The campaign machinery of RAILA ODINGA and UHURU KENYATTA - (DETAILED)

Sunday February 3, 2013 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta are they two protagonists who are battling out for the presidency after President Mwai Kibaki exits on March 4^th.

It is a fact that either Raila or Uhuru will become the fourth President of Kenya.

It is also evident that the two political rivals have mobilised billions of shillings to woo voters across the country so that one can clinch the top most coveted seat in the country.

We at the Kenyan DAILY POST went ahead to investigate the size of the campaign machinery both Raila and Uhuru have mounted on the ground. Here are facts about Raila and Uhuru campaign machinery;

RAILA AMOLLO ODINGA: Prime Minister Raila Odinga is making his third stab at the Presidency. The size of his campaign machinery reaches to a tune of billions. Raila Odinga campaign secretariat has hired four branded choppers and two fixed –wing aircraft to move candidates and key staff over the next one month. A total of 135 four wheel drive vehicles including land rovers, landcruisers, pickups, motorcycles and also ad-trucks have been hired.

Source of the money: Raila Odinga campaign machinery is being funded by Western nations including US and Britain.

UHURU MUIGAI KENYATTA: Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is making his second stab at the Presidency. Uhuru’s campaign machinery also hits tens of billions of shillings. Uhuru has purchased six helicopters and four–ten seater planes to ferry staff from campaigns. 47 land lovers have also been released to county co-ordinators and hundreds of branded four wheel vehicles have been provided.

Uhuru has also hired 1450 road show vehicles, five for each of the 290 constituencies.

Source of the money: Uhuru, who is among the richest people in Kenya, is bankrolling Jubilee campaigns from own personal savings.

A song for Peace – Kenya

 
In anticipation of Kenya’s national election in March 2013, East Africa’s most-beloved singer Samba Mapangala has recorded “Chagua Chagua” (Vote in Peace), an important new song that encourages people to choose their leaders wisely.
Echoing the call by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and others for a fair democratic process free of fraud and violence, Samba reminds Kenyan citizens that a peaceful country will succeed economically in the future to the benefit of all, and can set an example for other African nations to follow.
Samba Mapangala is renowned in East Africa for his many songs that counsel, teach and warn people to consider the consequences of their actions. The idea for “Chagua Chagua” was suggested by a Virunga fan in Kenya who asked him to compose a  ”message song” for the upcoming elections, saying Samba should encourage all citizens to register and to vote, and not to sell their voter’s cards: “With your music, you can save the country because in Kenya everybody listens to your music.”
Samba took the suggestion to heart and created a lively soukous track that delivers the message to his audiences all over the world, stating: “I was happy to contribute to the country that I love, people that I love. Kenya is my home. I grew up there. I want to advise people to vote in peace. The violence that happened in 2007 must not happen again. I know people will listen and stand together. I’m doing my part and I call on all Kenyans to do their part for the good of the nation–all Kenyans, at home and abroad.” Although composed with Kenya in mind, “Chagua Chagua” has universal implications for all nations facing the challenge of democratic elections.
The unique video clip for “Chagua Chagua” was created by Maddo (Paul Kelemba), the groundbreaking editorial cartoonist for Kenya’s The Standardnewspaper. His widely popular comic strip “It’s a Madd Madd World,” which has run weekly for 23 years, comments on political and social life with humorous but informative anecdotes. itsamaddworld.com
Chagua Chagua was recorded in Arlington, Virginia and Paris, France, with John Bashengezi on guitars, bass and chorus, and Komba Bellow Mafwala on drums and percussion.

Hell-bent: Transcending pain in competitive yoga

By: BBC


For the millions of people who have made a new year's resolution to lose weight in 2013, yoga is an enticing option.
But they are fooling themselves if they think it will be an easy route to a better body and a more relaxed mind.
In a bid to lose 45lbs (20.4kg), Benjamin Lorr began attending super-heated Bikram yoga classes in Brooklyn, New York.
It was the beginning of a sweaty two-year journey which he documented in his book "Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga".
The BBC attended a class at Bikram Lower East Side, one of Mr Lorr's favourite studios, and filmed him practising in his apartment with US Yoga gold medallist Courtney Mace.
Produced by Anna Bressanin; camera by Ilya Shnitse

Kulahappy: Naswa-Kenya (Romance) Ep 33

Wenger frustrated with Gunners draw

By: AFP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed frustration with his side's inconsistency and criticised their mental sharpness after they needed an own goal to snatch a draw from Southampton only three days after beating Newcastle United 7-3.
But he confirmed that his search for a remedy will not include bringing back the club's former striker Thierry Henry for a second comeback season.
"We didn't create a lot after having scored five at Reading, seven against Newcastle," the Frenchman complained. "The goal chances we created were not a lot and our game lacked purpose, lacked penetration, lacked speed - all the qualities that we usually have and that we didn't see tonight.
"It is frustrating. It is nothing to do with the physical side. In a game of that magnitude against a Southampton team that was really highly determined, I felt we lacked purpose in our game, and it was more mental than physical. We lacked sharpness.
"There is no specific reason. We prepared normally, we prepared well, and, maybe Southampton deserve some credit as well. They fought for every single ball until the last second."

Arsenal's English striker Theo Walcott (C) skips past Southampton's Guly Do Prado (L) and James Ward-Prowse during their Premier League clash at St Mary's Stadium on January 1, 2013. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed frustration with his side's inconsistency and criticised their mental sharpness after they needed an own goal to snatch a 1-1 draw.

It was Theo Walcott's free kick that was put into his own net by Guly Do Prado, but otherwise Walcott was anonymous after his hat-trick on Saturday.
Wenger explained: "Overall, nobody was put in good positions to express something offensively.
"We didn't have enough quality to get them out of position, but it is difficult to identify any specific thing. We have to analyse that together and see why because we have big games coming up and we want to get back to our normal performance."
Wenger also ruled out re-signing Henry for a second time after bringing him back on a temporary deal a year ago. "He is going away somewhere," he said. "He is not ready and for the moment we are not on that case."
But he confirmed that he hopes to be active during the transfer window. "I will be active, yes," he said. "We are looking everywhere and we are open-minded. We want to strengthen the squad if possible and if we find the right players."

Southampton's Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc (R) claims the ball under pressure from Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny on January 1, 2013. Nigel Adkins, the Southampton manager, was pleased with his side's performance, and the point in a 1-1 draw took his team out of the bottom three, ahead of Wigan Athletic on goal difference.

Nigel Adkins, the Southampton manager, was much more pleased with his side's performance, and the point that took his team out of the bottom three, ahead of Wigan Athletic on goal difference.
"Arsenal have been beating teams out of sight but Artur (Boruc, the goalkeeper) has had nothing else to do apart from the deflection and we created some good opportunities for ourselves," he said. It shows how far we have come. We got a hiding (6-1) at The Emirates, but we have a growing maturity. Tactically we were bang on and yet again the players put good performances in."
After early dominance by Arsenal, Southampton and took the lead with a scrappy goal after 35 minutes, Bacary Sagna's attempted clearance hitting Southampton's Jason Puncheon and rebounding for Gaston Ramirez, Southampton's record signing, to drive low past Wojciech Szczesny.
Arsenal's equaliser two minutes later was even messier. Walcott curled in a free kick from the left that seemed to be going harmlessly to Boruc, but Do Prado, Southampton's Brazilian winger, swung a foot at the ball at the near post and deflected it into his own net.
Do Prado tried to make amends with a shot that Szczesny had to save well and a corner kick that Sagna almost put into his own net, while Ramirez had a goal disallowed for a foul on Laurent Koscielny that few people noticed apart from the referee's assistant.
Walcott, anonymous on his return to his former club, hit a shot straight at Boruc - Arsenal's only effort on target.
Wenger said: "Considering the performance, I don't think we deserved more, but it's two points lost if you look at our target over Christmas."

Kalonzo says Uhuru opposed to reforms

 
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka delivers his New Year message at his Yatta Home in Kithimani, Machakos County January 1, 2013. He urged Kenyans to prepare for transformation in the New Year. VPPS 

 By: KITAVI MUTUA kitavimutua@gmail.com
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka on Tuesday accused Jubilee alliance leaders of being “diehard conservatives” who could not be trusted to transform the country.

Mr Musyoka said Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto were hiding behind their youthful age to confuse Kenyans and shed off their status quo image.

The VP who is Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s running mate in the Coalition for Reform and Democracy(Cord) said their team was composed of social democrats while their Jubilee alliance opponents were conservatives who were opposed to reforms and change.

“If you are opposed to reforms and transformation of the country, that fact doesn’t change because you’re younger than your opponents. The truth is that these Jubilee leaders are true conservatives,” the VP said during a New Year’s press briefing at his Yatta home.

“We as Cord leaders stand for true social transformation which will grow the country’s economy in double digits because we combine servant leadership and proven passion for reforms,” Mr Musyoka said.

Mr Musyoka expressed confidence that the Cord alliance will trounce their rivals in the March 4 General Election and told Jubilee leaders to be ready to concede defeat.

“This election is a contest between champions of peace who put the interests of the country first against leaders trying to use their ethnic communities to ascend to power for selfish interests,” he said.

Reconciliation

He said victory for the Cord alliance in the next elections will restore Kenya’s image as maturing democracy in Africa adding that the world was watching to see if the country will put behind the 2008 post election violence.

He urged Kenyans to set aside petty ethnic differences that divide them and vote for the Cord leadership saying it will guarantee respect for the rule of law, full implementation of the Constitution and equitable distribution of resources.

“Once we win the elections, our number one priority will be to reconcile the whole country and restore the lost sense of patriotism,” he said.

SOURCE: Daily nation