Re: [Jambo] Are Kenyans Secure: Of Kibera and the Arturs Brothers

Mr. Nyamwange,

Let me confess that this posting by Elijah Magutu surprised me!! A few short weeks ago, Mr. Magutu kept signing his messages as ODM supporter. Maybe skeptics like me have notched him to our corner. Welcome Mr. Magutu!!

But seriously, I think Elijah has an important point that we should not ignore. I have listened to Raila speaking here in Minnesota at least three times. I have never heard him utter the word KIBERA!! We met twice at these meetings. Maybe you heard KIBERA and I missed it or them.

In his numerous limelight stealing episodes with the press, Raila is at his best talking about anything other than Kibera. In all these press episodes, Raila talks not about Kibera but about Raila Amollo Odinga, Agwambo, Tinga Tinga, Number 9! A picture of Raila with Obama proudly displayed to the international press! A Hummer minted straight from Detroit ridden to Parliament on opening day!! It is all about Raila.

Seriously, how many times in recent years have you heard Raila make cry wolf cries that people are after assassinating him? Frankly, if those Artur criminals are back in Kenya, should it be Raila in person to flush them out? But if it can steal the show, why can't Raila do it in person? If those Artur crooks are in Kenya as Raila has claimed, then I hope they are caught. I hope they are caught "kabla ya mwaka huu haujayoyoma". I can not wait to hear Raila gloat at a campaign speech: " told you so about these Artur's, not once but twice!! So Kenyans, vote for me because I catch Arturs!!

Back to Kibera. When did you hear Raila talk about the security situation of his Kibera constituents? In Kibera, life is so secure!! Life is so secure in Kibera to the extent that if a man pickpockets five shillings, he will be caught in no time!! The hungry man who pickpockets five shillings to buy a sweet banana will be caught and a ring of burning tyres will be hang around his neck!! So Kibera is very secure but Kenya is unsecure with the Arturs around!!

If you have forgotten, let me remind you that Raila is the MP for Langata, of which Kibera is the epicenter!! As Langata MP, Raila represents the people of Kibera in the August House. As their representative, Raila should be the one to present the problems and needs of his constituents to parliament. He can not just sit and wait for the government to dish out funds. He should be asking for the funds. If no money has been earmarked for Kibera, then Raila, on his capacity as the area MP, is to blame. When did you hear Raila complain in parliament or elsewhere that no funds have been allocated to Kibera? If he has not complained, then it is proper to assume that he is satisfied with the status quo. It is good that Kibera remains where it is!!

In his last paragraph, Elijah makes a very good point except that he fails to recognize one thing. I would like to correct Mr. Magutu. Mr. Magutu, Raila is already a more experienced beggar than you will ever become. Raila has proved to be an extremely good and exemplary beggar. You see, Raila recently bought a Hummer worth KShs. 43,000,000.00. When asked about this Hummer, Raila said that his friends from the USA bought it for him. If a man can beg Kshs. 43,000,000.00, he sure must be a master beggar. The unfortunate thing is that Raila begs for himself, not for his Kibera constituents who are left to wallow in abject poverty. Kshs. 43,000,000.00 is not a lot of money for Kibera. If one house costs one million, it would build 43 houses. If half a million, it would build 86. If-.it would build-.. Just imagine how many houses that money would build in Kibera!! How many hungry children it would feed in Kibera! If Raila can beg $600,000.00 for himself from friends in the USA, Raila can surely beg just a little bit for the people of Kibera!!

Allow me to elaborate on an observation that has been made before but which people would want to ignore. The observation is that many of Raila's constituents do not even live in Kibera or Langata for that matter! Is that news to you? Raila's real constituents come from around Lake Victoria!! Is that news too? When I lived in Nairobi, I worked in the same office with people from around Lake Victoria. In 1991, it became clear that Raila was going to stand for parliament from Langata. To the man and woman, all my officemates from around Lake Victoria registered to vote in Langata. Many of them lived in Kangemi and Kawangware and many other estates and environs around Nairobi that do not fall within Langata constituency. In the office, they talked about how all their kith and kin had registered or were going to register to vote in Langata. In the long run, Raila Odinga became Hon. Raila Odinga, MP for Langata. In the long run, Raila became an MP from a cosmopolitan constituency. And now Raila is running for president with cosmopolitan credentials. But who put him over the top? Answer: People from around Lake Victoria!! If Raila is cosmopolitan, then Fred Gumo in Westlands is also cosmopolitan. And David Mwenje in Embakasi is cosmopolitan. And -- name them. Name any of the Nairobi MP's and you will find that they are very cosmopolitan in as far as they import voters from their rural areas. He who imports most carries the day. Raila is no different. Do you now see why Kibera is such a big priority for Raila?

Thanks.

Michoma Douglass Moenga