A message to the people of Kenya

By Job Ombati
New England USA
Ladies and Gentlemen.

While I want to thank so many of you for your wise and brave suggestions on Kenya's future, I want to say one thing though. First, I love Kenya as much as you all do. I was born and raised in Kenya, and when I die, I will be buried in Kenya. However, before that time come, I want to say my mind and say it clearly.

First, many Kenyans are tired of Politics. If you are not, then I am. Every time we elect leaders, we always have a tendency to think that they will govern with justice and take our country to a higher level. Many of us have spent time, money and even lost some members of our families in the name of better governance. In 2007,many Kenyans died because they wanted a better country. What did we get in return? You all know.

Secondly, we have been able to listen to voice of reason by tolerating the government leaders we have though we don’t approve many of them. Now, what pains me my dear countrymen is when I see these leaders behaving as criminals and as cowards. We have given these leaders time to govern and heal our country, but when Uhuru speaks as he did this week, it makes me cry. Is this what leadership is all about? Why should Uhuru speak as a little kid who as no sense? I am totally disappointed and at the same time, I am lost.
Someone should tell Uhuru to learn to disagree without calling people names. The way he acted in front of the whole country is childish and he must learn how to disagree without that kind of behavior.

Lastly, I am asking all of you good and learned friends to stand up for our country and not our tribes. Yes, we are all from different tribes, but our house and home is Kenya. So, we must think as such. Stop this simple and silly business of supporting anyone and everyone because he or she comes from your village. This is nonsense. Support serious, capable and brave people to help heal our country. Stand for Kenya and not for Individuals. Individuals come and go but our country remains for ever. Think big my fellow citizens and think of Kenya as one country. Be a statesman and a leader. Be a true patriot and be a genuine Kenyan. Everyone of you should help build the country and not tear it down.
I am tired and disappointed but will not lose hope. I will stand for Kenya. So help me God.
Job Ombati
The author of Kenya The Beloved.

Kibaki taking a wrong path

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey USA
The path President Kibaki has taken following Speaker Marende's ruling yesterday does not augur well for the Country's peace. Actually, the body language exhibited by the PNU brigades yesterday was a clear indication that they will coerce him to dismiss the Speaker's ruling on the nominations. From the President himself and his henchmen, I don’t read any passion for serving the Kenyan people- I see tribalism, greed for power, perpetuation of impunity through the retention of the status quo. If Mzee Kibaki campaigned tirelessly for the passage of the current constitution, we expect him to respect it to the letter rather than reneging on the same. There shall be no gray areas like the days of Nyayo. Kenyans fought in 2008 because he Kibaki failed the test of leadership, diplomacy and statesmanship. If he had followed fair play during the electioneering period and after, we would not be experiencing the current level of ethnic disharmony, mistrust and the circus about ICC. I wonder if he is seriously watching the events in the Middle East. Kenya is not exceptional because we’re tired seeing one man wanting to hold a nation of 40 million people under hostage.

The Leader Kenya need

The Leader Kenya need
By Joseph Lister Nyaringo,
New Jersey, USA
Those aspiring to lead a nation of 40 Million "must" be people with a a clean track record. We're tired of the politics of dynasty. We're tired of the politics of big man syndrome. We are tired of " big" names in Kenya's political realm. This time round, we need a "David" to save our nation from the morass of PROPAGANDA SYCOPHANCY, TRIBALISM, GREED, and GRAFT & INEQUALITY.
We want a leader who will narrow the gap between the haves and the don't haves. There is no reason why one family owns almost 35% of the nation's wealth ofcourse acquired illegally when many of our people are living in squalor- hand to mouth. In fact, as I write this piece, people in Turkana, Ukambani and Maasai land are eating herbs like antelopes. Others are living in the cold as IDPs, whose genesis was Kibaki’s clamour to retain the status quo.
Others cannot even afford a graveyard or a garden to plant sukuma wiki. Is this the country we want to bequeath to our children and the children of our children? It sad indeed and this time round, we cannot sit and wait. We are going to rise up in tens, hundreds, thousands and millions to say enough is enough to greed, impunity, sycophancy and tribalism.
The constitution that majority Kenyans passed last year must be respected to the letter. We need to stand up and be counted to defend the stand that the Speaker of the national assembly took yesterday if we truly want to make the constitution meaningful and beneficial to the people of Kenya.
Kenya's Statehouse belongs to any man or woman with values to fight for the Kenyan people and not himself, family or community. I end my opinion here with this Verse in the Holy Bible, Titus 1-7-8: For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
This the cardinal tenet to better leadership in any society.

No room for autocrats in the World after the overthrow of Mubarak

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA
The recent overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt should be a wake up call for dictatorial regimes in the world to open freedom doors for their people.
Coming few weeks after the Tunisian dictator Zine El A. Ben Ali was deposed through mass resistance without gun power, it opens a new chapter for the people’s quest for freedom. Bringing down the two dictators was a great show of resiliency and determination from the Tunisian and Egyptian people.
All world tyrants should remember that their days are numbered. They should move helter skelter to embrace freedom and justice to their people. If the Egyptian people can topple a dictator who ruled them with an iron fist for 30 years through peaceful protests in a span of 18 days, nothing will stop the Iranians, Zimbabweans, and North Koreans from realizing the same aspiration.
The Middle East will never be the same again. The wind of change, which first started in Tunisia and then to Egypt has now moved to: Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, and Iran. It’s also likely to spread to other dictatorial regimes in the region like: Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Libya and Syria.
In the home front, our leaders should take a cue from the Middle East events. Nothing will stop Kenyans from rising up to demand for their rights especially when the gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting wide and wider. The rich have continued to a mass wealth when many Kenyans in the Country are eating herbs like antelopes while others are dying with their animals.

The wind of change in the Middle East should catalyse our leadership to liquidate impunity, fight graft and address historical injustices to pave the way for an equitable and just society for al Kenyans. If a bloodless revolution happened in Egypt and Tunisia, the same can happen in Yemen, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Iran or even Kenya.
We may enjoy freedom as a nation but economic disparity will compel us to revolt against the current leadership whose interest is the retention of power, which was the genesis of post election skirmishes of 2008. In fact, if President Kibaki had followed fair play during the electioneering period and after, we would not be experiencing the current level of ethnic disharmony.

On the other hand, if President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would have said enough was enough and hand over power to Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe will be in a fair political footing.

I fail to understand why tyrants don’t care about their own future, families and legacy. I also wonder why a person who has enjoyed power, fame, huge emoluments, and respect will wait to be hounded from office and be forced to exile. Does it mean tyrants are only smart in consolidating power rather than pursuing a popular path, which is in tandem with the people’s aspirations? Why can’t they read the public mood?

I’m sure Hosni Mubarak and his closest associates, friends, and family may have seen an impending revolution from the people but ignored it.

From the late Adolf Hitler of Germany, and Benito Mussolini of Italy, dictators always end tragically. In Africa, former Ugandan dictator Idi Amini, and Mobutu Seseko of Zaire fled to exile and it’s so shameful that their remains were never interred in the Countries they once ruled.
Another tragic example is that of the late Slobodan Milosevic who after being indicted for war crimes, died in a prison cell in The Hague, while former Iraq strongman Sadam Hussein was put on the hangman’s noose for committing crimes against his own people.
It’s true Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If Hosni Mubarak had relinquished power a year a go, he would have suffered less humiliation to save his face. At least the World would have appreciated the fact that despite being a cruel dictator, he held Egypt together; making it the second American ally in the Middle East after Israel.

Good leadership is all about lifting people through sharing their predicaments and aspirations to achieve their destiny. It is rare to find a replica of Nelson Mandela; the epitome of selflessness, reconciliation and forgiveness in the World today.

Mandela may have not been perfect but leading South Africa for one term and voluntarily relinquishing power was phenomenal. Not many leaders will do what he did, even in Western democracies. The question is: shall the World ever produce another Mandela without a trace of dictatorship?

Finally, I do believe that our current leaders have learned a lesson after the overthrow of two dictators in the Middle East in a months’ span. I also believe that they are ready to effectively fight graft, impunity, tribalism and respect constitutional provisions. Time will tell but Kenyan people are very impatient.

KGU Press Statement February 2011

Following successful Mediation held on February 8th, 2011, between the KGU Interim Committee members and in accordance with the agreed resolutions arrived at therein; the Kenya Global Unity (KGU) elections previously slated for February 25th, 2011 hereby postponed to May 21st, 2011 when KGU AGM shall be held. Details of this important event will be communicated to you soon.

All paid up members are advised to go ahead and declare their interest for office. Potential members are encouraged to register in order to exercise their right to vote and vie for positions in the KGU leadership.

I want to appreciate the following patriots who worked tirelessly to ensure that differences in KGU leadership were resolved amicably: Mr. Patrick Odoyo with his co-chair Mr. Andrew Kerosi, committee members: Wanjiku Marjorie, Omondi Owera, Peter Gachuiri, Jimmy Onkangi, and Abdul Kiptanui.
The KGU interim committee regards the marvelous job that paved the way for reconciliation, unity and confidence between the interim leaders to work together for the benefit of the Kenyan people through KGU. The team reflected strong leadership spirit, patriotism and selflessness.
During the mediation process, both sides agreed on the following resolutions:
1) KGU elections to be held in May 21st 2011 rather than February 21st 2011 as earlier announced by Lister Nyaringo.
2) The suspension of Lister Nyaringo as interim secretary general and Newton Kinity as director to the board were all lifted.
3) All KGU members’ meeting will be held on February 19, 2011.
4) A lawsuit that was earlier on pursued by KGU management committee was dropped.
5) The management Committee will have access to KGU document to do all the work they need.
6) The mediation committee also recommended to the KGU interim leadership to work as a team.

We all look forward to work harmoniously in building KGU and make it as a vehicle for our unity abroad. Brothers and sisters I want to end with this Verse: 2nd Corinthians 5:18-19. Be blessed.
Joseph Lister Nyaringo,
Interim Secretary General
(KGU)

KENYA GLOBAL UNITY (KGU) ELECTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

KENYA GLOBAL UNITY (KGU) ELECTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
January 26th 2011
By the powers conferred upon me by the State of New Jersey as the Registered Agent Representing Kenya Global Unity (KGU), and as interim Secretary General, I hereby announce the date of elections when the following positions will be filled:
1)President
2)Deputy President
3)Secretary General
4)Deputy Secretary general
5)Finance secretary
6)Deputy finance secretary
7)Deputy Director to the board
8)Chief whip
9)Deputy Chief whip
10)Spokesperson
11)Deputy spokesperson
12)Three(3)Committee Members
13)Director to the board
14)Steering board comprising: Board Secretary for Governance and Political affairs, Board Secretary for Justice and Human Rights, Board Secretary for Economic Affairs, Board Secretary for policy formulation and project implementation, Board Secretary of Education and ICT, Board Secretary of legal affairs, Board Secretary for International affairs, Board Secretary for gender and social affairs.

The elections shall be held on 25th February 2011 during our annual general meeting (AGM) as per article (6) of our proposed constitution. On this day, KGU members shall officially ratify our proposed constitution. The venue, location, and modalities for the elections shall be announced to you soon.

The period between the date of this notice and the AGM is therefore considered as the campaign period and candidates are encouraged to campaign or hold debates in local and international media.

Potential KGU members in the Diaspora wishing to vie for any of the said positions are encouraged to register by paying their membership fee of $ 10.00, three days prior to the Election Day, in order to publish a final copy of all registered members.

Login in at: www.kenyaglobalunity.com and pay $ 10.00 to become a member in order to exercise your democratic right to vie or vote the leaders of your choice. The “best” future for Kenya and the World is: Power to the People. Indeed the splendor of our diversity is our strength. The time for our global unity is here.

Members of KGU in the Diaspora wishing to vie for any of the said positions should write to me using the official KGU address below and specify the position they are interested in. This must be 14 days prior to elections. I will publish a weekly register of interested candidates.
Joseph Lister Nyaringo,
Registered Legal Agent and Interim Secretary General,
438 East 29th Street, Paterson, NJ 07514
Email: speak4all@gmail.com

MINNESOTA TRAGEDY

NARRATED ON: 23 Dec 2010 at 09:00

MINNESOTA TRAGEDY

What I knew and When

I promised to put the record straight to all friends and relatives especially the Mwanyagetinge fraternity who actively participated in the funeral plans following the October tragedy where three lives were lost through murder in Minnesota.

At about 4 pm 13^th 2010, my cousin Justus Ogendi Kebabe called me from Minnesota and left me a distressful voice message on my phone. I called him back immediately, and he started crying over the phone. I urged him to tell me what was going on. My first worry was about his mother (my aunt) who has been ailing in recent years.

He said he was fed up with life because of frustrations and that he didn’t see the need to live. He asked me to tell family members and friends that in case anything happened to him, it was because of the pain he has endured in recent years and would not stand it anymore.

We talked for about 30 minutes and during the conversation, he kept breaking and starting to cry over the phone. I asked him to calm down and tell me exactly the frustrations he was going through and if he had shared it with his immediate family, relatives or friends. I do not want to duel on these frustrations in this narrative. Without being specific, he asked me to convey to my mother (her aunt) that he loves her and she will dearly miss him. He further told me to tell family members not worry about him in case anything happened.

I tried to comfort him by reassuring him that all will be okay and that challenges are part of life. I requested him to take a break from Minnesota and come to stay with me in New Jersey.

I kept begging him not to hurt himself because my initial worry was about his safety.  It didn’t pass in my mind that he will end up killing his wife and two children.  I kept imploring him to trust God and reminded him that his life was precious than anything else irrespective of the pain he was going through. He was often distraught and incoherent; often breaking over the phone and wobbling with words during our conversation.

Finally, he promised that he would not hurt himself. He promised to call me the following day to let me know his plans especially my request of asking him to move to New Jersey. As we were talking, I would hear the sound of a child (children) and television from the background.  Finally, he told me that, he was feeling much better after talking to me.

Frantic efforts and contacting Police

I realized my cousin was on imminent danger and at about 4:45 pm, I called Justus’s brother who also lives in Minnesota, but his phone could not go through. I tried another cousin also living in the same state but would not reach her either. In New Jersey, I called two friends to seek their counsel. The first was Mr. Denzel Musumba, the owner of the E. A. Radio USA, who told me that best thing for my cousin was to change the environment and meet new people to talk to in order to share his frustrations.

Mr. Denzel even offered to contact a friend in Minnesota to accommodate my cousin. The second person I contacted was a Jamaican friend, who advised me to call the police, and. being a medical practitioner, she advised me that my cousin was on the last stage of committing suicide. I was extremely scared.

Immediately, I called 411 and requested the operator to route me to police in Minneapolis in order to report the matter. I spoke to a female officer who asked my details and those of my cousin and why I thought Mr. Kebabe was on the imminent danger to his own life. She also wanted to know the town where Mr. Kebabe lived but I didn’t know. However, I provided her with the telephone landline in order to pull out Mr. Kebabe’s residential address.

 After the said conversation, I called my cousin again just to know how he was feeling. He again promised to call me the following day to tell me of his arrangements to come to New Jersey.

At about 5.45 pm, I received a phone call from a male police officer who told me that they had called my cousin and asked him what the problem was but he told them he was taking the children out for dinner.  They asked him to wait for them so that he would tell them what problems he was having. After asking me a few questions about my earlier conversation with my cousin. The police officer promised to update me by phone on any development after seeing him. To be honest, I requested the police not to divulge to him that I was the one who informed them about his situation. They agreed to call me later and inform me accordingly.

I do remember requesting the police officer why they decided to call my cousin instead of going straight to him privately. However, I would not get a definite answer. After this conversation with the police officer, I tried calling my cousin several times on his mobile phone and landline, but they remained unanswered.

Finally, at around 9 pm, I received a call from one of my cousins I had tried to contact earlier, and she gave me the phone number of Mr. Evans, a brother to Justus. After telling him what transpired earlier between his brother, and me, as usual, he called his brother, but all his phone remained unanswered. He finally decided to call the police who actually told him that I had contacted them from New Jersey about his brother’s situation.

They told Evans that they were heading to Justus’s apartment.  After meeting, the police asked Evans to remain outside as they went into his brother’s apartment, where they spent approximately 45 minutes in the apartment. When they came out, they asked him to go home and promised to contact him after analyzing the documents they had gathered in the apartment. They told him they didn’t find anybody in the apartment.

Official confirmation of the murder by Police

In the early hour of 14^th October 2010, I got a call from the police in Minnesota who officially conveyed to me that Justus was in custody and he had confessed killing his wife and two children. They informed me that the youngest child was alive and on government care. They congratulated me for the courage I showed to report the matter and from this point, the tragedy was officially pronounced, and the news was all over in blogs, social networks, radio and the print media in the US and Kenya. 

FINGER POINTING & THREAT TO MY LIFE

I’m equally sorrowful

Brothers and sisters, the above narrative depicts what I knew before the demise of my relatives. It’s extremely tragic to lose two productive adult lives; one gone forever and the other awaiting sentencing to waste behind bars to pay for his crime. Two innocent beautiful children are gone forever. They hadn’t lived even half of their father’s age.  It’s hard; it's tough to endure and both families need prayers.

I believe today that if someone would have acted in a timely version, the two beautiful children and their mother will be with us today. I personally tried my best several hundreds of kilometers away, but it was too late. However, in Godly realms, whether we are in sorrow or in joy, we give God all the Glory.

From October 13^th to November 19^th, 2010, when the victims were laid to rest, I never made any efforts or plans to frustrate the grieving family. I am personally griefing because the victims were my relatives. The late Kinley and Ivyn, wiped out by their own father, who is my maternal cousin, were my nephew and niece respectively. Here was Bilha, a wife to my cousin who also called my cousin. I remember a conversation we had this August when she invited me to visit them in Minnesota. She sounded a caring mother with a good heart; very pleasant to talk to. She wanted me to talk to the kids, but they had gone to bed. Moreover, today, the three are not with us anymore.

Mass hate

Today, on the eyes of many, especially the bereaved family, I’m viewed from a negative prism; almost compared to the one who committed the crime. I have tried to take stock of the mistake I did to become the subject of malice, blackmail, finger pointing, curses insults and threats to my life but I don’t see any.

Crime is never and will never be a collective matter for a family. A driver who causes an accident is judged individually; excluding passengers.  I manage to be a cousin to Mr. Kebabe and I leave this to God. Justice will be served in January 2011, during the sentencing and I Lister Nyaringo or any member of Kebabe family will not be standing alongside Justus. He will be judged individually excluding his mother, father, siblings, relatives, and friends.

My original intent to call the Police from New Jersey was a swift response to a cry from the wilderness. Here was a man sounding suicidal, distraught and frustrated. Here was a man who was in harm's way and mine was to try and find a way to help him. In addition to trying to reach the relevant people to talk to him, I realized that contacting the police was the best option. Moreover, I’m accused of having known every detail that culminated to the demise of the three.

I’m not writing this as a defense because I haven’t hurt or offended anybody. I haven’t broken any law related to this matter whether in Kenya or the US where the crime was committed. I’m generally putting the record straight to the Kenyan community especially (Mwanyagetinge) who worked hard with the bereaved family on funeral arrangements. This also goes out to Kenyans who have been fed with lies and falsehoods about me since the tragedy became known. Reputation is jewelry that every person always strives to protect and defend especially when one is being accused wrongfully.

How can you do good, sensible and humane and still be accused and labeled as a beast, killer, and murderer yet the real the killer is in custody awaiting sentencing for the heinous crime he committed? Did I ask God to make the Kebabe family my relatives?

Why should fellow Kenyans (Kisiis) hatch a plan to hire thugs to kill me, saying I was frustrating the mourning family when I actually made concerted efforts to avert the tragedy after sensing its imminence? I was personally in the mourning stage. However, being an outsider, it will be purely hypocritical to say I was mourning more than the bereaved family. Nevertheless, the fact remains they were all mourning and are deeply touched by the heinous crime committed to the three innocent lives.

From a humanistic sight, the two murdered children were my blood relatives killed with their mother by a man who is my blood cousin now in the dungeon. I’m deeply affected, and this one applies to my cousin Mr. Evans Kebabe in Minnesota who like me has been a subject of negative cycle talk since the tragedy occurred. Mr. Evans lost a sister-in-law, a niece and a nephew and his own blood brother are now wasting behind bars. In fact, he has received unprintable epithets from people he is supposed to reach out to for comfort because he is equally traumatized by the tragedy. Like everybody else in his family, Evans his innocent and does not know why his brother did what he did to wipe out his family.  

How will you feel when you go to condole a family (your relatives) and instead, you are questioned like a suspect in police custody and threatened to be beaten up?  Thank God, in the US, the law is strict and very protective; God forbid, it will be totally a different story today if it was in Kenya.

When I decided to visit the bereaved family in Jersey City, New Jersey, my intention was to spend time with them to comfort, reflect, pray and encourage one another. However, family members of the late Bilha accused me of having known about the killing four days earlier and that the phone call that I made to police was just a cover-up. I’m asking them for purposes of clarity to call the law enforcement in Minnesota to gather facts on these unfounded allegations.

It's disheartening that I visited the family as a relative but instead of appreciating my love and compassion, the voice recorder and pictured me without my consent; saying they were doing it to portray that our meeting was peaceful in case I left and later allege that they wanted to fight me.

My cousin Evans in Minnesota and I were accused of having been behind the denial of travel Visas for family members who wanted to travel from Kenya to attend the burial in The US and this was widely covered in the print and electronic media in Kenya and the US. These made me wonder how for heaven's sake, a Kenyan or any foreign national will influence the American government to deny or issue a Visa to people visiting the country. Visa issuance is a discretion of the US Department of State and me, Lister Nyaringo or anybody from the Kebabe family has no authority over it. All Kenyans should know this and many of those who made this wild allegation has lived in America for over 20 years and should know better.

Defiling the pulpit with hate

Truth must be told in order to set all of us free. The shameful experience I saw earlier did not deter me from attending a memorial service held for the victims and coordinated by a Kenyan led SDA The church at Saint Patrick Cathedral in Jersey City. During the service, I became the subject of finger-pointing and insults from the “pulpit” from fellow Kisiis.

Unprintable epithets were hurled at me as I sat pensively holding my cheeks in the parked Cathedral. In my lifetime as a Christian, I have never seen the pulpit turned into a den of such hate and rancour. Those who espouse the Christian faith must remember that in our age, The Body of “Christ is under attack.”

Until those who have been anointed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ about the Kingdom of God change their tact and stop preaching water and drinking wine, our society at home and abroad will continue sinking in disunity, rumour mongering, backbiting, idle gossip, strife envy, and clanism. We need tranquility, fraternity, and brotherhood in sorrow and in joy. We need our Church leaders to be at the front line in championing societal tenets that brings our people together and not those tearing us apart.

During the memorial service, reconciliation, love, and forgiveness between the two families hit by the tragedy were a vocabulary from most Church leaders and mourners who spoke. About 500 people attended the memorial including dozens of Caucasian folks, Latinos, People from the Caribbean and the Mayor of Vadnais Heights in Minnesota where the tragedy occurred.  Since I would not bear the insults which were often followed by clapping and foot thumping from the mourners. I decided to walk out leaving the memorial service a halfway. 

The threat to my life

At midnight after the memorial service, an anonymous caller to my phone urged me to stop frustrating the bereaved family on the media failure to which, I will be shot to death. This was actually a confirmation to a plan a friend confided to me earlier, that was hatched by people who congregated in the brother to the bereaved in Jersey City to hire thugs to kill me.

My opinion on mass media

On the issue of the media, I’m not a journalist by profession but I do contribute clips which are occasionally featured in Blogs and the print media in Kenya. I’m also a great fan of the East Africa Blog Talk Radio which airs from Las Vegas. Secondly, during the circus over the burial place for the victims, my opinion was for the victims to be buried in Kenya to give the larger family chance to mourn and be able to come to terms with the tragedy.  I supported this idea as a personal opinion on the mass media in the US and Kenya and the verbatim, print and electronic clips are handy for whoever wants to get more clarity.

The second accusation on my part was why the tragedy circulated to the mass media before the bereaved family was informed. Truly for the right-thinking Kenyans, I’m a relative to the Kebabe family and, I didn’t know any relative of the late Bilha until later when I learned that her brother lives in New Jersey. Moreover, when the police discovered the murder, they brought my name to the picture has been the person who called them. This is how the media in Minnesota picked the news and started looking for me to provide them with information. The media out there always want to make news and everyone know this.  

Question of my truthfulness

I want to remind those who said that I have some issues to answer as the last person who spoke to Mr. Justus Kebabe before the murder was unraveled to remember that in any country, there are rules that govern investigations once a crime has been committed. I made a call hundred of miles from Minnesota to alert the law enforcement to help a human being who needed help. Anybody who suspects foul play should call the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department to get more information on my wrongdoing. On Earth and in heaven, I did what I did think that it was the right thing to do by responding to a distress call.

Forging ahead with forgiveness and reconciliation

I want to confess in words that I didn’t do anything wrong to deserve the spiritual agony, mental torture, and psychological ordeal that I’m going through. Before my God, my friends and my enemies; God his my ultimate witness in what I have done, and will do in the future. Despite the insults, accusations, epithets, and curses, I live everything to God because he knows man’s intentions and he is the perfect reader of our hearts.   

I never told my cousin to kill his family or run away from the authorities. I didn’t behave inhumanly to the bereaved family because reaching out to them with humility, love, and compassion after the tragedy was a reflection of my understanding their pain.

Most importantly, calling the police was a search for help for my cousin who sounded suicidal. To me, it was an act of love and compassion and being a brother or sister’s keeper. If I didn’t take any step after learning that his soul was almost losing its purpose and that he was engulfed with amnesia on the utility of human life, I will be the most tormented person in the globe. However, when humanity does not acknowledge the good we try to do in the world, I shake off the dust, move on by thanking and accepting what God has instilled in me.

I don’t care whether you are a friend, relative, enemy, sibling, parent or employer. If I discover that you are engulfed with what my cousin was in, I will repeat the same thing for the rest of my life and I will never be derailed by those whose intention is to soil my name through innuendo and blackmail.  

As far as I am concerned, I did all I could for the sake of humanity. I have written these words not to elicit another debate or flare up tempers after the three victims have been laid to rest but to shed light by putting the record straight especially to those in the Kisii community here in the US whose negative view on me must be re-corrected. I am telling them the original version of what transpired before and after the tragic murder.

May this matter settle and may those out there who tarnished my image by uttering curses from the pulpit remember that I have forgiven them from the deep bottom of my heart. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knows my heart. Let us join hands to appreciate each other as human beings to forge for reconciliation and build avenues for fraternity, sisterhood, brotherhood, common bonds and unity in joy and in grief.

For mistakes, whether conscious and unconscious related to the tragedy if any, I believe and trust that God has already forgiven me and that I rejoice in his name.  I confess before humans and God that as the sun continues to rise and set, very soon, many will discover that I was right and that as I trample on this earth, I will always try to be right.

Finally, in my oneness with God’s will, if there is one out there holding me negatively, hating me or reflecting me on bad light during and after the tragedy, I kindly ask you to forgive me. I ask God who is behind our presence in this world to strengthen all of us and use us as vessels and lovers of humanity instead of haters of humanity. God bless all.

Joseph Lister Nyaringo

Legislators should not trash the IIBRC recommendations

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA
The recommendations of the Independent Boundaries Review Commission should be respected and any anomalies addressed with sobriety and not through reactionary tactics being portrayed by political leaders, since the Chairman of the commission made the report public.

How long shall we see politicians trashing tax payer funded programs especially when it doesn’t serve their political interests? This is egocentricity, lack of leadership and a waste of resources should they demand for the reconstitution of a new IIBRC to start the same job Mr. Andrew Ligale’s team has completed.

If the IIBRC may have violated certain provisions in the current constitution in the apportionment of the constituency boundaries, threatening to trash the entire work of the commission will mean pressing for the reconstitution of another commission but this will be a toll on the Kenyan tax payers. We are tired of seeing taxpayers’ money being wasted on jobs which although not perfect, have been fully completed by the experts the country has been able to produce.

Many of our people are living from hand to mouth while others are languishing in IDP camps almost three years after the post election violence. Therefore, when leaders talk about expenditures that will drain the exchequer with no benefit to the lives of Kenyans, to me, it’s a poor show of leadership.

We need to be watchful on MPs out to frustrate the IIBRC recommendations that will be tabled in Parliament and this time, we are not going to condone threats like the one uttered by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi, who predicted violence if the Ligale commission recommendations are not handled with care.

Elected leaders who evoke violence to drive a political point when Kenyans are reeling from the violence that engulfed the country in 2008 is totally in bad taste and a sign of incitement. Such leaders should be picked by the law enforcement to record a statement.

We can’t trust leaders who are fond of raising eyebrows on issues that they think are detrimental to their political survival. This trend has turned to be a form of compulsive psychiatric disorder where political leaders are obsessed with rejecting what is beneficial to scores of millions of Kenyans each time a commission comes up with recommendations after wrapping up its work.

We saw the same trend in the Ndungu Land report, the Waki report, and Kriegler report and now it’s happening on Andrew Ligale’s boundaries review commission. Indeed, even if the Chairman of the IIBRC rescinded the recommendations of his commission to appease those against it, we shall still have those who will feel short changed because you can’t please everybody in the society.

Electoral boundaries are there to facilitate effective service delivery to the citizens of any Country and therefore, I believe Andrew Ligale’s team did consider local population demographics during the apportionment of 80 constituencies.

For instance, in the United States, California which is the most populous with 37 million people has an apportionment of 53 Congressional Representatives, while Wyoming with a paltry population of 50, 000 has only one. I believe that Mr. Ligale’s team did use these criteria to arrive at 80 constituencies.

Finally, this trend by politicians to try and paralyze the findings intended to shape the destiny of our country should cease. I do believe Mr. Andrew Ligale has impeccable credentials in public life and many Kenyans will trust the job he did as Chairman of IIBRC.

Its not a norm to do all the Romans does

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo,
New Jersey, USA
The rate at which Kenyans are adopting Western culture is alarming. In fact, practices like Halloween with no benefit to the spiritual and moral fabric of our society are being celebrated like any merry holiday. In our urban centres, there is a big shift in the modes of dressing, communication, and general attitudes especially from young people.

These negative social transformations have caught our society by a storm, which is a negation of the values and tenets we need to uphold as a God fearing nation. In fact, what I see in New York, Los Angeles or London is exactly what's happening in the City of Nairobi.

I shudder at the thought of how our society will be in 20 years as the liberal lifestyle we see in the West is penetrating deep in our society and not only eroding our Kenyan heritage but slowly destroying our moral values. It's extremely frightening that these days, we are experiencing these: poor dressing habits, open profanity, vulgar language and open talk about sex.

Tragically, these negative trends are spreading rapidly even in schools where many young Kenyans are struggling to look modern by imitating everything Western under the allure of looking modernised.

I fail to understand why we're failing to maintain our societal norms and only accommodate foreign habits which are of no benefit to our lives. Our people need to be reminded that foreign is not necessarily good or applicable in our society. Just because it's working elsewhere, it doesn't mean it's suitable for Kenya.

Our people are wrong by embracing events like Halloween which has its roots in the US, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. Most homes looks like graveyards with human skeletons dangling on doors, as children and adults roam around in frightening costumes.

Kenya is home to almost all races - Asians, Europeans and Americans, but most of them have continued to retain their identity and values. In fact, most well-to-do individuals or those on short assignments especially diplomats take their children to schools which offer their country's education curriculum.

In fact, the tourists who visit Kenya do not go back to their countries and start practicing our customs for instance wearing the popular Maasai shawls or singing the popular Isukuti folklore.

Wherever Westerners go, they carry their culture, education, religion, norms, and values. And when we allow ourselves to be a dumping ground for obscenities we forget our true identity.

There are numerous examples showing that our society is ready to accommodate anything originating from the West while burying our original identity. Our musicians want to rap like Jay Z; while others want to sing like Janet Jackson or Madonna.

Many want to dress like lady Gaga. The popular Benga Music that spread up to Central Africa has faded away and may never be heard again because if it doesn't sound American. Where shall be our identity for years to come?

We should not become copycats to foreign habits which are not only destroying our values but also ruining our families. Currently, many of our women have become less virtuous; men don't care about nurturing lifelong relationships. Amongst our youth, profanity (Western) epithets are on the rise. The types of music they play contain vulgar language with unprintable lyrics.

Many of us who speak fearlessly against negative western lifestyles ends up being labelled or accused of being anti-modern and traditionalist. However, it's high time we kept the tenets that forms the basis of our upbringing but only accommodate the Western culture which is vital to our society.

America is better off with Obama than a Republican

By
Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA
President Barrack Obama faces tough challenges than most American Presidents in recent history despite working hard to address the impediments he inherited from his Predecessor, President W. George Bush.

He is hassling to resuscitate America’s dwindling economy through job creation, restructuring the Country’s financial system and to rebuild the broken diplomatic relations that went sour during Bush’s Presidency, a Republican.

It’s ironical that the party that was in power before Obama took over inherited a budget surplus from former President Clinton, a democrat but messed up the economy. They now expect Obama to fix things overnight even after he forewarned them before taking office of tough times a head especially the economic downtrend and job creation for many unemployed Americans.

Obama critics must know that to lead a country of more than 300 million people is not easy. In fact, even if John McCain had won, it would have taken him time to turn things around especially the economy.

In the international scene, Obama has tried to thaw the animosity towards America from the Arab World reassuring them that the US is not their enemy; which is a great stride for reconciliation and global peace.

To the contrary, this gesture has made the Republicans brand Obama as a sympathizer to Islam; a religion they link with terrorism. In fact, John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate, Sara Palin have used placards in their Tea party rallies with inscriptions that brands Obama as a terrorist, a fascist, a racist, an a Adolf Hitler and an anti-Christ. This is the same woman who would not even differentiate between South Africa as a Country and Africa as a Continent in the 2008 Presidential elections.

How do you brand a legitimately and genuinely elected US President a dictator and still exercise freedom of assembly and speech in rallies, TV stations and on the internet? These Republicans need to wise up. I wish they knew what goes on in Zimbabwe and Iran.

The US President’s diplomatic approach has angered many evangelical Right wing Christian leaders; notably, Pastor John Haggee of John Haggee Ministries of Texas, whose sermons have persistently portrayed Obama, as not doing enough to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This is a clear demonstration that if Obama was a Republican, they would advise him to invade Iran, the way they did to Bush before America invaded Iraq.

Pastor Haggee and Pat Robert of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) amongst others accuse Obama for socialising America; an ideology they link with Satanism. Truly, if signing a medical bill to benefit millions of uninsured Americans is communism (socialism), and also extending unemployment insurance to benefit the Americans out of job is satanic, then these Church leaders do not know the true meaning of being “Christ like.”

We of the Kenyan descent living in America cringe with disgust on seeing how Obama’s presidency has ignited racist remarks coming from Christian Preachers whose sermons are watched on TV by Kenyan Christians at home. Instead of challenging him on policy matters, they’re using racial slurs, an indication that the question of racism in America is far from over.

Recently, a former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a bid to run for President in 2012, said that Obama’s animosity toward the West is influenced by his forefather’s resistance against the British rule in Kenya. What type of a President Mr. Gingrich will be if he doesn’t get it that like Kenya, the US was once a British colony and that Obama is an American, born in the West despite his mixed race?

How gullible is the Republican Party leadership that even after Obama’s two years in the Oval Office, they are still pressing him to produce his birth certificate in order to be convinced that he is an American and not a Kenyan? It’s only in America where you have the freedom to insult a sitting president with unprintable epithets without repercussions.

I believe that, those who elected Obama were not ignorant to vote for a Kenyan or some one whose origin they didn’t know in the 2008 Presidential elections. They will exercise the same right to either vote him out or for a second term in 2012. And therefore, questioning his citizenship is not only an insult to those who came from diverse political backgrounds- republicans, independents and democrats and overwhelmingly voted for him, but also recipe to dent America's respect and image abroad.

The role of a political opposition in a democracy is to keep the government on its toes with fairness without malice and prejudice while sticking to policies and issues that benefit the ruled. The Republicans are racists and they want to ensure that the Obama Presidency is a disaster so that in future, a person of colour will not be entrusted with the US Presidency.

The Republicans have stooped to low and if they think by trying to dent the image of a legitimately elected President because of his colour will catapult them to take the White House in 2012, they are blinding themselves. In fact, their behaviour towards Obama has set a very grim picture to the US which is seen globally as the epitome of democracy, justice and freedom.

Finally, America is better off with President Obama than a Republican. His management of the US affairs is in tandem with the American constitution which has been exercised by his predecessors.