ICC Deferral...The People Get A Voice

The best thing this world provides us with is the different platforms we can use to voice our opinions and take action on things we feel matter most to us. After the last post put up on Kenya's deferral from the ICC, I was more than elated to learn that there were people out there doing what they could with the platforms available to them to speak up as Kenya's citizens as well! On Tuesday, March 8th 2011, huge strides were taken by the people for the people to make it known that we are ready to step up and give a voice to the voiceless! A peaceful protest was organized outside the UN Headquarters in NY and the message was simple: "to let the UN Secretary General know that following the VP Kalonzo's plea to defer Kenya from the ICC, we the people agree that the Hague is the best option for us right now and that deferment from the ICC was not an option we are in support of. Dj Xpect Peter amongst others organized the protest and the turn out was exceptional considering the biting cold! The protests went seamlessly and below is video footage of the protest as well as some pictures that represent determination and zeal to stand up for what we believe in! As reported by the Standard newspaper on the same day, (March 8th), our efforts have not been in vain! The ICC has issued summons to the Ocampo 6 to appear in person before the ICC pre-trial chamber judges on April 7th, 2011, failure to which the court will issue international warrants for their arrest to secure their co-operation!

All images retrieved from Facebook Pics

 Video Footage retrieved from Nation TV

ICC Deferral

With the naming of six prominent government officials (in different capacities) as key suspects responsible for the post election violence in 2007/8, the ICC finds itself encapsulated in our government’s idea of justice. Now, the basic breakdown of how a contractual/consultant task works is simple:

1.       You come in, get familiar with the environment and start working on your allotted task with specific goals in mind.

2.       You find results and you share these results

3.       You follow through on these results

4.       You’re evaluated based on your performance

The reasoning behind this breakdown is to illustrate clearly that the ICC did in fact come in and do their job!  It is however very pertinent to mention that whether or not their results (finding the named six suspects) are accurate is quite irrelevant to this particular issue raised in this post.

Keeping in mind the above, the World Politics Review quotes 85% of Kenyans as being in support of the ICC process with the reasoning that our country is one with a deep-rooted culture of impunity (definition being “exempt from punishment or loss) which has led many of the citizens to give up on domestic justice to deal with those responsible for the violence. (Now, if this does not scream SHAME, I don’t know what does!)

The point I’m trying to make here is simple. Every media outlet is on top of the ICC saga with respect to our president’s wants, the PM’S wants, and the government officials’ wants (and these wants by the way, are to defer Kenya from the ICC because they did their job!) but here this article is clearly stating that 85% of Kenya’s citizens were on board with the process. Are these people really working for us or are we a disposable resource they used and continue to use to get to the top? Are we really a voiceless people?

WPR: http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/7687/the-icc-in-kenya-tackling-impunity-or-sowing-ethnic-polarization

BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12066667

Back With A Bang!

And we're back!!!

It's been too much of a hiatus and after much interaction with followers and readers of the blog, TRUTHSPEAK is back and here to stay! 
The analysis of our current state of institutional affairs does tend to wear one down and I did not want to be in the business of giving people a message of disparity and hopelessness...this explains the hiatus. The revival (yes, I did call it a revival) is solely based on a push by readers/followers to not be engulfed in the dark sort of place we find ourselves in but to focus on where we want to go and more so, on formulating a plan on how we will get there and so THANK YOU for all the support and good ideas that I plan on featuring on here. The basis in which Truthspeak came to be is to bring us together to exchange ideas and really focus on building our nation to its full capacity...so let the journey continue! 


 (Shout out to Biggie! Thank you!)

Prime Minister Orders Gays Arrest!

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is quoted as stating that being gay is unnatural citing the following reasons as the basis of his argument:
A. Kenya's census results show that their are more females than there are males therefore it is "madness" for a man to fall in love with another man! (Could somebody please inform him of the irrelevance of this point considering women can be gay too)!
B. There is no need for women to engage in lesbianism if they can bear children! (Please give this man a book!)
The question here is not whether or not being gay is right or wrong/natural or unnatural! The question we need to ask is whether or not sexual preference is grounds for being placed behind bars or as the good PM states "being turned in to relevant authorities". It could easily be argued that sexual orientation is now deemed a matter of human rights and what the PM is purporting could be viewed as a violation of these rights especially because the principles guiding these rights on sexual orientation relate to equality and non-discrimination whose violation is strictly punishable by law according to our constitution!

For the full story, please click on the link below:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1062134/-/78xndg/-/index.html

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2012..YOU ARE NOT IT

2012 is fast approaching and the debate is now focused on whether the youth have the numbers to beat the old guard come the elections. East Standard Newspaper reported the following stats: 48% of the 12, 477,061 registered voters are between the ages of 18-35 while 29% are between 36-50 and 21% are between 51-60. If at all the election is reliant on the numbers, it would be safe to say we have this in the bag but is it really about numbers? The article then goes on to submit quotes from “highly relevant political gurus” that state that the youth are living in dream land if they think they can wrestle leadership roles from the old guard!! Whilst this statement alone makes me gag at the lack of faith in us, I must say at this point in the game, it might just be an accurate stance. We may have the numbers to change the course of our country but who would be possibly be using our vote on? So far, the “youthful” leaders vying for candidacy are one Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Higher Education Minister, William Ruto and Saboti MP, Eugene Wamalwa. I refuse to mention the likes of Hellon, well, because I am refraining from turning this post into some sort of comic relief piece. All the same, after mentioning the 2012 prospects running under the guise of “Barrack did it and so can we for we too are youthful” I am inclined to believe that a revolution of the magnitude we need may take more time than we may have liked. Here’s why: the incumbents mentioned are not really new to us, and from the past, we know that their doctrines are very much influenced by the old politics we are trying so very hard to move away from. So the question then is where is the freshness we are in dire need of? Where are the new progressive ideals that we so desperately need? Where is that sense of security we long to feel and the sense of trust we long to place in our leaders? I’m inclined to agree with the political strategists…we might have to wait another five years for our very own Barrack.

Truthspeak

Standardized Exams=Uniformity of Resources!!

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." (Aristotle)


Swapping mind blowing tales about the good old school days is nothing new to any of us; in fact, those conversations mark great times with each other…more often than not, the more brutal the experience, the funnier the story really is. The other day, I found myself in the midst of such conversation with a rather diverse crowd of mid to late twenty somethings as well as early thirty somethings and while the stories told were more than hilarious, they also made me wonder about the standardization of education/testing that is the 8-4-4 system. How could one school have all the resources in the world and then some…I’m talking well equipped labs, text books for every student (provided by the school), sports equipment to last a life time, teacher-student attention that is unparallel and a life of comfort whereby all you have to think about through twelve years of school is yourself and your books whilst another school has teachers that barely made it through high school, can barely speak much English/Swahili (the national languages tested in the standardized exams), text books that are in tatters are reserved for teachers only and sports…well, between getting up in the morning, feeding your siblings, cleaning the house, fetching water and thinking about where to get your next meal…sports is the precise definition of luxury! How can the creators of this system possibly think that these two different worlds could then take a standardized test that determines their next move in life? Honestly, in an extremely utopic world, one that I think the 8-4-4 was hashed out from; all the students registered to take these standardized tests are on equal footing…and sure, let’s give a little lee way here and say that life cannot be perfect, so let’s subtract their lives away from school from the equation…you want 8-4-4 to stop failing us, then give equal resources to schools…want more rope? Sure…forget private schools (the government doesn’t fund them anyway)…this is to the department of education in our government…how about you give public schools everywhere a chance by making sure the teachers are eligible to teach! That they have the right tools with them once they live the Kenya Teacher’s Training College!! How about as parents, we, in conjunction with the government, give our children the resources they need to learn so that we can finally sleep with peace of mind knowing that the child in Pokot Primary School or Garissa Primary School is getting just as good an education as is the child in Nairobi Primary School. If the government cannot do us this one solid, then BE FAIR and give these kids examinations that are befitting of the knowledge and expertise rendered to them by their teachers, their school environment, and availability of resources! Surely, let’s STOP providing the rope that hangs our children’s future!!!!

June 2010 marks for truthspeak a month of true renewal and commitment to the readers and to the cause. With a bit of change in focus, truthspeak aims at encouraging discussion on immigrant living abroad and the challenges faced while trying to find that balance between keeping pace with the economic, social and political going ons in our native land as well as life challenges faced in foreign soil in an attempt to help us not only create a link between the two worlds but also borrow ideas from both worlds in an effort to develop and improve both environments.