How to Play “Father”: Raila’s Lost Moment?

Being seasoned does not seem to matter. What matters is dealing with corruption which has consumed both the social, economic and political life of Kenyans.

kariuki githuku

Admire and love him or disparage and hate him, Raila Amolo Odinga is the most seasoned prominent politician still active on the national scene. The man has a career spanning over thirty years something that is unrivalled by any of his contemporaries. It is, therefore, little wonder that Kenyans are wont to bestow him with the endearing reference, “baba.” Only President Moi (Rtd.) and, especially, the founding President Jomo Kenyatta, were referred to using this fond title that once evoked the image of the people of Kenya as a single united nation made up of diverse ethnic groups. And it must be said, in the case of the former, the president did not become Baba Moi overnight. This is why Raila needs to pause and reflect on the role that he should play and the kind of footprints he wants to leave on shores of Kenya’s political history. Although made…

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Dearth of the Political Party in Kenya

And the birth of tribalism. Not a birth; but the enlargement of tribal politics which has always been there in Kenya.

kariuki githuku

Once upon a time, there was a strong institution known as a political party founded on principles as opposed to belonging to an ethnic group or an alliance thereby. Kenya’s first political parties on the eve of independence were such institutions. They were parties of principles albeit tinged with some ethnic element. Unfortunately, this ethnic tinge inadvertently, or otherwise, quickly and easily became the fulcrum on which our national politics revolved. It is then that we, as a nation, lost the opportunity evolve a clear-headed politics driven by pertinent issues. As a result, our stature in the community of nations and level of political, democratic and economic development remains wanting if not stunted altogether. To recapture the growth dynamic in these areas, we ought to recalibrate our mindset from thinking about our ethnic kingpin or our time to be in power to issue-oriented political agenda. After all, it is just…

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Highlights of Kenya

Going beyond tourism now.

alivelikeme

In April a good friend was turning 30 and wanted to have friends around to celebrate.  The original plan was Zanzibar but we were faced with the problem of a shortage of yellow fever.  Seeing that it was a requirement, we started looking at other countries in Africa that didn’t require yellow fever.  Kenya it was!

We had a house in Mombassa, which was pretty close to paradise.  3 rooms, lovely kitchen with our own cook, amazing beach front lounge area.  We had 2 massive dogs to guard us, and were really friendly towards us. We even had our own cleaner who would take care of the 6 of us really well.

The best memory though was the day safari. We started early and spent the whole day driving around the small(ish) land area and were luck to see quite a few animals.  The lion was the best sighting but…

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Somalia sues Kenya at top UN court over maritime border

We hope this would not ignite another regional wars.

Voice Of Somalia

The Hague – Somalia took its maritime border dispute with Kenya to the United Nations’ top court on Thursday, which could decide the fate of potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves off east Africa.

The dispute has been simmering for years, keeping investors away because of the lack of legal clarity over who owns potential offshore oil and gas reserves.

The internationally-backed government in Mogadishu is seeking to claw back authority over Somalia’s territorial waters, including the area bordering Kenya that is potentially rich in oil and gas deposits.

Kenya, which has had troops in southern Somalia since 2011, first as an invading force and then as part of an African Union peacekeeping force, lays claim to a triangle of water stretching for more than 100,000 square kilometres (40,000 square miles) that Mogadishu also claims.

Nairobi has already awarded exploration contracts to international firms despite the legal uncertainty.

“Somalia requests…

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Joint statement by the UN, IGAD and EU Envoys to Somalia International partners welcome reconciliation progress in Kismayo

Joint statement?

Database of Press Releases related to Africa - APO-Source

 

Joint statement by the UN, IGAD and EU Envoys to Somalia International partners welcome reconciliation progress in Kismayo

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia, September 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and European Union (EU) welcomed the agreement by Col Barre Adan Shire (Barre Hiiraale) to participate in a reconciliation process and for his irregular military forces to present themselves for screening and potential integration into the Somali National Army (SNA) with the support of the Federal Government of Somalia.

 

“We welcome this agreement between Col Barre Hiiraale and the Interim Jubba Administration brokered by the Federal Government of Somalia. It is an important step forward in the path towards peace- and state-building for all Somalis. We stand ready to support a reconciliation conference in the coming weeks and urge all parties to engage in constructive consultation and reconciliation involving all stakeholders, ensuring…

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Soma Oil and Gas set to become a major player offshore Somalia

Could this may have been one of the interesting playing cards in the region?

Oilnews

Soma oil and gas that in June concluded a 122,000 sq km 2D seismic acquisition is set to benefit from blocks with an area of up to 60,000 sq km under a seismic option agreement with Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Federal Government of Somalia.

Under the deal the government on the other hand will gain a hand on the data acquired to be stored in a ministry data room in Mogadishu.

The data that is currently undergoing processing, reprocessing and interpretation will identify leads and prospects by the end of the year with the Soma oil and gas exploration company having the first access to the results.

Although Somalia has been identified as having potential huge amounts of oil and gas offshore it has been largely under explored with the acquisition of the seismic hoped to accelerate the development of this potential.

“The Federal Government is looking forward…

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U.S. ‘80% sure’ it killed Al Shabab’s top leader in an air strike

When probabilities are used to determine issues.