South Sudan On the Edge

South Sudan, Africa’s newest nation is fast but silently turning out to be one of the worst humanitarian crisis and nearly 60 percent of its 7.5 to 10 million population stare at starvation in the face as a civil war takes toll on the oil-rich nation.

About five million are at risk of death if food supplies do not arrive in time, with Bahr el Ghazal, in north-western part the nation being the worst hit. 

About one-third of the children here are reportedly malnourished, according to media reports.

The nation has for long suffered from food crisis but the ongoing civil war has exacerbated an already dire situation, Al Jazeera reported.

Hostilities from some government officials and rebels have restricted humanitarian aid to the nation in a country where 44 percent of its budget is spend on military, about $4 million per day to wage wars and onslaughts, according to data by Defense one.

The economic and social cost of the war is fast ruining the nation. At least 250 refugees cross into neighboring Uganda, where over-crowing in the camps has led to severe deterioration in living conditions.

Last week, some children died in Arua District in Uganda, despite making a near 50-kilometer treacherous journey through Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), always wary of attacks from militia who roam the paths to ‘freedom’, Voice of America reported.

At least 2,000 refugees are crossing into Uganda daily.

The in-sensitivity that the war-lords in the nation have towards poor civilians who have lost their families to the guns and starvation. 

Most of them are mothers and children, some malnourished and others pregnant and some malnourished and too weak to make the journey that is a must if they wish to live another day.

No respite is in sight and the crisis is turning into a catastrophe by the day. It is dire and something must be done to avert one of the worst humanitarian crisis in modern civilization.

Mothers have tough choices to make on which of their children to save. They chose who to let die and who to help live!

Elizabeth Athiel, a mother in Bahr el Ghazal could not leave take her malnourished eight-month daughter to clinic and leave her other five children behind. The little girl urgently needed medical attention but her mother had an anguishing decision to make, Al Jazeera reported.

Throughout the nation, countless Athiels are faced with such harrowing choices to make. Their children are dying in their arms and those who cross to neighboring Uganda, Kenya and other neighboring live in hell, in deplorable conditions.

The nation’s exiled former deputy president, Riek Machar called for fresh war against the government forces last week, a move that drew condemnation from the international community.

This is perhaps the farthest that the ‘big boys’ are ready to destroy the nation at the expense of the civilians in order to protect their political interests.

On the other end, President Salva Kiir, called for forgiveness as the wounded seeks to get lasting peace. The calls inspire little hope as his majority Dinka-troops and Machar’s Nuer forces cannot see eye to eye. 

The two, one in power and the other viciously fighting to dislodge him hold the answers to solving the problems afflicting Sudan.

Since violence broke out in July near the presidential palace, hundreds have been slaughtered and at least a million displaced. Malnutrition, starvation and health crisis walk hand in hand with the survivors in the refugees camps, both at home and in the neighboring nations.

The nation is one of the poorest in the world, with deplorably poor indicators in health, education and underdevelopment.

The situation is getting dire by the day. Refugees are leaving en masse, people are dying and children are bearing the devastating brunt of the ethnically-fueled violence.

Machar just called for fresh violence!

Let Us Make Political Noise But Resist Violence

The political temperatures are rising. The ruling JUBILEE coalition launched Jubilee Party (JAP), the vehicle that President Uhuru Kenyatta will use in his bid to secure a second term in the house on the hill, while CORD’ race for the presidential ticket is getting fiery too.

It is time to hoot and clatter the serenity that Kenya has enjoyed except for disturbances from the Al-Shaabab cowards, take our efforts from building the economy and plunge heads-on into the murky political waters.

We are a nation that loves politics more than we care about making our lives better. Politics are close to our hearts yet there are no ideologies that back our love for this national love! Ethnicity and party euphoria determine how we vote!

Jubilee Party has perpetuated the lie of uniting the nation yet two big ethnic blocks call the shots while the rest are supporting cast, applauding the main actors on the stage.

At CORD, the coalition led by the kingpin of opposition politics, Raila Amollo Odinga and his band of followers has chastised the government for its failures, notably endemic corruption and an ethnic card that has never been this significant. 

It is humbling to accept that despite the two coalitions commanding near-colossal following, they have nothing to show except splashing money, extorted from the public purse to fuel their guzzlers and traverse the entire nation, taking part in harambees to cleanse ill-gotten money and hoodwink Kenyans into their fold.

Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi are the major political voices in the nation and each commands a mini-nation!

They, however share a dubious distinction. They are all products of the KANU and Moi school of politics.

Their interests are co-joined at the hips like Siamese twins and can never give Kenya anything different despite the defeaning noise made by their foot-soldiers.

As we head to a fever-high political atmosphere, void of ideologies but full of empty promises of change, the nation must avoid drawing into the all-too familiar story of politically-instigated violence.

In 2007-08, we played with sparks that nearly burnt the entire nation. The wounds have not healed completely and the aggrieved never saw justice. 

Some Kenyans vowed never to return to the homes they were flushed from for fear of reprisals. Jubilee has used the unity lie to woo supporters while CORD has not offered and solutions in case it ascend to power next year.

Violence should not be part of the game this time round. It is happening in Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo, where politics have set the nation on fire.

Kenyans should not go back to 2007-08. The wounds are still fresh. Let politics not destroy this great land. As former president Mwai Kibaki once said, voting is a day’s event but the nation will forever be here.

Harambee Starlets, Our Pride and Challenge to the Men!

Harambee Starlets, the previously unknown quality of our footballing damsels are on the brink of history today in Uganda; were 90 minutes from lifting the first-ever Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), women’s category.

Cheered on by a hundred fans who travelled to Uganda courtesy of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and SuperSport, our girls lost by 2-1 to Tanzania. A rather low moment to cap a fantastic outing in the regional tourney.

Our ever- disappointing team in the mound of Harambee Stars should sit back, watch and learn a few critical lessons!

To say Harambee Starlets have been magnificent is an under-statement. The girls have been brilliant and are reaping the fruits of positivity, hard work and self-belief!

They are using the CECAFA tourney as part of the preparations for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), set for November in Cameroon. 

They missed out on the football party in the recent Rio Olympics after falling by two goals to Banyana Banyana of South Africa!

The achievements are something Harambee Stars can only dream of! The team finished last in the Afcon qualifiers, was shamefully bundled out of the running for Russia 2018 and has done nothing to make Kenyan football lovers happy!

Harambee Stars lacks a winning mentality, best epitomized by the losses at home to the likes of Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho and Zambia. 

This is what the Starlets can never be accused of! They bravely went to Algeria and got a draw with the continental giants. They bravely lost narrowly to Banyana Banyana in the Olympics qualifiers.

The girls have a winning mentality, the self-belief that has placed them head and shoulders above Harambee Stars. 

Harambee Starlets, despite achieving a near-stardom status amongst football lovers across the country have maintained a cool head. They are firmly focused on the task ahead, something that a section of our Harambee Stars lacks. How many times have we seen our players partying ahead of crucial matches? 

The girls went Spain last month and shone at the COTIF Women Football Tournament, finishing fourth. The ample preparations were part of the ongoing CECAFA and upcoming Afcon championship in November.

Can FKF organize high-profile build-ups for Harambee Stars and improve the team’s technical and tactical prowess? 

Perhaps this will lift the team from its mediocre performances and slowly put it back to the heights the team hit in the 80s and early 90s.

The girls’ success is a challenge to Harambee Stars on what donning the national colors means and the responsibility that comes with it! 

Harambee Stars has a lucrative national league to bank on, has a near-fanatical fan base and the players are well-paid, yet their performances on the pitch have been at best miserable!

They are our pride. A national team that despite lacking a robust national league to bank on, has eclipsed the region and holds a candle to Africa’s best such as Super Falcons, Banyana Banyana and Cameroon.

Kenyan Government must use Rio fiasco to end sports mismanagement

Francis Paul, the secretary-general of the now disbanded National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK), Pius Ochieng, the vice-chairman and Stephen Soi, Kenya Judo Association chairman and chef de mission of Kenya’s team to the Olympics have already had their day in court as the government seeks to give answers to the fiasco that happened in Rio. 

Two others, Michael Rotich (team manager) and John Anzrah, a sprints coach have also been taken to court over corruption and doping allegations that threatened to smear Kenya’s campaign in Rio. 

As the government seeks answers and a possible punishment for the five (and possibly more names), it is an opportunity to cure the mismanagement and ill-administration that a few Kenyans subject sportsmen and women in the name of leading these national federations.

During the Rio Olympics, incidents of missing kits, poor travel and accommodation of athletes and a bloated contingent of officials were all too common as our dedicated men and women tried their best to fly high the Kenyan flag.

Hassan Wario, the Sports cabinet secretary disbanded the team in a move that was widely seen as a bold move by the government to reign in on a culture of corruption and mismanagement that has for long hindered development of Kenyan sports.

Football Kenya Federation especially in the past years before the current Nick Mwendwa-led office took over, falls into this category and so do boxing, cycling and other disciplines.

Rugby is the only sport that has steered clear of these murky waters. 

The disbandment of NOCK should not be an end in itself but rather the start of an unforgiving process to weed Kenyan sports federations of incapable leaders who have made these positions their right. 

Maybe proper management will help tame defections that have cost this nation a great deal. Olympic champion and newly-crowned world record holder in the    Women’s 3,000meters Irene Jebet is one of the many athletics talents that have exchanged their nationality in the face of better management and treatment offered by Bahrain and other nations.

Just like NOCK, all other national federations must be cleaned. Officials who have been at the helm for decades should go home and so should the culture of impunity and stinking mismanagement that has bedeviled sports administration.

Punitive action to set a precedent that abuse of office in the name of sports administration will never go un-punished must be set.

The NOCK and Athletics Kenya officials should be used to set the example (if found guilty).

The vice has for long killed sporting talents and forced others to trade their nationality. The Rio fiasco that befell our athletes was a shame but it was God-sent; opportunity to slay the dragon of sports mismanagement in Kenya.

The time is now!