The Bashir Debacle.

Bashir at the Promulgation in Uhuru Park.

In yesterday's Sunday Nation, someone wrote an article on the Bashir's escapade and why its in Kenya's interest to keep the man around. I had been one of the most angry people on seeing Bashir at Uhuru Park on Friday. But that article in yesterday's Nation, tanked me out and changed my opinion.

Bashir is indicted by ICC for genocide and crimes against humanity meted out on the hapless Darfur region inhabitants. This wasn't done by himself but by the guerrillas he supported for this mission since the Darfuris are against anything that Bashir and his Khartoum gvt stands for.

Bashir is president of Sudan and Southern Sudan and is deputised by Slava Kiir who is the president of Southern Sudan[GOSS].

Next year, South Sudan will go to a referendum so as to decide if they will wnat to remain part of greater Sudan or to be autonomous. Its a foregone conlusion that South Sudan will be the newest country in Africa. And this is where Bashir's safety is tagged.

The gist of the article is that; by arresting Bashir, the referendum will not be safe and fair meaning that Kenyan's interest therein will be at risk. The Kenyans who are in South Sudan for business opportunities are simply mind boggling and if a referendum isn't conducted peacefully, so much will be at risk. It now then, becomes important for Kenya to ensure that Bashir is not arrested so that South Sudan is safe and joins the EAC. This will also ensure that economically, it will depend on Kenya for oil export be it through Lamu or Mombasa. Do not forget that a refinery is in the works either at Lamu or at Lokichigio for oil from Uganda or better still S.Sudan.

Therefore, it becomes very imperative for Kenya to keep Bashir safe in the interest of the greater region, politically and economically.

After the referendum is done away with in South Sudan, they can then intercept him in air while to any Arab Summit in the region. At least, he will have served his purpose as far as Kenya is concerned.

The Raila Odinga Show.

As the local cameras canvased every face on the stage and the international lens stayed focused on Bashir, all Kenyans in attendance were watching one man.
It makes a statement when your entrance causes noticeably more cheer than that of the President of a nation. Say what you will about Raila Odinga, the people love him and swear by his every word.
So much so that he couldn’t even read his Oath of Allegiance without the crowd punctuating every comma with a cheer and every sentence break with an ovation. It was a sight to behold: every which way he strolled, dignitaries reached out to shake his hand. In the distant crowds, grown men and woman, jumping out of their seats reaching towards the man as though he were not hundreds of metres away and could indeed somehow reach out and touch them back. All this as he calmly waltzed the stage, commanding more power with every step. You would soon forget that he had just had brain surgery. You would even sooner forget that a certain Mr. Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic, was actually the most important man on that stage.
More important, Yes. More powerful, maybe. But when it comes to popularity in Kenya, Tinga sets the bar way too high to conceptually comprehend. Put it this way, if there were a Solar Eclipse right now and this man climbed on stage and began talking about it, the rest of the world would witness the eclipse; we’d hear about it from Odinga. He is a veritable force of nature. This is evidenced by the roars that follow every entrance he makes, the fact that he clocked in as a higher ranking trending topic on twitter than both Kenya and Bashir. And maybe even the fact that, two years out, a lot of people have already decided that he’s going to walk away with the elections.
I wasn’t around for the 2007 elections. In fact, at the time they were going on, I was pinballing between Europe and the US, trying to make some money. So it was that I spoke with a Kenyan colleague in Germany who said something to me that I will never forget. Before the post-election violence even erupted, he said: “People won’t just vote for this man, they will do whatever he says. Win or lose, his power is scary.” True to this fact, we’ve witnessed him shepherding the nation, time and time again, and then walking away as though all he did was raise a finger.
So for as much as we are celebrating a New Constitution and a New Kenya as we march towards our chance at new leadership in 2012, it seems that our government will yet again been headed by familiar faces.
Perhaps the most familiar face in the land.
It’s his country; we just live in it

Sourced from http://www.zuqka.com/dricon/external/raila-odinga-show

New Era.

This is a new day.
This is a new beginning.
This is the beginning of a new era.

When the song by Sarafina in the movie by the same name 'Freedom is Coming Tomorrow' was played back then, few would have thought that it would ring true to Kenya in the future. Now the future is here and freedom has indeed come home.

The promulgation was done at 1025hrs by Kibaki in presence of visitors and Kenyans either at the Uhuru Park or tuned in through TV or Radio, but tuned in nevertheless.

It was colourful, it was heart rending, it was touching, just as it was historical. Never before has the National Anthem been so apt as it was today.

And Kenya was literally trending news thanks to tweets from Kenyan twamily. Then Raila overtook Kenya to trend and Martha Karua was tweeting from the centre of action at Uhuru Park. Quite tellingly, the Song - All Eyes on Me was apt.

Now the mega-swearing-in of all constitutional office holders are taking place, from President who did it in the morning, to MPs in Parliament and Military Commanders, Judges and PSs at StateHouse.

To paraphrase Jeff Koinange of K24, "Good Grief, What a Day, What a Show, What an Event....." Indeed, it was All Kenyan, All Day!

A spoilsport was the appearance of El-Bashir at the ceremonies.

A New Era Beckons

A new day beckons.

It has been an extremely long journey. Tears have been shed, blood spilled, limbs broken if not maimed, friends became enemies and beck to friends again. It has been, in all honesty, a journey of two decades. A journey that is coming to an end, an end that will signify a new beginning.

The promulgation of the newly passed constitution gives us a new slate from which to start re-plotting our trajectory to where we want to go. To re-chart our course, our destiny and influence our fate.

If the twenty year fight was hard, then what has just begin will be even harder. Political will notwithstanding, we are on a new footing. A footing that will influence and change the course of Kenya forever. Forget about the most progressive Bill Of Right therein, the first chapter in the Constitution on the Sovereignty of The People is the real game-changer. - [All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with this Constitution].

That my fellow Kenyans is where the real clinch is. For now, power has returned to where it rightfully belongs - To the Kenyan People.

God Bless Kenya.