LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN.........

It is business again as Harambee Stars seek to qualify for the 2014 global soccer bonanza in Brazil. Saturday’s match against the Flames of Malawi marks the start of this treacherous, challenge- laden road to the World Cup.

It is sad that to date, our national soccer team has never graced the same stage alongside the world’s best football talent. This is despite the fact that we have had an array of stars to have donned the national colours, and even matched against Africa’s best in the yester years. From Joe Kadenge, Francis Onyiso, Musa Otieno to UEFA Champions League winner, Macdonald Mariga and Dennis Oliech; the country’s first pioneer footballers to have played in the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Victor Mugabe of Scottish champions, Celtic will also be playing in this prestigious club competition next season. It is indeed sad that this class of the country’s football crème de la crème is yet to play in the World Cup, the highest stage that every footballer dreams of playing at.

Saturday’s match at the now refurbished Moi International Sports Centre, MISC should set us on the right footing to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. We should accord Kimanzi and his charges all the support that they need; from financial support to the invaluable home morale, that the fans have tirelessly continued to give. Saturday should be no different.

Football Kenya Federation, FKF should ensure that the team is in the best shape for a gruelling qualification campaign. The fact that in our group are Togo’s Hawks and Nigeria’s Super Eagles; two of the country’s football giants, makes the task even more daunting. The other team Namibia have also been a difficult opponent for Stars in recent years. They are best remembered for extinguishing our hopes of playing in France 98, following a loss for the Stars in Nairobi, a defeat that proved too costly.  A subsequent loss against Super Eagles in Lagos finally put paid our hopes of making it to the 1998 World Cup in France. Despite all this, qualification is still possible, albeit with the right preparations.

FKF should set out to pay the players’ allowances well in advance, besides sorting out other logistical issues. This will ensure that the players have nothing to worry about and only focus on the task ahead. The team should be accorded ample preparations and get the right friendly matches that will help it match up against continental giants, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, in this group.

Team captain, Dennis Oliech’s decision to rescind his retirement and lead the national team once again, is welcome news. He has been our most consistent performer in the national team, since he broke into the scene in late 2003, when his last minute winner against Cape Verde, in Nairobi, took us to the 2004 Africa Nations Cup in Tunisia. The rest of the team is equally talented and up to the task.

Past campaigns have ended in disappointments and heartbreaks. Since the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia, we have failed to qualify for four consecutive editions. To rub salt onto this wound, we have never come close to qualifying for the World Cup. Once a continental powerhouse, we have become underdogs of African football. Our dominance of the game in the region has also been watered down by Uganda’s Cranes. Our game has changed from a win some lose some to a lose all win none game. We can longer match up against the continent’s best. Saturday’s match gives us the opportunity to change this course.

 We have to win on Saturday and boost our chances before we meet Togo, Namibia and Nigeria in the next matches. Zambia’s feat as the current African champions should inspire us. The fact that they slain the likes of Ghana’s Black Stars and Cote D’Ivoire’s Elephants on their way to glory, should instil the belief  that we can do the same against the Super Eagles, albeit after adequate preparations. The giants of African soccer are fallible just like any other team. Togo and Nigeria are no different.

However, we must sacrifice for our national team to bring back the glory of yester years. As a nation, let us all rally behind our boys on Saturday and cheer them to victory against the visiting Malawians. Let us to Kasarani in our thousands, and give Stars the much- needed home support. Kimanzi and his charges are able and yes, we must believe in this cause.               Allez! Allez! Allez! Stars.

LET US SHUN THESE

In less than nine months, we will be at the polls; the first under the new constitution. The political atmosphere is in heightened activity as political parties and potential candidates strive to woo the electorate. The entire country is in a campaign mood as various presidential candidates traverse all over the country to galvanize the numbers that will be invaluable come the polls. Long- time political marriages are ending acrimoniously as politicians jump ship, new alliances are being formed and new political parties launched. The polls promise to be enthralling and equally hotly-contested.

Elections are supposed to usher in new blood into the country’s leadership; fresh ideas, renewed energy and a better political class that should take the country a step ahead. But wait a minute; this does not happen in Kenya, a country where too much politicking by the political class has greatly hampered the transformation of a state.

Despite the heightened political activities in the run- up to the general elections, Kenya, as a country has never really achieved what we have always dreamt of. Eradication of poverty, ignorance and communicable diseases, has remained a mirage to a majority of Kenyans. These are the very dreams that the founding fathers of this great nation envisaged at independence. Sycophancy and tribal and ethnic based politics have proved to be our main undoing.

As a country, integrity counts for nothing as compared to the ethnic and tribal factor. The qualities of a quality leader are relegated to the backseat whenever we go to the polls. Our politicians are notorious for reverting back to the tribal and ethnic cocoons, whenever they are caught in scandals, malpractices or even wish to be elected to different elective posts. Whenever a politician is caught in the murky waters of corruption, abuse of office and misappropriation of funds among other malpractices, the tribal cocoon seems to be the best defense mechanism. The cornered politician, backed by political sycophants from his tribe sets out to propagate the misguided ideology of a community that is being fought politically, albeit for no reasons. Kenyans who seem to have been locked up in these tribal and ethnic outfits soon join in the chorus.

The same sad scenario dictates whoever gets chosen for the different elective posts.  We have ethnic and tribal power-brokers who somehow take advantage of the high ignorance levels by a section of the Kenyan voter. They will endorse a politician upon whom the community will rally behind. Any other politician, who is perceived to be against it, is branded unfit and lacking in competence to lead the people. Tribal and ethnic based politics at its best. This is despite the fact that he or she might be the best to lead the people into the Promised Land; free from poverty and ignorance among many other ills that have bedeviled the development of our country. You can be denied the vote for the simple reason that you come from a particular tribe or community.

Sycophancy among the political class has also proved to hinder the realization of the development that we as a country, has for long dreamt of. Politicians will always stand by one of their own, through thick and thick; in return of the much needed votes. Politicians will always get the numbers to even thwart off censure motions in the house. Integrity and the greater good of the nation have taken a back seat. Narrow political interests have taken the lead at the expense of developing this country.

Euphoria surrounding preferred candidates, especially in the presidential race has sadly helped to re-elect leaders who all manner of malpractices and corruption cases in their hands. They will coalesce and join in the bandwagon of the preferred candidate and get their way back to the house. Sadly the Kenyan voters ignore the qualities of able leaders and elect the very people who have for years plundered the public coffers. New blood sparingly gets elected whereas the same old politicians get re-elected. They ride on the euphoria factor that has proved to shape our politics. This has been the same since National Rainbow Coalition, NARC, swept into power in the 2002 polls.

As a country, we will only get to the desired land when we will let go of tribal and ethnic politics, sycophancy and euphoria amongst the political landscape. We have paid dearly for voting along these; misappropriation of public funds, scandals and corruption has hit us hard in return. It is the high time that we broke free from these poor and misguided tribal and ethnic cocoons, and elect leaders purely on merit. The coming polls; the first under the new law should mark this change in the voting patterns of this country.

EUPHORIA POLITICS THE KENYAN WAY

The much talked about party, on whose ticket Deputy Prime Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta will vie for the presidency in the coming elections, The National Alliance, TNA was yesterday launched. At a colourful ceremony graced by many dignitaries at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, KICC, the deputy premier and Gatundu North legislator laid bare his desires to transform this country. He spoke of eradicating the many bottlenecks that have hampered the development that as a people yearn for. From past historical injustices that have hindered reconciliation and perpetuated tribal and ethnic animosity, to the dreams of this country at independence, but that have remained a mirage to many. Speaker after the other, reiterated this and yes indeed, the speeches were inspiring, at least on paper. Walking this talk however has not been as easy. Once the voters elect them to the posts, nobody is equally energetic to walk this talk.

Welcome to the Kenyan politics where euphoria is in charge and wins over the voters. A country where since the dawn of multi-party democracy has been characterised by euphoria politics; the country’s Achilles heel. Parties are no longer anchored upon any concrete ideologies, if the party hopping is anything to go by. In the run-up to the general elections, politicians will always coalesce around the party whose presidential candidate seems most likely to win.  This party becomes the party of choice dubbed `the vehicle’. Politicians leave their parties and join the euphoria bandwagon, on whose tickets they hope to be re-elected to Parliament. All manner of excuses to justify their party hopping, from lack of internal democracy to development- oriented parties, among many others, are floated.

Euphoria has proved to rule our political landscape. At any given electioneering year, there has been the party that has proved to be the vehicle for these politicians. In 2002, The National Rain bow Coalition, NARC, then headed by Mwai Kibaki with Raila Odinga as its most vocal voice, did it, outgunning the Moi regime. The NARC euphoria had managed to turn the tide against Moi’s 24-year rule. Subsequently, the fortunes of the Kenya African National Union, KANU began to nosedive, with emergence of NARC. Fast forward to 2007, in the hotly contested polls that ended in the infamous 07-08 bloodbath. The Orange Democratic Movement, ODM headed by Raila Odinga, with the unwavering support of the now defunct Pentagon, formed a formidable threat to the Kibaki government. It succeeded in rallying the country together and almost ascended to power. What followed was an election whose winner, we might never clearly come to know as a country. The disputed results led to the formation of the current coalition government.

 These two clearly demonstrates how euphoria has become the dominant force in our politics. Politicians notwithstanding their dark past, corruption issues and questions about their integrity have always found their way back to the house, thanks to euphoria.

The coming general elections; the first under the new constitutional dispensation will be no different. Euphoria will once again play an integral part. This has been demonstrated by the political realignments that have begun taking the centre stage. Politicians are at it again; hopping from one party to another and forming new parties, popularly referred to as `vehicles to state house’. Orange Democratic Party headed by Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta’s  The National Alliance party, United Democratic Forum, UDF, where Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi has decamped to and William Ruto’s United Republican Party, URP are some of the key parties that politicians will be scrabbling for. The big names in these parties are what will determine who gets elected, thanks to euphoria. 

ADDRESSING ROAD CARNAGE IS A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

Kenya can now boast to be the region’s king in terms of road development. This is largely thanks to the ultra- modern Nairobi- Thika superhighway that has become the envy of the region. Indeed all over the country, the Kibaki era will be fondly remembered for the unprecedented development in the country’s infrastructure. New roads have been constructed and old ones rehabilitated. This has greatly eased movement across the country. But what a minute! On the flip-side, these developments have come at an agonizing price, one that has left tears on many a Kenyan’s cheek; road carnage seems to be happily unleashing its fury on Kenyans. The road carnage statistics paint a grimy picture that’s equally chilling.

The recently released records on the bloodbath on our roads are chilling. A chilling case in point is the Thika superhighway. Its construction has caused anguish to scores of families who have either lost their loved ones or had them paralyzed after been involved in grisly road accidents along the highway. The traffic police have estimated that since January 1, more than 70 people have died on the highway while scores have been maimed. Statistics about the bloodbath on the other roads across the country are equally chilling. Many have been killed and others maimed, with some having their lives completely overturned, albeit for the worse. The numbers are on the increase, with every passing day. Children have been orphaned and families lost their bread-winners. These grimy statistics call for the urgent involvement of every road user in the country; drivers and their crew, passengers, pedestrians and the police. This is a collective responsibility.

A major cause of this bloodbath has been reckless driving. It’s a common thing to see inebriated drivers, high on all manner of intoxicants, from drugs to alcohol, on the wheel of public transport vehicles. These drivers speed and blindly overtake. Some even those in private cars talk on their mobile phones as they drive.  Unruly crews, who pick and drop passengers at non-designated places, are all over the public transport vehicles. The only thing that stops them from doing this is the presence of the traffic cops. Our roads have become chaotic, the absence of cops at different sections, has made it a free for all, whereby the rude outgun the polite. This is the perfect recipe for accidents to proliferate on our roads.

Inside these buses and matatus are quiet passengers, a majority of whom watch as these drivers take them to their untimely deaths. It’s puzzling how these passengers watch as drivers flout all rules and turn these roads into killing dens. You will only see the very people protest after an accident, not bearing in mind that they were in a position to avert these disasters. These have happened on countless occasions, thus begging the question; when will Kenyans learn?

Pedestrians have also contributed to this carnage on our roads. Whoever said that old habits die hard, must have had this group in mind? They use unorthodox means to dangerously cross the roads; oblivious of the danger they are exposing themselves to. Flyovers have been constructed, mainly along the Thika superhighway. It is interesting to note that a majority of Kenyans are not keen on making good use of these. They cross the roads, oblivious of the speeding cars. Does this mean that Kenyans must be forced to use these flyovers? Kenyans must learn to use these, instead of shedding tears and lamenting whenever disasters on the roads rear their ugly heads. By using these, we will greatly help reduce the bloodshed on our roads.

The traffic police are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that traffic rules are observed to the latter. It is their duty to nab the reckless motorists wrecking havoc on our roads. But their main undoing has been the engagement of some in corruption on our roads. They let un-roadworthy vehicles run free on our roads, condone overloading by public service vehicles by accepting cash in return. Some have been turned into see no evil, hear no evil cops. Motorists break rules almost at will, albeit by parting with some cash. It’s sad to note that this is the case of a willing giver and a willing receiver. Motorists caught on the wrong side of the law should desist from these short-cuts to freedom, which turn into short-cuts to death when these vehicles are later involved in grisly accidents, These leave the innocent, rule -abiding motorist and pedestrians alike, with no-one to turn to. When those charged with the responsibility of restoring law and order on our roads, fail to do that, our turn chaotic and become sources of anguish and misery.

All these people have a part to play in fighting carnage on our roads. If everyone plays the part that he is rightly supposed to, then our roads will become safer and save us all these anguish and trauma. Efforts by the Kenya National Highways Authority to carry out road safety sensitization exercises and civic education are timely.  However, the greater responsibility lies with the Kenyans themselves. We should learn to take care of our lives instead of foolishly waiting for someone to do it. At the end of the day, it’s our loved ones and us who bear the brunt of the road carnage.

FOOTBALL KENYA FEDERATION MUST GET ITS ACT TOGETHER

On Tuesday, 1^st November 2011 at a packed Moi International Sports Centre, MISC, a new national football governing body was elected into office, after a fiercely contested poll. Out went Football Kenya Limited, FKL and in came Football Kenya Federation, FKF in an eagerly anticipated election that had for months kept the football fraternity on its tenterhooks. Administration of the beautiful game changed hands from a limited company to a body that is recognizable by the world football governing body, FIFA. In came Sammy Nyamweya as the chairman, with former Harambee Stars and Tusker FC, formerly Kenya Breweries FC mid-fielder, Sammy Sholei Tiyoi, becoming his vice, after a hotly contested election.

 After years of mismanagement and politics in the Kenyan football, the entry of the new office, brought with it a cloud of renewed hope and belief. Kenyan football had for years being played in the courtrooms and boardrooms as narrow and self-interested groups sought to take charge of the game, albeit for personal and greedy interests. With this, football standards plundered deep and deep into oblivion; the national team performed disastrously and drastically dropped from an all-time high of position 68 to 134, and we had a separately independent federation, the Kenya Premier League Limited, KPL, running the national league. Football in the country was being haphazardly run.

In their manifestos, the current office promised to cure all these and get our soccer back to the good-old days. But wait a minute. Months after the new office took charge; things have seemed to go awry on some fronts.  The women’s junior national team, fondly renowned as the Harambee Starlets was on the verge of qualifying for this year’s global showpiece, to be held in Japan from 18^th August to 9th September. They came only a step shy from rewriting history and being the most successful national soccer team, even eclipsing our men! They convincingly defeated Zambia and Lesotho, before eventually bowing out to their Tunisian counterparts on a 4- 2 aggregate, albeit after enduring deplorable sickly conditions at their camp in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo estate.

From walking to and fro the field, having their meals cooked by use of charcoal, in smoky kitchens to having sugarless- tea, these girls defied the odds and flew the country’s flag high. These shameful revelations raised a lot of questions on the national federation’s responsibility and resolve to improve the football standards in the country. In the midst of all these, the federation did not even come out to openly speak about the issue and do anything to help matters. All this had been left to the team’s manager, Rachel Kamweru and listening to her, one got the feeling of a national team, no longer treated with the dignity that other national teams are accorded. But why did our brave and determined girls have to suffer all this humiliation? These are questions that the national office cannot afford to leave unanswered.

Hooliganism has continued to be our football’s Achilles heel.  Rowdy fans have invaded our once peaceful stadia and caused havoc; innocent lives have been lost, motorists especially along Mombasa Road and Uhuru Highway have borne the brunt of these headless hooligans, who disguise themselves as football lovers. Despite all these shameful events, no decisive action has been taken to put this to an end. This has prompted the world governing body, FIFA to reduce the capacity of Nyayo National Stadium, thus denying our clubs and national teams, the invaluable home support, whenever taking part in continental assignments, at home. This should have gotten the new football administrators thinking hard, but ostensibly it seems they have not. Hooliganism has continued to thrive with reckless abandon and what the culprits get for this is a mere slap in the face. A precedent must be set about punishing this ugly face that has become of Kenya. It must be nipped in the bud before we one day shed tears  and bemoan thousands of lives lost, as it happened in Egypt, late last year.

Reigning African champions, the Chipolopolo of Zambia should spur us to wake up and endeavor to reclaim our rightful spot in African soccer. This is a team that was an underdog in the continent’s soccer, especially after their dreaded national team crashed off the coast of Gabon in 1993. They got up, dusted their feet and worked towards reclaiming the spot that their legendary team that included the likes of the talented Kalusha Bwalya had put them, before their tragic end. This was finally rewarded early this year when their clinched the African title, after slaying the likes of Ghana’s Black Stars and Cote D’ Ivoire’s Elephants. A treacherous road indeed for a team that no one gave them a chance of reaching the semi-finals let alone the final. Sudan’s Nile Crocodile’s sterling performance must also turn our football administrators green with envy. This a country that had sunk into football oblivion for years yet it surpassed all expectations and gallantly fought against the likes of Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, before bowing out to eventual champions, Zambia in the quarter-finals. But they had left their mark on the continental scene.

The sterling performances by these two countries should pose a challenge to our football administrators. We can afford to sink deeper than we have currently; we have turned into underdogs of the African soccer. We shamelessly lose to Somalia in under-age competitions, get mauled by the likes of Egypt, both at junior and senior level and struggle to beat the likes of Mozambique, at our own backyard. Our soccer fortunes have plummeted from an all-time high of position 68 in 2008-2009 to a lowly 134. Our clubs are used to losing in both regional and continental assignments and we are no longer the regional powerhouse that we once were. This must end. We cannot afford to sink deeper than this.

The newly elected football administrators must lead us back to track. They should live up to every word of their manifestos. Hooliganism must be put to a stop and our national teams, whether the men’s or women’s must be accorded the support that they need and be treated with the dignity that they deserve as flag-bearers of this country. Let us steer clear from cheap politics and engage constructively in rebuilding our soccer; a game that we are all passionate about and unites our country, regardless of the many differences that we got as a people.

Our football has for years been bleeding, due to cheap politics, mismanagement and corruption, amongst a host of other evils. The time to get rid of them is now. Just as Zambia and Sudan, we can get there. Let us all belief and hold hands together, under the tutelage of our football administrators. Every Kenyan is a stakeholder in this endeavor. The onus is onto the administrators of the beautiful game, backed by an equally supportive people.

We all celebrate when our teams win but we are equally sad whenever they lose. 

KENYAN LEADERS SHOULD UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY OF THEIR OFFICES

Integrity is an invaluable virtue, for all leaders, and Kenya should be no different. Integrity is defined as the possession of high moral principles and professional standards. These are the overriding factors of any office in a morally sound society. Whenever a person assumes any office in the land, whether elected or appointed, upholding the integrity and honor of that office should be paramount. But in Kenya, a land where the abnormal seems to be normal, and rightly so as former Harambee Stars head coach, Bernard Lama once said as he left in a huff following a rather turbulent spell at the helm of the national team. Integrity does not appear to be that important, at least as the Kenyan politicians have showed.

Whenever a scandal is unearthed in any of the government ministries, integrity seems to take the back foot as the minister under siege, galvanizes all the energies to defend him or herself. Scandals in the past have shown this; the whole country is treated to unending drama as accusations and counter-accusations fill our media. Those responsible even revert to their tribal and ethnic cocoons, as they set out to create the misconception that their community is being fought and undermined politically. The constituencies in the rural Kenya offer the best launch-pad of these meaningless and misleading defense tactics.

This is a stark contrast to the West, where the leader responsible, voluntarily agrees to step- aside or even resign from office. This is what defines morally upright and responsible leadership; living up to the very words of one’s oath into office. Ministers and even sitting presidents do resign, whenever an issue that brings their occupation of the concerned office into disrepute, arises. It has even happened on African soil; when former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, resigned in September 2008, after he was asked by his party, The African National congress, to do so. His resignation was prompted by allegations that he had used the country’s law-enforcement system to undermine the chances of the current president, Jacob Zuma, of succeeding him then. It is important to note that Mbeki, in his resignation speech, live to the country, was not bitter but rather thankful to the people for giving him the chance to lead them. He never took that as an opportunity to pass on the buck, instead he honorably resigned.  Former American president, Richard Nixon had set the precedent in 1974, after he resigned following the infamous Watergate Scandal. Former IMF director Dominique Strauss Khan also resigned in 2011, following a sex scandal that even ensured his presidential ambitions in his mother- country, France went up in smoke. These are some of the many leaders, occupants of some of the highest offices on the globe, to have resigned from office, following issues that brought disrepute to the very offices that they occupied. This is the true meaning of upholding the honor and integrity of one’s office and the responsibility bestowed upon him by the people. Sadly, most of our Kenyan leaders never seem to get this.

Fast forward to Kenya, a country where honorable resignations are unheard of and probably will never be. A  country which has been plagued by scandals; from the Grand Regency, the cemetery land in Athi river,  the Kazi Kwa Vijana saga, the maize scandal, the free primary education funds saga to the most recent, the National Hospital Insurance Funds, which has Prof. Anyang Nyong’o in the spotlight. All these have come and gone, yet prosecution for those responsible never saw the light of day.  The concerned ministers ferociously fought all these off.  Many came out breathing fire, flanked by their political sycophants and tribes-men. One of the most infamous was Kipipiri legislator, Amos Kimunya, the then Finance minister when the Grand Regency saga came up. Addressing his constituents in Kipipiri, he fiercely reiterated that he would rather die than resign. Sadly, a censure motion moved against him by Ikholomani mp, Bonny Khalwalwe got the better of him, and he was forced from office.  This is just an example of what happens in Kenya whenever a minister is implicated in a scandal. How sad! The National health Insurance Funds, NHIF saga is gaining momentum day after day, and the country is waiting in baited breath to see how the concerned minister, Prof Nyong’o will respond. Corruption and misappropriation of funds are the main undoing of most of our leaders.

Kenyan leaders should realize that with power comes responsibility. Whenever a scandal is unearthed, accusations and counter-accusations, coupled with empty rhetoric are not the way to go. Rather, owning up and taking responsibility albeit to allow for due investigations not only satisfies the citizens, but also ensures that the honor and dignity of that office, alongside the respect that they demand as leaders.

As a country, we are yearning to see the first ever leader, whether appointed or elected into office, do the honorable thing and resign from office whenever caught in these shaming scandals that have sadly become the norm in our country. It is understandable to the human nature that power is sweet and the trappings that come with it are equally alluring. There still exists the forbidden fruit that enticed Eve, albeit in a different form. However, leaders should learn that we never chose them to plunder our hard-earned cash. It is morally wrong to rob from the public coffers and worse still, vehemently deny it and ferociously fight to an end that is in most cases, too bitter to fathom.

The character of our leaders, those in office and even the ones we will vote into office, will always determine how and to what extent the integrity and honor of their offices is upheld. It is a shame that we are all dreaming of an ambitious Vision 2030, yet most of the leaders who claim to have the ability of delivering it, have all these dirt in their hands. Does this mean that ambition has clouded the Kenyan people, such that the good morals of leadership are almost becoming extinct? We cross our fingers that this will not be the case, because it so turns out to be, ours will be a morally dead society.

Mahatma Gandhi taught us to always aim at complete harmony of thought, word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and all will be well. This statement should be read aloud for our Kenyan leaders to hear and heed.