Author: Mwalimu Mati
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Freedom For All, Including The LGBTQ+
It is with some trepidation that I share my views on the hot-button issue du jour of the Supreme Court decision which recognized the rights of association of the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya. In April 2012, Eric Gitari, a lawyer and human rights activist wanted to establish a non-governmental organisation (NGO), and as required by…
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Do Not Let Rigathi Gachagua Distract You
Despite what Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says, the Government of Kenya is not a company with shareholding. But rather, the government is a duty bearer exercising public trust according to law, staffed by people appointed and regulated by national law, and financed by the entire public. This is the short answer to Rigathi Gachagua’s jocular…
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On Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o’s Invocation Of Vladimir I. Lenin
In the freak-out following a State House visit by a bunch of ODM MPs the other day, Kisumu County Governor Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong’o implored the ODM leadership on Twitter to remember Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s rule; “In a revolutionary situation: Better fewer but better.” The tweet was picked up by the mainstream press, which got…
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Mama Ngina Kenyatta Has Spoken. Now What?
There are national subjects that require assemblage of evidence and closure. The land settlement deals with the British and the fate of the Mau Mau are prime candidates as we continue to write the official history of Kenya as a nation. The origin of our upper economic echelons is another. So, I believe, it is…
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Death, Taxes and Dynastic Vendetta Politics
Did you know that Kenya’s Parliament exempted our first two presidents from having to pay a tax known as estate duty? I didn’t. In this era of vendetta politics, it is no surprise that Presidential aide Dennis Itumbi is active on twitter educating us on the law, and publicizing a public petition to repeal the…
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Why I Believe ‘The IEBC Whistleblower’ Is Fake News
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai and a few social media influencers have started boosting an alleged IEBC whistleblower’s claim that Raila Odinga won the 2022 presidential election by over 2.25 million votes. As the whistleblower remains anonymous, it is not possible to tell whether they exist. Certainly the spreadsheet of “true results” doing the rounds could…
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A Case For A Judicial Commission of Inquiry Into 15 August 2022
Clearly, there is an appetite for accountability for the riotous scenes at the Bomas of Kenya that almost torpedoed the announcement of the presidential election results on the 15th of August last year. In his first major interview session with the Kenyan press, President William Ruto acknowledged the need for a truth telling about what…
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A Case for the Pursuit of Peace in the DRCongo
The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) surely need reprieve from constant violence and war. From Belgian King Leopold’s crimes against them, through the secessionist wars of the ‘60s and ‘70s, into the ‘90s Congo wars, this country has known little peace. The humanitarian impact of the Congo Wars is staggering, with 5.4…
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The Fire Next Door: Electoral Justice and the NSAC Allegations
Still remaining uncontroverted are grave allegations in sworn affidavits by soon to be retired (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati and two outgoing Commissioners, Prof Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu, that four IEBC Commissioners (Vice-Chairperson Julianna Cherera, Justus Nyang’aya, Irene Masit and Francis Wanderi) attempted, in concert with members of the National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC), to…
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You’ve Seen The Two SGR Contracts. Now What?
Kenya’s Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen posted two 2014 loan contracts between Kenya and the Exim Bank of China onto his Twitter account one Sunday evening and got the world talking. The contracts worth US$ 3.2 billion are for the 500 km Mombasa – Nairobi phase of Kenya’s Chinese built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Murkomen left out two…