Philippines PCV Dies

A tragic story was forwarded my way about Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell from the Philippines who died from what, at first glance, seems to be a tragic hiking accident.

Kenyatta's First Wife Died, Never a First Lady

Jomo Kenyatta's first wife, who he never divorced, died a few days ago, and barely a peep was heard. Her burial was attended by President Kibaki, along with a number of other political figures, including her co-wife's son turned presidential contender, Uhuru Kenyatta.

But it didn't make the front page, or even page two. As this Standard article shows, she was ignored by Kenyatta after he left for England (second wife), came back to Kenya (third wife, who died), and was finally freed from prison (fourth wife).

CDF: All Wrong

In 2003, the Kenyan goverment established the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which takes 2.5% of total annual revenue and redirects it to each of Kenya's 210 constituencies. Apparently this has added up to KES 100m per constituency.

(Technicalities seem to have held up the use of this money in Halako's home constituency of Galole, which the Nation notes "is one of the few constituencies that have not had electricity or a tarmac road since independence.")

There are a number of reasons why this whole system is chaotic. Chief among them is that it means the Kenyan Government is handing over all of this money to one person to use this money as s/he feels fit.

There are three fundamental flaws to this set-up:

1) The only real check as to whether MPs are appropriately allocating funds is an election; this means the MP has major incentives to favor certain populations and ignore others.

2) The allocations are done without a larger sense of planning. Build a road here, pay these students' school fees, plant some trees there. But how will these funds be most effectively used over the next five years to truly bring development to the constituency? No answer. The focus is, of course, on short-term political gains.

3) MPs are supposed to be MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. They shouldn't be carrying millions of shillings back to their district and trying to figure out how best to allocate those monies for all of the constituencies many needs. That should be done by other institutions! How about democractizing government on the local levels (mayors, council members) and let them figure out how best to use this money.

Kenya in the "War on Terrorism," 2

The Nation does a special on America's war on terrorism, with its own exclusive report of Kenya's transfer of terror suspects to Ethiopia and Somalia. Unfortunately, the article is so jam-packed with details that the narrative glue comes apart, and it's hard to fully process the article once you've read it.

In an editorial, the Nation says,

Yes, terrorism is a clear and present danger. Indeed, during the last decade
Kenyans have twice been attacked by terrorists. It is important to catch the
culprits and bring them to book, but we have laws and due process must be seen
to have been followed.

Shrugging off the rule of law and repeatedly being seen as unfair and unjust in its treatment of Muslims could turn out to be a liability for this government. I think this government should be asking itself, how do we convince the moderate Muslims that we're doing the right thing?

I don't think anyone is asking that question, which might turn out to be a major strategic error.

Kenya in the News

A quick tour of Kenya via the newspapers.

Party Politics

Good news for Kenya's leading opposition party, Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya. The Liberal Democratic Party, which is a corporate member of ODM-Kenya, has decided to scale down its party activities in support of ODM-Kenya activities. Though, the article suggests that Presidential candidate Raila Oginga Odinga is throwing his lot with ODM-Kenya, while his fellow presidential contender Kalonzo Musyoka wants LDP to maintain robust activities.

Is this a sign that Musyoka wants the option of using LDP as a vehicle for his presidential campaign if he loses the ODM-Kenya nomination? Would LDP withdraw from ODM-Kenya and leave Raila for Musyoka? Seems hard to believe....

In other news, ODM-Kenya has embraced the ruling party's macro-economic program. ODM-Kenya certainly made a stink about various privatization measures that the government was enacting, but argued the problem was that the privatized companies were being bought up by governmental cronies.

At any rate, they seemed to come out anti-business and pro-"equality." Now they claim that they are more pro-business than Narc-Kenya. Both parties are actually pretty new and it's hard for anyone to be certain about their true political and economic philosophies.

Business

The article also notes the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts a slight drop in economic growth over the next two years due to "constrained capacity." I don't have the $200 that the Economist Intelligence Unit charges to find out just exactly what they mean by that, though I'm guessing it refers to poor physical infrastructure and the strength of financial institutions.

Capacity is also hampering oil flow in the country, leading to fuel shortages in some areas.

The roads have reached such a point that Kenyans are clammoring to pay tolls to improve them!

NYTimes Columnist Thomas Friedman has taken his World is Flat argument to Kenya. (Articles one, two, and three via Free Democracy.)

Certainly he'll be cheered by the news that the government is trying to connect schools to the internet, establishing ICT hubs in every constituency across the country, and the state-owned Telekom talks of setting up WiFi networks.

And globalization marches on as coffee houses begin to swamp Nairobi, as Sasini, the tea manufacturer now looks to become a major competitor. (Most Kenyans prefer tea to coffee; Sasini thinks it has an advantage here. But I don't know anyone who buys Sasini tea. I also don't like their commercials.)

Tribalism

Okech Kendo argues that presidential elections by runoff (50% + 1 is needed to stay in office) is the cure for tribalism. Kenya has a history (1992 and 1997) of an unpopular president who is able to stay in power through manipulation by spliting the opposition. This isn't a bad idea at all.

The pro-government forces are now advocating for the same to be true for members of Parliament, which will be more difficult for the opposition to swallow.

But I think they should consider the value of another condition that already exists. Currently, to win the presidency, you have to win at least 25% of the vote in five out of eight provinces. This too is a deterrent to tribalism. It wouldn't be hard to imagine a presidential contender that appeals heavily to the Kikuyu population and another large tribe, they could muster up the 50% and ignore other parts of Kenya.

Balancing regional interests, are, after all, what led to the creation of the Electoral College in America.

Other News

Kenya's Anti-Corruption Agency seems to be doing its work, though the Attorney General's office hasn't exactly impressed anybody with its willingness to take action.

Tanzanians are worried about Kenya, afraid that closer economic integration proposed in the East African Community will result in money, labor and capital flowing out of Tanzania and into Kenya.

My old stomping grounds of Malindi make the paper for the district hospital being disconnected from the water supply and the inevitable end of tourist season that prompts the closing of an estimated 1,200 villas and hotels, and laying off 4,000 workers.

Sadly, a deaf man gets mauled to death by lions on the eve of his wedding.

Kenya in the "War on Terrorism"

In my previous post on monuments in Nairobi, I did not mention the August 7th Memorial for the 1998 American Embassy bombing. It's a small park in downtown Nairobi where the old American embassy once stood. There's an information center about the events of that day, with horrific pictures and pointed text.

(Unfortunately, while the information center does create a pretty moving depiction of that day, its displays have a number of embarrasing misspellings, awkward phrasings, as well as highly pixelated photographs.)

Since the bombing, Kenya has been a major ally in America's global war on Al Qaeda and its followers and sympathizers.

Recently, the Kenyan government has turned over a terror suspect to the American government, which sent him to Guantanamo Bay. He is believed to be involved in a 2002 terrorist bombing of a Mombasa Hotel as well as the attempted downing of an Israeli airliner.

Prompts some interesting questions:

1) Why wasn't he tried by the Kenyan government for the crimes he committed on Kenyan soil?

2) Why was he transferred to the American government? The Israeli government would seem to have greater jurisdiction, considering a number of its civilians were killed and its airliner was targeted. Or do Americans now have jurisdiction over all Al Qaeda terrorist suspects everywhere?

There's also allegations that the U.S. is operating a secret prison in Ethiopia and that Kenya has sent suspects there to be interrogated by U.S. agents. Ethiopia has admitted holding 41 terror suspects there, and U.S. agents admit that they've done interrogations there, but denies it's a secret U.S.-run prison. (here and here)

Egypt's now recalling its teachers from Kenya, afraid that they'll be accused of being terror suspects.

So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut died. In my late teens, his works were a real delight for me to read. I read Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Breakfast of Champions.

I still carry those stories with me, in the deep recesses of my mind, forgetting the details, but remembering my sheer delight in finding a narrator that fully grasped the paradox that despite the world's horrors and tragedies, we go on. The survivors move on and still try to find meaning in life.

Pasaka Kenya

It was the day before Pasaka (Easter) when Kevin asked me about how people in Kenya celebrate Easter and some of the things they do. So the following is part of the questions and answers that we discussed.

Kevin: Wakenya wanasherekea Pasaka?

Do Kenyans celebrate Easter?

Halako: Unaniuliza? Hata wewe unajua.

You're asking me? You know!

Kevin: Si nauliza?

I'm asking you, aren't I?

Halako: Si unajua.

But you know!

Wanasherekea sana. Hasa wanaenda Friday na Sunday. Hata wengine walianza kusherekea jana pia. Wanaimba, wanaongea mambo ya siku za mwisho za Kristo kabla ya kusulubiwa na kufa kwa dhambi zetu.

They really celebrate it. They even go (to church) on Friday and Sunday. Others even began to celebrate yesterday (Thursday) as well. They sing, they talk about the last days of Christ, before he was crucified and died for our sins.

Kevin: Na wakitolewa kanisani, watafanya nini?

And when they're let out of church, what do they do?

Halako: Wanaenda nyumbani kula chakula kilichoandaliwa. Kwa wale wanaojiweza, watapika chakula tofauti, ambacho pengine hakiliwi kila siku. Wale ambao hawana “dough,” watakula kile watakachopata. Kati ya Wakristo hufunga saumu mpaka hiyo siku wanapofungua.

They go home to eat food that has been prepared. For those who are able, they will cook different foods, like something that isn't normally eaten every day. For those who don't have any cash, they will eat whatever they can get. Some Christians fast until that day when they will break the fast.

Kevin: Wanafungua siku gani?

On what day do they break fast?

Halako: Nafikiri Jumapili. Ni siku arobaini baada ya hii siku ya kufunga.

I think it's Sunday. It's forty days after they began to fast.

Kevin: Siku ya Lent, si ndiyo?

That's Lent, right?

Halako: Eh.

Yeah.

Kevin: Watu watakuja kutoka mbali kukusanyika kwa Pasaka?

Do people come from far to gather together for Easter?

Halako: Inategemea. Kama saa hii watu wengi wametoka Nairobi kwenda nyumbani. Wengine wanakaribisha watu kwa chakula.

It depends. Like at this time (Friday afternoon) many people have left Nairobi to go home. Others will invite people for food.

Kevin: Kwa watoto, wanafanya nini?

And for children, what do they do?

Halako: Watoto pia wanasherekea. Wananunuliwa nguo, wanasikia raha. Wanatembezwa.

Children also celebrate. They're bought clothes, they feel happy. They're taken places.

Kevin: Kwa wale ambao si Wakristo?

And for those people who aren't Christians?

Halako: Wanasherekea lakini hawaendi kanisani. Hata wengine wataenda tu kwa hiyo siku moja. Saa hii hakuna ofisi ambayo imefunguliwa. Watu wako “off” mpaka Tuesday. Ni siku ambayo inajaliwa sana kwa sababu ni siku Yesu alipokufa.

They celebrate but they don't go to church. Even others will go just for that one day. There's no offices now that have been opened. People are off until Tuesday. It's a day that's really respected because it's they day when Jesus died.