RE: LARA

"For starters, not all Luos follow Raila like sheep. As we talk now, residents of my home constituency, Rarieda, are the envy of the entire Luo land. From the time they voted Honorable Raphael Tuju in, they have seen the kind of development that they only dream about come to their door step."

- For starters, aside from the ridiculous name, this is the first hint that you are not a Luo: you assume that Luo's have one mind as though every individual is not capable of speaking for himself. It is obvious that you think very lowly of Luos. This makes it very unlikely that you are one and more likely that you are a tribalist from another group. But, in the unlikely event that you are a Luo, you are not a credible one since you clearly have nor respect for your people.

"For over 40 years, luos have blindly followed the Odinga clan, and what do they have to show for it? Nothing but abject poverty at the grass roots. In the meantime, he has been raking money in.There is no question that Raila is the richest Luo in the world.Yet his supporters in Luoland and Kibera are some of the poorest people in Kenya . In a very curious twist that only Luos can enlighten us on, while the likes of Kenyatta and Moi were handing out goodies, plots and money to the needy, poor Luos see nothing wrong in handing over their meager earnings to Raila, all in the hope that once he is president, he will magically transform Luoland into the garegd od eden. Yet it is well known that Odingas have not brought an iota of development in Luoland. Just compare Luoland to their neighboring Kisiiland. While Kisiis have never even had a president, their hard work and development conscious leadership is well- displayed by their stone houses with mabati roofs. Now, visit Luoland and all you see are the same grass-roofed old round huts that Speke and Grant found in the late 1800's! Yet Raila feels no shame when he drives around there in his Sh 15 Million Hummer Military vehicle for show."

- It is quite amusing the way you call Raila both a socialist, communist, AND capitalist. You degrade him for being wealthy yet you do not want a socialist. What a paradox. Also the buck stops at Kibaki's door for the lack of development of Nyanza, North Eastern, and other parts of Kenya. He was, after all, the President. By the way, whatever happened to that 6% growth? Where or rather to whom did it go?

Now, if Kenya had had a majimbo system, where each area was more or less self- sufficient, if the government's powers had been devolved, then you could blame Raila for not developing his constituency (which was actually Langata). Hmmmm... I guess this puts you in a double bind since you don't want majimbo. Oh well.

"Raila's hatred of Kikuyus is a ploy. All he is doing is working up the politics of the 1960's on the mindless Luo masses, yet Kenyans have been busy building barriers across tribes. If he hated Kikuyus that much, how could he let his son marry a Kikuyu just the other day?"

- He let his son marry a Kikuyu precisely because he does not hate Kikuyus. That would be, I think, the most obvious interpretation. Also, please cite an example of a time when Raila said that he hated Kikuyus. I hear this line all the time, but no one ever provides a concrete example. Therefore, I can only conclude that this is PNU propaganda.

"Majimbo is a concept that has never worked anywhere in the world. Again this goes back to the Jaramogi politics of 1960. At that time the pros and cons of Majimbo were debated fair and square, and majimbo lost. Balkanisation of any country has never worked and one needs not look anyfuther than the Balkan states themselves. In the Euphoria of breaking up the USSR , majimbos and countries were formed along tribal lines. In less that three years, these breakway countries realised their mistake and came together and formed the CIS union. Do we have to break apart, kill each other, then regret later? From an economic point of view,and the fact that in a true majimbo system, each jimbo would be allocated developemnt funds based on their contribution to the national kitty, what does Luoland have to offer except dwiddling fish supplies? Raila did not raise a voice when Moi killed the sugar, cotton and rice farming by allowing tax-free imports, in fact he selfishly benefited from it. Raila's socialist ideas are outdated: Cuban's can't wait for Fidel Castro to die. North Korea is a dirt-poor country stuck in a time-warp. The sole purpose of creating majimbo is to provide Raila with a fiefdom to lord over once he leaves the presidency (assuming he gets it) in 2017."

- Too bad we've already established that Raila is a capitalist. And that the most capitalist country in the world, the country that created democracy, also practices majimbo.

"Raila killed the Constitution reforms. By cleverly buddling some contentious issues with the main agenda, Raila was able to hoodwink some people into voting against proposed constitution reforms during the referendum. By now, Kenyans would be reaping from the benefits of those reforms. Can he tell us why we need a figurehead president, if the Prime Minister will end up doing what the current president is doing? Raila killed the Constitution reforms. By cleverly buddling some contentious issues with the main agenda, Raila was able to hoodwink some people into voting against proposed constitution reforms during the referendum. By now, Kenyans would be reaping from the benefits of those reforms. Can he tell us why we need a figurehead president, if the Prime Minister will end up doing what the current president is doing?"

- We need a Prime Minister precisely because our former Presidents, Kibaki included, have done little to nothing for the average--that is, poor--Kenyan. Despite a 6% growth rate, the majority of Kenyans still live on less than $2 per day. As for the constitutional reforms, your attempt at revisionist history is pathetic to say the least. By the account of every major newspaper, except maybe Kibaki's Daily Nation, Kibaki and his government used the constitutional referendum to dramatically increase the powers of the President. If you mean that by refusing to legislate dictatorship in Kenya, Raila raised some "contentious issues," then you are correct. Kenya's constitution could have been one of the most progressive in the world, but Kibaki and his allies were determined (as we have seen more lately) to return to old style African dictatorship. When they did not win the first time around, Kibaki threw out the opposition and "passed" the legislation without them. This is completely contrary to the tenets of democracy since it means that the majority of Kenyans were not represented in this vote because their representatives were barred from ensuring that their interests were served. Obviously, the consolidation of power in the executive branch is also against the very tenets of democracy, which stresses checks and balances. Majimbo, on the other hand, is a system that devolves power and creates checks and balances. It is precisely the system of governance seen in the United States, where the state and local government have more of an impact on the daily lives of citizens than the federal government. This is why Americans pay more in state and local taxes than they do to the federal government. Majimbo is, therefore, not a socialist or communist system. In fact, it is employed by the most capitalist country in the world.

"Raila cannot deliver a new constitution in 100 days. Simple logic. A constitution reform needs two-thirds majority vote in parliamennt. There is now way he can gather that in 100 days knowing the hatred he is causing. The law requires a referendum and that cannot be done in 100 days."

- It is true that Raila will not be able to deliver a new constitution in 100 days as long as the old guard (who, corrupt and all, have been appointed back into power by dictator Kibaki, but not by the people of Kenya...) remains in power. These people have ad will drag the process for as long as they can because they truly do not want a democratic Kenya. After all, these are some of the same people who fought to keep Kenya a one-party state. They have and will continue to do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. These people also fear that if Raila is in power, then they will have to stand trial for their corruption. Thus they are using poor Kenyans, even their own tribesmen, to ensure that they never face the music for what they have done over decades. Kenyans are dying so that a few rich men and their families can be shielded from the realities of justice and democracy. The mwananchi need to wake up stop allowing themselves to be used like by these thieves and murderers. It may be admirable to die for your country, but it is stupid to die for an elite that has never done anything to help you advance. These people will let bullets, arrows, and machetes rain on you as they hide beneath your corpse. All poor Kenyans need to reject these corrupt tribalists outright and join together in demanding democracy. It seems to me that people from all tribes and political parties would benefit from a new election if it is carried out correctly. Why can't Kenyans join together and demand this? It is certainly preferable to senseless bloodshed.

"Secret MOUs have been signed. This is an open secret. With pro-Arab support, Raila has signed on to transform Kenya into a Muslim state, something that would put Kenya at loggerheads with our western donors and partners. This pact is in addition to the creation of a Jimbo la Pwani, where a 10-mile wide strip along the Kenyan coast would be ceded, again, to the Sultans of the gulf, whole will then appoint Balala as Sultan. This will result in the rest of Kenya being a land locked country. Taxes would levied on anything that comes through the port of Mombasa , including foodstuff. Kenya is predominantly Christian, but with freedom of worship for everybody. We do not need religious bigotry to lead us into faith-based chaos like those in Afghanistan (Taribans), and Sudan (Sharia law). "

- PNU also signed secret MOUs. MOUs to rendition Kenyans into the hands of the US. Kibaki lied to all of us, saying that there was no such program but it is now common knowledge that his government renditioned Kenyans. Unfortunately for you, by now, the majority of us have seen the real MOU that Raila signed with the Muslim community. We are not fooled by the grade-school propaganda fake MOU put out by PNU. These childish antics are not becoming of a political party that should lead a state. The real MOU does not say that Kenya will be transformed into a Muslim state, but that the rights of Muslims will be respected and protected. Kibaki defiled the government's relationship with the Muslim community--renditioning its people and denying them voter cards (I wonder why). Any new president should and would have had to fix this disgrace to democracy, to reassure the Muslim population that their rights would actually be respected. Many of the families of those secretly renditioned must worry often about whether their loved ones are in Guantanamo or in a "black prison" somewhere else where they are treated with even less humanity. I feel for these people and understand the need of the Muslim community to be reassured of their rights.

Again, your attempts at revisionist history are pathetic.

Over and out,
Godfrey