I want to be reminded when the Somali export their camels and reward for their labours,says Jaramogi

Fellow Kenyans,

Today we are testing freedom. This is the first time most of you are attending a political meeting of your own choice. This is the first time you are being addressed by people you have always wished to see stand before you and speak. 

This is the first time you are truly happy to remember that we struggled for independence and won. For UHURU means freedom; freedom for everybody: the poor, the rich, the disabled, the women, the children, the men, EVERYBODY.

It is the freedom to come together as we are doing today, discussing the future of our national. It is the freedom to feel perfectly safe as a Kenyan anywhere you live in this Republic, perfectly confident that your government will protect you and your property. That your children and your children’s children will inherit the property you have honestly acquired in Kenya.

It is freedom to live an honest life. Speaking your mind in the Church, Mosque, press, parliament, the university, country council and even in the cabinet [without fearing for your life].

But, fellow Kenyans, ladies and gentlemen:

As we stand here today, there are many Kenyans who cannot be with us today because they do not have this freedom thirty years after UHURU was won.

Why is Kenneth Matiba not with us here today? Why is George Anyona, Edward Oyugi, Isaac Gachangu, Rumba Kinuthia, Koigi wa Wamwere, Ngotho Kariuki and many other freedom fighters not with us today?

Why are our sons and daughters still in exile? Why are brilliant people who can teach in our universities wasting their lives overseas? Why was Robert Ouko murdered? Was he murdered for speaking against corruption? Was he murdered for speaking his mind in the cabinet? For what reason was he murdered? And who murdered him?

Why was Muge murdered? Was it because he exercised his freedom to preach the word of God, to condemn sin and corruption?

The Moi government should answer these questions and answer them honestly and truthfully.

We demand that all political prisoners be released. We demand that those who are in exile return home unconditionally. We demand that every Kenyan be granted the freedom to travel inside and outside the country. That nobody be denied a passport.

As we gather here, there are many Kenyans who are refugees in their own country. There are many Kenyans who have lost their homes because they dared to support a political party of their choice. Houses have been bulldozed in Ongata Rongai like they were here in MWOROTO some time ago. Homes have been burnt in the Rift valley.

For these Kenyans who have lost their homes and houses there is no UHURU, no truth in being called a KENYAN CITIZEN.

We must restore FREEDOM to our country by removing the Moi government from power.
We must restore democracy for our people by freely electing a FORD government in the next General Elections.

The Moi govemnent cannot guarantee freedom for our people.

This is a Government that uses some security officers to terrorise our people and not to protect them.
This is a Government that tells lies and lives by the lie. Without TRUTH there can be no JUSTICE; and without justice no FREEDOM and without freedom, no DEVELOPMENT.

On Corruption and Development, we have seen how political repression under the Moi regime has encouraged and protected corruption.

We have seen how this corruption has destroyed development.

We have seen how billions of Kenyan Shillings have been wasted in ill advised investment projects because of corruption and bad government policies. We can here talk of the Turkwel Dam project, the molasses plant in Kisumu, the fiasco in the Post Office, the chaos in the Kenya Airways, and the nightmare in the Treasury.

We have seen how we have become a nation heavily in debt and almost incapable of servicing our loans. We have seen how our government has lost the moral authority to speak for this country in international financial bodies because its leaders are tinted with corruption.

We have seen how our professional civil servants have been thoroughly demoralised by the corruption, incompetence, and crudeness of the Moi regime. We have seen how foreign investors have lost faith in our country.

Let us open our hearts to each other.

Let us embrace the opportunities and challenge the future together. The clergy, the lawyers, the professionals, patriotic politicians, students, peasants and workers come together in challenging political repression. The battle is not yet over. The building of democracy has just begun. This is our hour of need. We must come together TODAY not TOMORROW.

THERE IS WORK FOR US TO DO. Let us do it with FORD in a democratic and proud Kenya. I want to stand on the slopes of the Aberdares and see far away into the rolling farmland of the Rift Valley. There I will see a proud Kenyan from Nandi, Keiyo-Marakwet and Kericho basking in the sun of political freedom and economic prosperity.

I want to drive to the coast, without potholes ruining my car; and there I will meet the Taita and the Taveta, the Swahili and the Giriama, proud to speak their various languages but knowing that they are all Kenyans with equal rights and opportunities in our sovereign Republic.

I want to climb Mount Elgon and see the Luo and the Abaluhia working in their sugar plantations, and knowing that they will be well rewarded for their sweat.

I want to come back to the slopes of Mount Kenya and drink fresh coffee from Kikuyu land knowing that our peasants are respected for the hard work they do. I want to see prosperous cooperative societies and a people who grow rich from their labours.

I want to be reminded that when the Akamba grow their cotton, the Gusii harvest their tea, the Masaai sell their cattle and the Somali export their camels they will ALL get a just reward for their labours. I want to know that every Kenyan enjoys justice and freedom in our motherland.

I want to come back to Nairobi, and meet businessmen from all communities. I do not want to hear that one is condemned for being industrious because he is of different colour or race. All I want to know is that he is a Kenyan and he is working for the success of Kenya.

I want him or her to ensure that our industries work at full capacity, feeding our people, giving them something to wear and providing them with housing. I want to know that our workers receive fair treatment and just wages, that they have trade unions free of state control.

I want to see professional associations enjoy the freedom we fought for.

I want to reassure myself that I will no longer say there is NOT YET UHURU for any Kenyan after FORD form the next government.

That is the Kenya I want. That is the Kenya we all want. That is the Kenya a FORD government will give you.”

YOU CAN'T INTIMIDATE DUALLE, GSA YOUTH TELLS CENTRAL MPS

 By Adow Jubat

A section of youth from Garissa County has on Thursday protested angrily against what they called persistent attempts to politically mud sling the Majority leader in the National Assembly Adan Duale by group of central MPs to remove him from his caveat parliamentary position.

The youth describing themselves as ‘friends of Duale’ termed the move by central MPs of the increasing manifestation of hostility and discrimination toward the Somali community by some people who are envious of the community resilience and their raising profile in business and political platforms both locally and at the international arena.

Addressing the press in Garissa, the youth led by Hassan Adhan alias Gumo said Northeastern Members of parliament immediately after Garissa University terrorist attack led by Garissa Township Mp have done a lot in sensitizing and educating members of the public in the region on how to fight terrorism in the insecurity prone areas and blaming any leader from the region over terror sympathy is obscene.

“Some greed politicians from central region who are satisfied despite their community taking all lucrative positions in the Jubilee administration are now eyeing the majority leader slot and they want to manufacture all kind of tired stories to oust Duale”, Gumo said.

The youth also sounded their displeasure with the central MPs of disputing the population of the Somali community in the country describing the singling one community population as faulted a naked aggression against the community.

He accused members of parliament from President Uhuru’s backyard of being insincere in their demand in the fight against terror noting that a serious security matter such as the fight against al-Shabaab should not be politicized but faced with concerted effort devoid of political affiliations.

He said “As youth from North-Eastern region we want to those fighting Duale that he isn’t a guest in Jubilee coalition and neither is he in the government by anybody pleasure, he is a stakeholder who fought for the win of the UhuRuto administration who is in the position of majority leader based on pre-election Memorandum Of Understanding signed between TNA and URP political parties”,

MPs from central have given Aden Duale seven days to produce the controversial list of terrorist or they will initiate process to oust him from the powerful majority leader slot.

“we are wondering where were these MPs when Aden Duale was traversing the country campaigning for Uhuru Kenyatta, some of them are first time MPs who got elect on silver platter through the efforts of people like Duale and we demand that they should give the majority leader a break,” he added.

Garissa youth Chairman Hussein Salat said the responsibility to provide lists of any criminals lies with those holding offices interior ministry adding that instead of leaders wasting their time waiting for non-existing terror list from irrelevant office, they should thing on how to assist “their” government in providing security to Kenyans.

“Some leaders from central behaviors as if they are the only people killed or affected in the recurrent terror attacks in the northeastern. People in the region are the most affected by the insecurity prevailing in the area, which Jubilee government has failed or not willing to address.

“If Kenya want to defeat the war on terror we must united, we must not trivialize terror issues, security of Kenyans must been taken seriously and never reduced to agitating for positions in the parliament,” he said.

“Some uninformed leaders whose community has being on the presidency for more than 25 years are claiming that our people are unfairly getting government resources, we wonder which resources these people are talking, when our schools are closed for security reasons, how hospital are lacking basic facilities and our roads are deplorable. This is a good example of adding insult into a septic injury”, the youth leader lamented.

Shabaab kills 14 yet again Mandera

 By Adow Jubat

14 people were killed and scores of others were wounded by suspected Somali militant group in restive Kenya's northeastern border town of Mandera on Tuesday morning, a senior regional government official has confirmed.

The attackers raided three residential estates on the outskirts of the incursion prone town lying less than a kilometer from the war-torn Somalia at 2am, before they lobbied explosives indiscriminately at their sleeping victims.

Northeastern regional commissioner Mohamud Saleh said 11 of the deceased died on the spot following the raid by the gunmen believed to be affiliates of al-Shabaab terror gangs, while the three others died 5 hours later at Mandera referral hospital while on medication.

He said the attackers were targeting to slain 150 people mainly quarry workers who were living at the ill-feted estate, after they were chased out Koromey quarry site by the government last year over their security concerns following the killing of their colleagues.

"Our security officers have done a commendable job by rescuing 136 people from the hands of the bloodthirsty terror gangs. It is painful to us (the government) to loss a single life of our people to criminals, but the number of the dead could have been bigger were it not for the quick response by our security officers", He said.

Among those killed includes an elderly woman from the local community who was among many other local people who were living in the raided area.

Last week nine people from one of the local Somali community were killed by another group of gunmen who sneaked from the Somali border town of Baled Xawa.

The assailants destroyed metal grilled doors, which has been used to fortify the houses,  security precaution measure for many residents in the area before they hurled explosives at the houses and opened fire on the innocent victims.

Those injured were later evacuated by the security officers assisted by medical personnel and taken to Mandera county referral hospital for treatments.

At least 36 quarry workers were killed in November last year after Al-Shabaab militants raided the quarry and killed the workers in a macabre manner as they slept. 

Days earlier, another gang hijacked a bus and killed 28 people among them teachers and doctors in a separate attack that sparked protests and led to boycotts by most civil servants.

He added "We believe the assailants are members of al-Shabaab terror group who are operating from sleeper cells in Mandera town",

 "The criminals are people who could monitor the movement of our security patrol team with a surgical precision, which can't be a foreigners. The attack happened less than 10 minutes after our officers left the scene", He noted.

Amb Saleh said the security officers who were patrolling on foot and by vehicles quickly responded and confronted the attackers with firepower forcing them to take on their foot and managed to disappear into blinding darkness of the night.

He said the affected area and the neigbouring settlements has been immediately being cordoned off by the security respond team who will conduct house to house search to ensure the assailants do not manage to hide themselves among the people living in the crowded settlement.

The regional commissioner who left this morning (Tuesday) for Mandera to lead the operation to ransack for attackers said alertness of the security agencies in the region has tremendously reduced incursions by Al-Qaeda inspired militia into the country.

TIT FOR TAT GUNFIGHT LEFT 14 DEAD IN MANDERA

BY ADOW JUBAT

                      NEP Regional Commissior with Mdr Governor Roba during a meeting with county officials


At least 14 people have been killed in renewed inter-ethnic clashes in the past two days in Mandera county, northeastern Kenya, officials said on Wednesday.

Deputy-County Commissioner Samuel said nine people were killed at around 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday in a remote village in Malka-Mari division, after heavily armed assailants raided the village.

"They were killed in Chiriko village in Banisa sub-county. We don't know the assailants, but it could be an act of retaliatory action," the government administrator said.

On Tuesday, five pastoralists from the same Gare family were killed in a border village by gunmen suspected to be from a rival Degodia clan.

The family, who left Elmole village in Banisa sub-county few days ago in pursuit of pasture and water for their animals, were killed at Wari Walo village some 10 kilometers from Kenya border.

"It is retrogressive for people to fight at this time when the country, and particularly Mandera County, is faced with the threats of common enemy (Al-Shabaab). We urge the rival communities to show a lot of restrain," Mwati said.

Mandera, a town riddled with past explosive attacks from Islamist terror group Al-Shabaab that is based in neighboring war- ravaged Somalia and incessant inter clan fighting between the minority Degodia and the majority Garre community, has been enjoying a relative calm in the past few months.

Both Garre and Degodia have communal presence and have sophisticated armed militia. The two warring clans have over the years been fighting for supremacy and control of the county, something that has degenerated into clashes.

The clashes led to the government deploying a contingent of security personnel to quell the clashes in July last year. The locals have also been asked to surrender the firearms they had in their possession through the disarmament program.

FIVE FAMILY MEMBER SLAIN IN ETHIOPIA

 

BY ADOW JUBAT

Five Kenyans were killed in Ethiopia border village by unknown militia on Tuesday morning.

The deceased who are all from the same family were killed by heavily armed unidentified gunmen who descended on their makeshift settlement and opened fire on the sleeping family indiscriminately.

Confirming the incident, Kiliwaheri ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Barre Mohamed Shabure said family who left Elmole village in Banisa sub-county few days ago in pursuit of pasture and water for their animals were killed at Wari walo village some 10 kilometers from Kenya border.

He said "Those killed were 3 children (2boys and a girl), their father and a close relative. The attackers targeted the family who just settled in the area for the purposes",

"The family as it is the common practice among the pastoralists' families left their village at the Kenya border in search of pasture for their livestock and they were expected to go back on the onset of the shorts rains which are two months away", He added.

Shabure said seven others including the mother of the slain children were also injured in the attack adding that 3 of those who sustained gun wounds were in critical condition and they were rushed to Mandera county referral hospital for specialised treatment.

He said, the slain people were the family of the son of Elmole assistance chief Adan Moulu. Elmole is small village less than 8 kilometers from Ethiopia border.

He said although the assailants and their motive of the attack couldn't be immediately established, their footprints, which was traced by the villagers has indicated that they come from the Kenya side of the border.

"It is suspected that criminals might have crossed the border from the Kenya side since their footprints has pointed toward villages in Kenya side of the border", Said the MCA.

Banisa ward MCA Yakub Hassan who condemned the incident urge the affected Garre clan to be calm as the government investigate and establish those behind the killing of the family.

Tension has soared up in Mandera, a county which is emerging from a recent bloody inter clan skirmishes pitting tow Somali communities- Garre and Degodia.

Meanwhile the Kenya government will deploy security officers on foot to track down Al-Shabaab militants allegedly marauding villages in North-eastern region bordering Somalia.

The North-Eastern regional commissioner Amb. Mohamud Saleh said that the government is aware of the changing tact by the militants who have invaded villages along the border where they are allegedly spreading their doctrine.

He said that his security team will stop at nothing to ensure that Al-Shabaab is kicked out of Northern Kenya and peace restored in the troubled region.

"We are fully aware of the changing tact by the Al Shabaab. We are upping our game and shall deploy security officers on foot to track them in remote villages especially along the border where they are preaching their evil doctrine," he said.

Speaking in Mandera, the regional commissioner said that having working in the region as a PC and being a local, he understands the people, language and the terrain of the vast Northern Kenya.

Amb. Saleh who later in day met county officials led by area governor Ali Roba said the war on terror could only be won if both the county and national governments work closely.

He urged area residents to volunteer information that would assist in eradicating al-Shabaab.

"I am here with my Security team to encourage our county counterparts as there must be synergy in confronting the al-Shabaab menace," he added.
Saleh also met the clergy, youth, women, chiefs and their assistants from the county as he seeks to win the confidence of area residents in the war against terror.

GARISSA COUNTY GOVERNOR SACKS 4 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

BY ADOW JUBAT

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama has on Monday dismissed four county executive committee members over alleged poor service delivery, incompetency and failure to meet the set developmental blueprint for the county officials.

In terse brief attached to the letters dismissing the executive members Jama lamented that the officials has become a letdown to his administration service delivery adding that he will crack the whip on any county officials who is not delivering services to the public as required.

The sacked executives are Salah Yakub who is in-charge of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Hussein Hajir – Education, Public Service, Intergovernmental and Labour Relations, Idriss Mukhtar – Trade, Youth, Sports and Special Programmes and Mukhtar Bulale – Water.

The governor said he had acted after receiving soaring complaints against the four from members of the public over their non performance.

"What we need is service delivery to the people of Garissa who we work for. Any laxity from any county employer will not be tolerated. We will make sure that the people of Garissa County get the services they deserve most," Governor Jama added.

He added that the necessary process to fill the vacancies left by the four had already started and the names will be tabled at the assembly in due time to avoid a standstill in the affected offices.

Last week in a meeting with his executive officers, the Governor gave the four 3 days to present to him a written reason as to why they were unable to deliver on their respective departments and course why they shouldn't sacked.

One of the dismissed executive who spoke to the Standard on the condition of anonymity accused the governor of stifling them of any resources and power to make them act on their juniors who were a letdown to their respective dockets.

"The governor is blaming us for not delivery, when we can't even make any decision on how to better our dockets. He is the one who want to micro manage anything happening in our ministries. We don't even have any independent access to our ministries money. If vehicles to respond to emergency aren't available", He said.|

Residents of Garissa County has on several times petitioned the Governor to address serious truancy and inefficiency among his county employees, who they accused of showing up in their respective offices when the governor is around just to disappear when he is out of office.

Various opinion polls rating service delivery at the 47 count units has given a bad rating to Garissa County a move that seen to have pushed the Governor Jama to crack the whip.

CPT ROBA INITIATES 86M PILOT COUNTY TRADE FUND

 
 BY ADOW JUBAT

Mandera Governor Ali Roba has launched an ambitious 86 million developed fund to help in addressing youth and women empowerment in face of shrinking employment opportunities in the country.

Launching the kitty dubbed as Mandera County Trade Development Fund (MCTDF) the county chief said initiative will offer a great leap toward addressing the ever increasing youth and women unemployment in the county.

Governor Roba said the fund will help to expand access to Islamic compliant credit to the youth and women groups and to generate gainful self-employment for the youth and women.

He urge the youth in the county to refrain from waiting for unavailable white collar jobs and instead borrow fund from several development kitties established by his administration and the national government and venture into businesses that will see them becoming self reliance and progress members of the society.

"The tendency among the youth of always expecting to be employed by the county or the national government should be discarded. Youth should instead look for alternative means of engaging themselves positively such as benefiting from this initiative", He advised.

He added "Since we took over as decentralized government my government has established several development funds to empower most vulnerable people in our society. We have initiated a cooperative fund which has been allocated 28 million shillings and fund for women and persons with disabilities with allocation of 48 million shillings",

Roba said his administration has also allocated 120 million shilling toward county bursary fund which will see the bright students from poor background to get an opportunity to continue with their education to the highest level possible.

The Mandera county boss said in the first phase each of the 30 wards in the county will be allocated with 3 million as the start fund adding that watertight legislation which shall ensure the prudent use of the money has been put in place to thwart miss.

Governor Roba urged the people of Mandera to appreciate the development brought to them by the new system of devolved governance which has changed the face of the county noting that in less than 2 years the county has achieved a lot in all sectors of development.

"In two years we managed to construct 577 kilometers of road, improved the education standard in the county which for the first time managed to produce over 400 students who attained grades that can take them to university and revived 52 collapsed health facilities", He said.

The county chief also noted his government improved agriculture and livestock sectors through implementation of proper policies and adequate funding adding that the outcome of the initiates were evident through the positive returns made by the farmers in the county.

"For the last two years despite our county experiencing biting drought our people and our livestock were not affected as it was previously the norms.
Our county used to be in the media every year of people and their animals dying of starvation, but with coming of devolution this has stopped since funds goes to the priority areas", He explained.

The MCTDF will consist of funds appropriated by the County Assembly, Grants and donations from partners/friends of Mandera County and Income generated from the proceeds of the Fund.

The Mandera County Trade Development Fund will be administered by a Board established by the MCTDF Act at the County level and Ward Committees in each of the 30 respective Wards.