This is part II of a III part series examining TNA presidential candidate’s bid for a place in Kenya’s political High Table

      
BY: Rashid Wanjala



After carefully examining Mr. Kenyatta’s tenure at the treasury, together with the massive bad inheritance, I can conclude that he is a heartless and merciless man!

This is so sad for a leader whose subjects are landless paupers, struggling with high inflation among other harsh economic conditions a product of incompetency as Minister for Finance.

As Finance Minister, he is alleged (widely reported) to have frustrated the ODM plans to obtain treasury funds to purchase land which was intended to resettle Mau Forest IDPs in Rift Valley, therefore dis-enfranchising thousands of ODM and URP supporters, who remain homeless and in the cold due to Uhuru’s evil designs.

The selective resettlement of IDPs is reported to be one of red flags raised by the Kalenjin elders while examining the much publicized Uhuru Ruto alliance; this together with the unresolved historical land related injustices are key impediments to a successful alliance.

After carefully analyzing his ministerial decisions, I have come to conclude that UK is where ZERO ethics business, ruthlessness and politics converge.

As Finance Minister he punished regions perceived to support his competitors by starving projects in such areas of funds, especially the Mau Forest Restoration IDPs and instead, diverted such funds elsewhere for example the ultra modern Thika Road instead of the high impact Mombasa- Nairobi-Malaba highway.

The thinking was that land value would skyrocket along Thika Road (Superhighway) and around Brookside Dairies to an all time high, and would be disposed at a killer price! Smart business move right there. But is it ethical when it is done at the expense of the hustler and the poor IDPs even without considering the cost savings by businesses if priority could have been given to Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba border highway.

I know the Chinese funded the Superhighway, but to pay for it and balance the books, the Mau IDP land funds and funds meant for the numerous road projects in perceived ODM strongholds were diverted to other projects and debt repayment program.

This will go down as the classic case of redistributive injustices meted out on the Kenyan people for a man who claims to be a champion of the youth. Not when he is responsible for the continued stay of families in the cold!

Those funds are believed by public policy analysts to have been diverted to the Thika Road Super Highway project which passes not just though his political stronghold of Thika, but through part of his land, which is in both sides of Thika Road.

Before the Kenyatta family sold part of it, it transversed on both sides of Thika road from Mang’u High School, keep driving, Brookside, keep driving past Kahawa Barracks and KU, keep driving, at All Sopps, veer to the left at the All Sopps roundabout, keep driving , head towards Kangundo.

Even though Thika Road Superhighway was a nobel project, it is a testament to how far the defacto leader of the PNU wing of government can go to advance his business and evil political designs.

Todate, even after stepping down as Finance Minister, Mr. Kenyatta wilds immense power over treasury, its rumoured that Njeru Githae, the Finance Minister is ”user friendly” and that Mr Kenyatta still takes all decisions at the ministry.
The “Rats for Dinner” enthusiast is a robo-signer of documents.

Is Mr Kenyatta anti Western powers? – hell no!

Mr Kenyatta has invested heavily in Europe; he continues to mislead Kenyans into thinking that China is the next god, while actually theirs is actually an evil alliance intent on collaboration to burden our children with irresponsible debts while his land value benefits from such projects that have been packaged as well intentioned.

He continues to use American products like iPhone instead of low quality Chinese products, use Teleprompters US style, like we saw during the TNA launch, not a single thing he does which is Chinese, including where his kids go to school.
Infact his TNA launch was an attempt to copy cat American DNC and RNC conventions- (the very people he demonizes), which never came close to it.

Intellectual dishonesty

He read a speech which was massively plagiarized from various Obama speeches, including the Thomas Jefferson authored Unilateral Declaration of Independence, but without citing his sources. This is sheer intellectual dishonesty, or just lazy to cross check a pre written speech, a standard that is expected of a leader of Mr. Kenyatta stature.

For those who care, come 2013, you have a choice either a plagiarist president or an intellectually honest president. Miguna Miguna in his book Peeling Back The Mask (even though not a credible source) describes as situation where Prime Minsiter Raila Odinga declined to read a copy and paste speech written by Adams Oloo’s student because it was heavily plagiarized from Thambo Mbeki’s speech on Pan Africanism, and instead Miguna claims, he was requested to write a speech within a very short notice. A testimony that Mr Kenyatta’s erstwhile competitor Dr. Odinga would never read a plagiarized speech!

2013 therefore presents us with a choice between, Plagiarist in Chief versus Intellectual in Chief.

Teleprompters require you to be a good reader, and from the TNA launch presentation it was obvious that the presenters were struggling to read, and so their intention to make it look like an Obamaisque presentation boomeranged miserably- intellectually, and in style of presentation.

Uhuru therefore appears to copy everything American, British and European, from suits, shoes but wants the few on whose backs he wants to ride on, to use fake, copycatted and short lasting poor quality goods from China.

Even schools like Peponi School which is associated with his family does not advance Chinese systems of education but the Western style of Education. He is therefore part of a business which is preparing the next generation of Western Educated graduates from elite families, who can speak the Queen’s English without an accent, while misleading the poor masses about how evil US, Germany, Britain are. It’s the highest form of sheer hypocrisy. He calls them imperial, anyone tell me what is more imperial than owning land the size of Maine, Vermont and the British Island of England combined.

His lawyers in the ICC are British, and recently, to confront and neutralize free speech he enlisted the services of a UK policy insider. It has been reported that “Mr Kenyatta has appointed Ed Straite, a former adviser to Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance minister) George Osbourne to boost his public image in the wake of concerns that he should not be running for Kenya’s highest office”. You can read more of this from this link http://darmetropolitan.blogspot.com/2012/10/marketing-in-politics-uhuru-kenyatta.html#!/2012/10/marketing-in-politics-uhuru-kenyatta.html

UK seems determined to con his way into the house on the hill by riding on the backs of the very paupers, for who he hasn’t had the decency to show remorse, and share a piece of his massive land which comprises a large proportion of what his celebration in the Forbes Magazine.

At $500m it is the value of these 500,000 acres of land that makes him 2 times richer than Mitt Romney whose net worth is $250 m. Take that land away and other Kenyans would be competitive.

I didn’t make this up; actually The Forbes magazine describes Uhuru as “heir to some of the largest land holdings in Kenya. He owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country. The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s when the British colonial government and the World Bank funded a settlement transfer fund scheme” meant to resettle everybody including the Mau Mau veterans and other common Kenyans. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/89/africa-billionaires-11_Uhuru-Kenyatta_FO2Q.html

However, instead of redistributing that World Bank funded resettlement scheme for the benefit of all landless Kenyans, it was diverted. That is how UK’s land inheritance was acquired. And that is why he ought to ACT NOW, if at all he doesn’t want the next election to be about the Squatter’s Landlord versus X. 
Source:http://www.jamiiforums.com/kenyan-politics/373672-tujikumbushe-ukweli-kuhusu-uhuru-kenyatta.html

So sad to my fellow Africans

By Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg
South Africa is marketed to the world as Mandela's rainbow nation, where everyone is proud of their race and heritage. But for some black South Africans there is such a thing as being too black.

A recent study by the University of Cape Town suggests that one woman in three in South Africa bleaches her skin. The reasons for this are as varied as the cultures in this country but most people say they use skin-lighteners because they want "white skin".

Local musician Nomasonto "Mshoza" Mnisi, now several shades lighter, says her new skin makes her feel more beautiful and confident.

She has been widely criticised in the local media and social networking sites for her appearance but the 30-year-old says skin-bleaching is a personal choice, no different from breast implants or a having nose job.


Studies have found that men are also beginning to bleach their skin
"I've been black and dark-skinned for many years, I wanted to see the other side. I wanted to see what it would be like to be white and I'm happy," she says candidly.

Over the past couple of years Ms Mnisi has had several treatments. Each session can cost around 5,000 rand (£360; $590), she tells the BBC.

Unlike many in the country, she uses high-end products which are believed to be safer than the creams sold on the black market but they are by no means risk-free, doctors say.

Costly beauty

Ms Mnisi says she does not understand the criticism about her new appearance.

"Yes, part of it is a self-esteem issue and I have addressed that and I am happy now. I'm not white inside, I'm not really fluent in English, I have black kids. I'm a township girl, I've just changed the way I look on the outside," she says.

The dangers associated with the use of some of these creams include blood cancers such as leukaemia and cancers of the liver and kidneys, as well as a severe skin condition called ochronosis, a form of hyper-pigmentation which causes the skin to turn a dark purple shade, according to senior researcher at the University of Cape Town, Dr Lester Davids.

"Very few people in South Africa and Africa know the concentration of the toxic compounds that are contained in the products on the black market and that is concerning. We need to do more to educate people about these dangerous products," says Dr Davids.

He says over the past six years there has been a significant increase in the number of skin lighteners flooding local markets, some of them legal and some illegal. This is what prompted their research.

Local dermatologists say they are seeing more and more patients whose skin has been damaged by years of bleaching - most of the time irreversibly.

"I'm getting patients from all over Africa needing help with treating their ochronosis. There is very little we can do to reverse the damage and yet people are still in denial about the side-effects of these products," says Dr Noora Moti-Joosub.

In many parts of Africa and Asia, lighter-skinned woman are considered more beautiful, are believed to be more successful and more likely to find marriage.

The origin of this belief in Africa is not clear, but researchers have linked it to Africa's colonial history where white skin was the epitome of beauty.

Some have also suggested that people from "brown nations" around the world tended to look down upon dark-skinned people.

'I don't like black skin'

The World Health Organization has reported that Nigerians are the highest users of such products: 77% of Nigerian women use the products on a regular basis. They are followed by Togo with 59%; South Africa with 35%; and Mali at 25%.

South Africa banned products containing more than 2% of hydroquinone - the most common active ingredient in in the 1980s. But it is easy to see creams and lotions containing the chemical on the stalls here. Some creams contain harmful steroids and others mercury.

While skin-lightening creams have been used by some South Africans for many years, they have become more common recently with the influx of people from countries such as Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are even more widespread.

In a bustling African market in the centre of Yeoville in Johannesburg, it is skin lighteners galore.

Walking through this community is like walking through a mini-Africa: you can find someone from any part of the continent here.

I notice that many of the women have uncharacteristically light skin faces while the rest of their bodies are darker.

Some even have scabby burns on their cheeks from the harmful chemicals used to strip the skin of pigmentation.

They don't want to speak openly about why they bleach their skin, or even have their pictures taken.

Psychologists say there are also underlying reasons why people bleach their skin - but low self-esteem and, to some degree self-hate, are a common thread.

But skin-lightening is not just a fascination and obsession of women. Congolese hair stylist Jackson Marcelle says he has been using special injections to bleach his skin for the past 10 years. Each injection lasts for six months.

"I pray every day and I ask God, 'God why did you make me black?' I don't like being black. I don't like black skin," he tells me.


Skin lightening creams are popular in many parts of Africa
Mr Marcelle - known in this busy community as Africa's Michael Jackson - says his mother used to apply creams on him when he was young in order to make him appear "less black".

"I like white people. Black people are seen as dangerous; that's why I don't like being black. People treat me better now because I look like I'm white," he adds.

Entrenched in the minds of many Africans from a young age is the adage "if it's white, it's all right", a belief that has chipped away at the self-esteem of millions.

Until this changes, no amount of official bans or public information campaigns will stop people risking serious damage to their health in the pursuit of what they think is beauty.
Source:bbc

Pope Angelus: may new year be journey to peace

 
By: Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In his address to thousands of pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the first Angelus prayer of 2013, Pope Benedict likened the new year to "a journey" and prayed that it may lead on a path to peace "for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world."
Below please find a Vatican Radio translation of his remarks:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Happy New Year to all! On this first day of 2013, I would like God’s blessing to be extended to every man and every woman in the world. I do this with the ancient formula contained in Sacred Scripture: "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and show thee mercy. The Lord turn his face to you and give you peace "(Numbers 6:24-26).
Such as light and heat from the sun are a blessing to the earth, so the light of God is for humanity, when He shines His face upon it. This happened with the birth of Jesus Christ! God hath shown us the brilliance of His face: at the beginning in a very humble, hidden way - in Bethlehem, only Mary and Joseph and some shepherds were witnesses to this revelation -; but little by little, like the sun from dawn comes to noon, the light of Christ has grown and spread everywhere. Even in the short time of his earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth made the face of God shine in the Holy Land, and then, through the Church animated by his Spirit, extended to all peoples the Gospel of peace. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests" (Lk 2:14). This is the song of the angels at Christmas, and the song of the Christians in every clime, a song from the hearts and lips which passes into concrete actions, actions of love that build dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.

For this, eight days after Christmas, when the Church, like the Virgin Mother Mary, shows the world the infant Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we celebrate the World Day of Peace. Yes, that Child, Who is the Word of God made flesh, came to give men a peace which the world can not give (cf. Jn 14:27). His mission is to break down the "dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2:14). And when, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He proclaims his "Beatitudes", among them there is also "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). Who are the peacemakers? They are all those who, day by day, try to overcome evil with good, with the power of truth, with the weapons of prayer and forgiveness, with honest and well done work, with scientific research at the service of life, with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The peacemakers are many, but they are not loud. As leaven in dough, they raise humanity according to God's plan.In this first Angelus of the new year, we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, to bless us, like a mother blesses her children who must leave on a trip. A new year is like a journey: with the light and grace of God, may it be a path to peace for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world.

AFTER THE ANGELUS
Dear brothers and sisters!I share with all the most cordial good wishes for the new year: may it be a really good year, and it will be if we accept in us and among us, the love that Christ has given us. With gratitude I express my best wishes to the President of the Italian Republic and to the entire nation, as well as to other authorities who have sent me greetings.
I renew my affectionate greeting to the young people who came to Rome for the European meeting of the Taizé Community. I express my spiritual closeness to the ecclesial initiatives surrounding this World Day of Peace: I think, in particular, of the national March which took place last night in Lecce (Italy), as well as (this morning’s march) here in Rome, animated by the Community of Sant 'Egidio. I greet the members of the Family Love Movement who remained last night in prayer vigils in St. Peter's Square, in Milan and in L'Aquila. To all I repeat the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers"!