmick.

Nobel laureate professor Wangari Maathai literally ran up the Maslow pyramid. She is well maintaining her success in everything environmental currently through her one billion trees campaign mainly sponsored by UNEP. The campaign has received overwhelming support from all over the world barely six months after its launch. The target is to plant at least one billion trees worldwide in 2007. She is a good example of how to have a purpose and passion in life.

In the same note, Kenyan papers have been running full page ads by a foundation called Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation a youth-funding foundation aimed at building a new generation of qualified world class leaders in the region in all sectors: government, private and civil society.

But as my professor used to say, there is no free lunch. All these people seek a return, a reward for their efforts. Not necessarily monetary. It could be fame, self-redemption or a lasting legacy. At its highest is a better after-life for those who believe in one.

I have been receiving numerous insistent calls from a former classmate. We haven't met for years. He wanted us to meet urgently. When I get such calls I always insist on the agenda since I am suspicious of old mates who have found this urgency to contact me to do business.

It is worse when the meeting venue proposed is in downtown Nairobi and the caller has no specific job other than being in 'juakali' somewhere in Kirinyaga road. After ignoring the meeting requests for some months, I got another call last week from a former schoolmate, same school as the other one too. He is also in 'jua kali' . On more questioning these two former pals look like they work together in the whatever that they do.

Last weekend I travelled to the village and chanced to attend a funeral of a young guy who "died mysteriously" in Nairobi. He was rumoured to be in the hawking business though his means and lifestyle suggested some regular flow of golden eggs.

That is where I learnt that, there is a group of my former mates that have ganged up into a gang that extorts money by hook or crook. The young guy who died, according to the villagers, was a member of that gang whose presumed members were also present in the ceremony. I had a hard time letting myself off their hook during the burial. What I consider a 'chilling' though veiled message was delivered "Umekataa kututafutia kazi, sawa tu, tutajitafutia". The villagers, in whispers, have this well kept suspicion that the said gang also belongs to the dreaded cult that is spreading terror within Nairobi and its environs.

Another pal later told me in addition to the reported kidnappings of children for ransom by the dreaded Mungiki sect, there is more. Gainfully employed persons are being blackmailed to be extorted monetary. Businessmen were roped in ages ago.

A pal whom you haven't heard from for years, and is a sect member initiates contact with you. Jobless and living poorly, he starts by borrowing small amounts here and there. This builds to you giving him money for survival with no borrowing intent. Within this time, they get to know where you live, work, where you hang out and your close pals. This graduates to blackmail where every month you are expected to 'cough out' something to them. Dare you report or fail to give them money, they know where your old folks or loved ones are, a fact they keep reminding you. Obviously, they don't intend to one day call on them to say hello if you give them up or fail to meet their demands.

As reported in the press, those who have dared to report to the police about children kidnapping are "well" advised by the police to comply to be at peace. This sect means "business" and are oathed to it!

As for the nagging calls, I had to change my number, though I know its just a matter of time before they catch up. He could be genuine about the meeting but I don't want to take chances. I am extremely paranoid.

Kenyans have a reason to fear and be paranoid of this sect. Who will save us? The more force that is being exerted on the Mungiki by the police the more ruthless they are becoming. What is the winning formula to the Mungiki war? Where can Kenya get more than a million jobs to gainfully employ these youths and keep them busy from barbaric tendencies?

{JP expecting…}

I was watching ‘Promised Land’ last Sunday after channel hopping for a while and my remote landed on Citizen TV. Of late I find it hard to get a good TV programme I can watch especially when I arrive home early and feel like watching TV. On many occasions, after 9PM news, I am a ‘cabbage’; my eyes and tired mind cannot allow me to be a couch potato and watch the more interesting programmes that come after 9 o’clock news except on Mondays when I watch ‘Invasion’ on NTV. Other days, when I am not sleepy, I have to stay late trying to finish up some moonlighting project report.

Talking of Citizen, the TV station is getting more limelight than before. Citizen poached leading presenters from KTN like Catherine Kasavuli, Swaleh Mdoe and Louis Otieno in April. It also went for Ephy Hunja of NTV. Inclusion of captivating (hint: male perspective) news anchors like Kanze Dena of KBC and an “Adhiambo C” called Belinda Obura (though none beats NTV’s Penina Karibe in Male Attention Disorder-MAD) has given the station fans more variety. Citizen has surely stopped crawling and may soon be walking steady. Since the poaching, there has been good progress with upgrading the Citizen reporters from Windows 98 to Windows 2000, yet to get to XP status. Poor reporters nearly aborted the Citizen rebirth.

MaDemon: “JP you are MAD! By the way have you noticed the way Penina caresses her ring finger when presenting the weather forecast? I know you have ideas. Any expectations?”

JP: “Get behind me satan, I wonna blog”

Apart from for the dull rift valley mural / painting (not sure) backdrop and amateurish camera close-up that leaves one staring at the presenters’ skin pores, all looks bright for Citizen. Catherine Kasavuli is not as beautiful as KTN airwaves had made her and this is bad for Kasavuli die hards. It could be that Citizen buys makeup from Kirinyaga road! Nevertheless, I find it hard to miss Citizen’s prime time business news since it has a section where they interview investment professionals on NSE activity for the day. However they should cast the net wider and should not rely only on Tsavo Securities Agents and Old Mutual professionals. Before this interview section, I had nearly forgotten that share prices are also affected by such investment turns like Ex-Dividend, Cum-Div, Ex-All, Cum-All and other “ex-cums”.

MaDemon: “Now this gonna be a long post, not meeting my expectations”

{JP egotistically ignores MaDemon and continues…}

In the mentioned TV series, Rusell Greene goes to a new town with his family. They live poorly in a trailer. One day while at the beach, a small girl drowns and the man is the only one able to locate her position in the water when the search begins. He performs mouth to mouth resuscitation and the girl ‘resurrects’. The residents take this as a healing miracle and build huge expectations of the man’s ability to heal. When the town press later follows up with the stranger, he disowns the incident as a miracle. He reveals that he was able to trace the girl’s position by observing the movement of the small ripples and waves on the surface of the water. The residents however staunchly believe it is a miracle.

A woman sick with cancer is one culprit who abandons her doctor’s prescription to pursue the stranger’s prayers and a kiss-akin to the mouth to mouth resuscitation. She feels alright after the kiss and the news about her healing spreads all over building more expectations. She however deteriorates later and the paparazzi are on the miracle working newcomer in their global-custom unearthing ugly things about the family, turning the residents praise into wrath. The lady is later hospitalized and eventually dies.

The stranger and his family are blamed for misleading the public about his healing powers and accepting gifts and money in exchange for healing favours. He loses his job and the rest of the family is emotionally harassed by the town residents. All these expectations arose from an unplanned drowning saving incident and the stranger’s belief in angels, not that the stranger purposed to masquerade as a miracle worker.

MaDemon: “Oh my, the post is getting longer, get to the point JP”

{JP continues…}

I have been wondering, how we manage the expectations of others on us and our own expectations on ourselves. Can we really get away with “it is my life; I will live it the way I want”? When do we get to have courage to say no to undue expectations of others on us? I have come to realize that saying ‘No’ is not an easy thing to do.

“You have very good grades, you will take medicine (ha ha ha, read ‘pursue medical career’); our family will do with a doctor in our midst”, I had to say no to my parents career expectations. Quite sad coz they believe that there is a lot of wasted energy in the trivia things I do to make a living. Energy that would have been used to raise our once-trodden family stakes higher in the village through referrals: “jp, so and so is sick, go see him”, “my son is a doctor at Nairobi Hospital”, “jp my eldest son studied medicine at the University of Nairobi” how about that for a family-name redeemer!

MaDemon: “JP, you got to cut this beating around the bush, it is not going to burn like Moses’ by beating around it!”

JP: “Ok, I will skip the other stories”

To manage expectations better, at the bare minimum, I keep reminding myself to;

1. Learn to say “No” to undue demands from others. This has been the hardest since I usually go extra marathons to accommodate and please other people. Too nice to say no?

2. Set realistic goals for myself and review them from time to time. Over-ambitious is not a new vocabulary, I go for the galaxies and end up landing on the moon of procrastination.

3. Perform averagely during probation periods, just enough to get a confirmation letter. In my first job, I nearly killed myself over-performing and when the confirmation letter came, thereafter, it was an anti-climax for my employer. Hence, I go for average performance and on confirmation steadily improve on my targets. I do understand that average performance is a risk in itself, but seeing the “managed satisfaction” of my employer as I grow from strength to strength later on is thrilling. I am in control.

4. Define the scope of any business consultancy I undertake, not leaving it open-ended. This calls for use of number 1 since most clients want you do their accounts, draft a quality assurance policy, buy furniture, clean the floor and serve tea while you are being paid to write a business plan to be submitted to the SME Solutions Center. By the way, the IFAC funded organization is running a business plan writing competition.

5. I am still expanding this list. I have been Googling and making debates among pals in order to get a better perspective of this topic. Is it really my life or do others have a fair pie of it? Should I just ‘float through life’ or should I expect something out of myself? If the answer is yes to these questions, then to what extent should these expectations be? How do you manage expectations?

MaDemon: “Yaani JP you had to be that lengthy just to ask that?”

JP: “Yap Imagine! Number 5 is the epitome of my post, Go to hell MaDemon!”

MaDemon: “I am outta here, will be expecting you down there”

I am barely recovering from the Fifth of May 2007 Saturday morning news thunderbolt. Coincidentally, KQ flight 507 crashed on 5/07 date. A lot of questions but I will leave that to the investigators to tell us, hopefully.

The theme of death and human mortality has silently featured in my blog posts, a subtle background drive. I am sure it is a way of coping with my losses, some of which I have taken rather long to recover from. This tragedy in more ways than just being a Kenyan has put a toil on my mind and heart, I am in grief.

My sincere condolences to all those who lost their loved ones and to the KQ community. The way Kenya Airways MD, Titus Naikuni and his crisis management team have so far handled the crash despite the bottlenecks in Cameroon is laudable.

Paul the preacher once said that a time is coming when we will victoriously look at death in the eye and ask it/him/her ‘Oh death where is your victory, oh death where is your sting?’ in retrospect to the agony and heartache it caused us when we were on earth. That is a Christian viewpoint. When death strikes, anything that gives us hope and consoles our hearts that we are not as helpless as death trauma constantly reminds us, is welcome.

I also take this opportunity to express my distaste to a thread that ran on Stocks Kenya about KQ share price. While KQ will have to deal with business consequences that may arise from such a tragedy, it is unfortunate that “junk” investors would run such a thread on a Kenyan site hours after such a tragedy.

This is no different from a businessman who runs to an accident scene where his driver and delivery van are involved. He then starts concentrating on the condition and recoverability of his van unmindful of his van driver trapped inside.

Either way KQ is strong with strong business fundamentals which investors should research on or rely on qualified investment advice, not the junk tips and rumour tendencies that run on blogs and Kenyan forums. I am not in any way demonizing them, they have helped increase stock market awareness which is good for Kenya. However everyone (especially potential investors) should take what is posted on these sites with a pinch of salt.

In an UNRELATED loss, FarmGal pole sana. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the rest of your family.