15/04/2015
By Philip Etale
First, let me start by saying that two years down the line, the hopelessness among Kenyans has risen to abnormal standards that they feel so disenfranchised, disenchanted and unhappy with the state of affairs in the country.
When Jubilee leaders went round the country campaigning for state power in 2013, they made promises to the country. Their campaign was full of fun and flare. They used the occasion to entice the young people who saw hope and future in Jubilee if they ascended to power.
Although the unifying factor of the top two Jubilee leaders Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr. William Ruto was their charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) which both of them were facing at the Hague based court then, the two communities from which the two hail from were convinced that the men were up to the task and that they would deliver.
President Kibaki, an economist per excellence, though a known tribalist, had upped this hope in the Kenyan masses by declaring the two as ‘dynamic duo’.
Today, Kenya seems to be in a state of suspended animation. Everything has stagnated. Very little can be seen to be working and all we hear from the President and his Deputy are more and more promises. The major promises they made to the public while traversing the country; preaching and pledging to the masses, have failed flat on themselves.
Talk of the ambitious laptop project for primary school going children, the promise to the kids, riddled in multi-billion rip-off, went up with the smoke.
It suffices to say Jubilee politicians simply lied to the children, which is a crime before both man and God.
The promise of free maternity for expectant mothers has failed. Hundreds of expectant mothers largely from low income earning families continue to be detained in hospitals for failure to raise the pre-requisite fee during delivery.
This remains unacceptable.
Talk of the construction of five modern stadiums in major cities of the country namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret, no one talks about this. It is as if the promise was never made at all.
Farmers in the country’s ‘bread-basket – the North Rift and Western – have continued to go through stressful moments in each process of food production, be it during the planting season or at harvesting time. Farm inputs like fertilizer and seeds are too expensive yet the government promised to subsidize their prices.
At the end of the season, government owned National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has its stores incapable of buying the produce from farmers as a result of lack of funds hence giving middlemen room for exploitation.
I have never seen a single day the president visited North Rift, Trans-Nzoia to be precise, to listen to the plight of farmers.
Security personnel were upbeat during campaign period when Jubilee promised to equip our security forces with the state of the art equipment including surveillance tools which would make their task of securing the nation easier.
This has not been done and the security forces have been left to combat terrorism with the use of outdated equipment and, or, sheer manhood (womanhood) with devastating consequences.
Police air-crafts which are supposed to be used strictly in police operations are now being used to run personal errands of not only police bosses but also their relatives, even on fateful days.
Kenyans have lost dear lives in the hands of terrorists who seem to have a field day whenever they strike. In September 2013, we lost lives at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, in 2014 we lost lives in Mpeketoni in Lamu County, late last year, we lost lives in Mandera, early this month, we just lost over 140 students in an attack on Garissa University College.
Indeed, as has been observed by the newly elected President of Nigeria, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, by targeting learning institutions, terrorists strike sanctuaries of hope. And yet, we know Uhuru regime has failed to protect these places because it is in his regime where the budgets for combating terrorism have been drastically reduced.
The innocent soul was lost in a bizarre early morning attack on the young men and women whose only crime was to board a bus to Garissa in search of knowledge.
As if this is not enough, tens of police officers were killed in cold blood by bandits in Kapedo area of Baringo County even as they tried to reach out for assistance from Nairobi in vain.
Our gallant officers of the RECCE Squad die in circumstances that can be prevented. Very sad. May the Souls of those who were killed in these gelatinous and merciless attacks Rest-In-Peace and their families receive the comfort of God.
And yet we know mourning is not enough. More must be done.
Even as all these happen, the government refuses to take responsibility and resorts to using propagandists to blame the opposition.
The Jubilee foot soldiers make unsubstantiated allegations on social media and in public forums with the aim of white-washing an egregiously incompetent government. And while they do this motivate by the financial gains they accrue, they fail to understand that, in the final analysis, responsibility to protect citizens is in the very foundation of democratic nations. Governments are based on social contracts.
Sir Winston Churchill once quipped, “the price of greatness is responsibility”.Perhaps, he envisaged the existence of a Jubilee government in Kenya; where leaders refuse to take responsibility of their ineptitude, inability to secure the country and laziness.
Each day, all we see is arrogance and the ‘uta-do?’ attitude.
The opposition does not execute, we do not have the instruments of power to do so. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of all Kenyans and other citizens of the world living in Kenya.
To Mr. President, Kenyans are crying. Kenyans are hurting. Kenyans are tired. You must know that integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word. You lied to kids, they will never forgive you. You refused to keep your promise to Kenyan mothers, they will never forgive. You lied to the country’s sportsmen and women, they will never forget.
The writer is the Director of Communications – ODM
By Philip Etale
First, let me start by saying that two years down the line, the hopelessness among Kenyans has risen to abnormal standards that they feel so disenfranchised, disenchanted and unhappy with the state of affairs in the country.
When Jubilee leaders went round the country campaigning for state power in 2013, they made promises to the country. Their campaign was full of fun and flare. They used the occasion to entice the young people who saw hope and future in Jubilee if they ascended to power.
Although the unifying factor of the top two Jubilee leaders Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr. William Ruto was their charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) which both of them were facing at the Hague based court then, the two communities from which the two hail from were convinced that the men were up to the task and that they would deliver.
President Kibaki, an economist per excellence, though a known tribalist, had upped this hope in the Kenyan masses by declaring the two as ‘dynamic duo’.
Today, Kenya seems to be in a state of suspended animation. Everything has stagnated. Very little can be seen to be working and all we hear from the President and his Deputy are more and more promises. The major promises they made to the public while traversing the country; preaching and pledging to the masses, have failed flat on themselves.
Talk of the ambitious laptop project for primary school going children, the promise to the kids, riddled in multi-billion rip-off, went up with the smoke.
It suffices to say Jubilee politicians simply lied to the children, which is a crime before both man and God.
The promise of free maternity for expectant mothers has failed. Hundreds of expectant mothers largely from low income earning families continue to be detained in hospitals for failure to raise the pre-requisite fee during delivery.
This remains unacceptable.
Talk of the construction of five modern stadiums in major cities of the country namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret, no one talks about this. It is as if the promise was never made at all.
Farmers in the country’s ‘bread-basket – the North Rift and Western – have continued to go through stressful moments in each process of food production, be it during the planting season or at harvesting time. Farm inputs like fertilizer and seeds are too expensive yet the government promised to subsidize their prices.
At the end of the season, government owned National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has its stores incapable of buying the produce from farmers as a result of lack of funds hence giving middlemen room for exploitation.
I have never seen a single day the president visited North Rift, Trans-Nzoia to be precise, to listen to the plight of farmers.
Security personnel were upbeat during campaign period when Jubilee promised to equip our security forces with the state of the art equipment including surveillance tools which would make their task of securing the nation easier.
This has not been done and the security forces have been left to combat terrorism with the use of outdated equipment and, or, sheer manhood (womanhood) with devastating consequences.
Police air-crafts which are supposed to be used strictly in police operations are now being used to run personal errands of not only police bosses but also their relatives, even on fateful days.
Kenyans have lost dear lives in the hands of terrorists who seem to have a field day whenever they strike. In September 2013, we lost lives at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, in 2014 we lost lives in Mpeketoni in Lamu County, late last year, we lost lives in Mandera, early this month, we just lost over 140 students in an attack on Garissa University College.
Indeed, as has been observed by the newly elected President of Nigeria, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, by targeting learning institutions, terrorists strike sanctuaries of hope. And yet, we know Uhuru regime has failed to protect these places because it is in his regime where the budgets for combating terrorism have been drastically reduced.
The innocent soul was lost in a bizarre early morning attack on the young men and women whose only crime was to board a bus to Garissa in search of knowledge.
As if this is not enough, tens of police officers were killed in cold blood by bandits in Kapedo area of Baringo County even as they tried to reach out for assistance from Nairobi in vain.
Our gallant officers of the RECCE Squad die in circumstances that can be prevented. Very sad. May the Souls of those who were killed in these gelatinous and merciless attacks Rest-In-Peace and their families receive the comfort of God.
And yet we know mourning is not enough. More must be done.
Even as all these happen, the government refuses to take responsibility and resorts to using propagandists to blame the opposition.
The Jubilee foot soldiers make unsubstantiated allegations on social media and in public forums with the aim of white-washing an egregiously incompetent government. And while they do this motivate by the financial gains they accrue, they fail to understand that, in the final analysis, responsibility to protect citizens is in the very foundation of democratic nations. Governments are based on social contracts.
Sir Winston Churchill once quipped, “the price of greatness is responsibility”.Perhaps, he envisaged the existence of a Jubilee government in Kenya; where leaders refuse to take responsibility of their ineptitude, inability to secure the country and laziness.
Each day, all we see is arrogance and the ‘uta-do?’ attitude.
The opposition does not execute, we do not have the instruments of power to do so. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of all Kenyans and other citizens of the world living in Kenya.
To Mr. President, Kenyans are crying. Kenyans are hurting. Kenyans are tired. You must know that integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word. You lied to kids, they will never forgive you. You refused to keep your promise to Kenyan mothers, they will never forgive. You lied to the country’s sportsmen and women, they will never forget.
The writer is the Director of Communications – ODM
