Initiatives for Change
Posted on February 4, 2008
Filed Under Information | 4 Comments
I sat in on a discussion last night amongst Kenyans in my community trying to make a positive contribution to help alleviate the situation in our country right now. Beyond prayers and decrying the tribalism evidenced at home at previous meetings, there was also a deep sense of purpose. The idea was to champion a cause under the banner of ‘A Tribe Called Kenya’ whose purpose is pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. The consensus was that negativity will flourish unless concerted voices of reason do something, and that something be done quickly. I am heading to San Diego this week for the rugby tournament and will attempt to chronicle the events as they unfold. I have been there once and blogged about my experience here, I imagine, the camaraderie will be even more so heightened by the situation in the country. Various initiatives are being brought to light as a result:
VUMA Kenya – An initiative by young professionals and well wishers to assist the disaster efforts of established disaster relief agencies by raising funds.
One Nation One Party – Initiative in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic and Capital FM to raise money for the Sadili Kibera Kids and Kenya Redcross at this year’s USA Sevens Rugby Tournament in San Diego
Additionally, appeals are out for folks in the Dallas, Fort Worth (Texas) areas for any clothes (new and/or used) to be donated to IDP camps in Kenya. Anyone in this area willing to donate can contact me via my contact page or email MagaidiAfrika[at]Yahoo.com
On another note: good take (IMHO) by the LA Times in their editorial of the situation in Kenya, the killing of legislator Mugabe Were and what it portends for democracy in Kenya
Dear Mr Kibaki…
Posted on January 9, 2008
Filed Under African Affairs | 2 Comments
Dear Sir
Wise men once said, if you consider yourself a leader, and proceed to lead, then look over your shoulder and no-one is following you, dude you’re just taking a walk!
You just keep on walking.
Yours concerned citizen.
Magaidi.
Who Holds the Key?
Posted on January 2, 2008
Filed Under African Affairs | 1 Comment
I made a comment to a friend right after the 2002 election that Uhuru Kenyatta had set an example as to how losers in elections need be/act. Despite Kibaki’s landslide victory in that election, Mr Kenyatta, rather than engage in sideshows, conceded defeat, an act in rarity in a continent where political big men rarely ever concede defeat. My remark was largely dismissed in the euphoria that followed Narc’s unprecedented landslide victory but I hoped that many budding politicians had taken note. Besides, its relevance was not felt since the victory was without a doubt. Sometimes, it not losing that defines you, it is your conduct in a loss that bespeaks volumes of your character. That the Uhuru Kenyatta we knew then and now seem to be cut from completely different cloth is a topic for another day.
Before you get all bent out of shape or engage in a pro-government diatribe, or lecture me on the concept of free and fair elections, I am not advocating or insinuating that ODM concedes defeat neither am I saying that the elections were not rigged or that Kibaki was the majority’s choice. I am not endorsing anyone, rather I want to point out a marked contrast that exists in the political big circles. That conceding even a hard-line stance for the sake of negotiation in the name of the people, does not make you less of a man/woman. A simple lesson largely ignored in Africa, that could save countless lives if we had true statesmen in positions of power.
“An 80-year old man should not be leading a country”
Nelson Mandela
The PNU’s/Government’s supremely irresponsible utterances such as “The president has been sworn in, the elections are over, the Kenyans have to accept the results, the opposition has to accept the results” (see one Raphael Tuju) and then in the same breath proceed to support GSU and police brutality by saying that “If the tear gas doesn’t work then unfortunately they have to use live bullets” leave a mind-boggling lot to be desired. References to “genocide”, “ethnic cleansing” and the such by the government spokesman really bring to bare, the ineptitude that exists in the Kibaki government. In usual Kibaki fashion, he remains holed up in statehouse continuing to pen his voluminous encyclopedia on ineffective leadership by keeping mum or disengaging himself from reality of the situation while the country desperately needs a sense of leadership. Is this the leadership we deserve?
In the same breath when ODM claims to accept nothing short of a Kibaki resignation as a reason for dialogue we have to question whether they themselves are fit to lead us. Perhaps the illusion of power has so much so clouded their vision that chaos in the country fueling wanton property destruction and lives lost mean lesser to the ODM leadership than their quest for power. It is as if to say, ‘we will get to the top by any means necessary’. I am not saying that they should not request his resignation, but that this should not be the make or break determinant to forging a way forward for a country on the brink. Again I ask, is this the leadership we deserve?
What we have here are two factions, each not ready to concede an inch, not willing to make the country bigger than themselves. We have rich politicians acting irresponsibly while the poor mwananchi (citizen) they are supposed to represent ‘without fear or favor’ is dying on the streets as each faction tries to elbow each other in the clamor for and consolidation of power. Is this really the leadership we deserve?
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln
No one seems to have a concrete answer as to the way forward. We know what got us here but we don’t know how to get ourselves out. I wonder what would happen based on the ODM requirement that Kibaki resigns. Even if he does, that does not give ODM the presidency since Kibaki was already declared the winner albeit by a fraudulent ECK count? In addition, is it likely or not that a Kenyan court, in the (unlikely) event of a petition determine that there were irregularities and order the ECK to make a decision whether there should be a recount or hold another presidential election in this era of passing the proverbial buck? Who’s to say whether a recount would be legitimate? Are we ready to believe that there has been no tampering with electoral documents between when the count was done and when such an order is exercised? Is a country on the edge really ready for another presidential election after the debacle we have just witnessed? Who would be entrusted to conduct such an election after the ECK botched the previous one? Is a provisional government a solution? How do we rebuild trust in the ECK since we don’t expect foreigners to conduct elections for us? Who holds the keys?
Let Cooler Heads Reign
Posted on December 30, 2007
Filed Under African Affairs | 5 Comments
Like most folks within the diaspora, I have followed Kenya’s election results with great interest within the blogosphere and mainstream media. Ory at KenyanPundit, Mental, Thinker, Chris and everyone else on the ground have done a great job keeping us updated. I am, to say the least shellshocked at the blatant disregard for country the ‘powers that be’ have shown. If nothing, Kibaki has succeeded in further heightening ethnic tensions by his (and his cronies) actions. Let there be no doubt that this ‘government’ will go to ANY AND ALL lengths to protect it’s grip on power (including plunging the country into a civil war!). There are definite parallels between what is happening on the ground in Kenya politically and what has been going on in Pakistan, but this is a comparison for the another day.
There is enough blame to go around. Legitimate concerns about poll-related violence were founded. But I am all the more frustrated because the ECK is wholly to blame for not only the flawed outcome, but also for the violence erupting in the country as they pat each other on the back and continue to wallow in their ignorance in thinking this was a free and fair election. It may have been free, but not in the least bit fair. But let’s not stop there.
Media reports that Raila was planning a separate inauguration ceremony at Uhuru Park for the ‘people’s president’ and the formation of a parallel government are quite disheartening. It’s not only wrong, this action threatens to circumvent supposed democratic processes and structures in place to address election irregularities. We all know the election was flawed, but attempting to flex muscle to get to the top seat is definitely not the right way and sends a message of lawlessness in the country. If we want our ‘democracy’ to grow, we have to put the onus on the court/justice system to address these irregularities. If for nothing else, to put the spotlight on them, witness them work and render our judgment based on their assessment.
We have serious problems to resolve. Losing our heads, burning cars and bridges and violence along ethnic lines do nothing but heighten tensions and make the journey to a brighter future all the more tedious. There I sed(sic) it!
Thanksgiving Atlanta 2007 - A Recap
Posted on November 30, 2007
Filed Under Entertainment | 1 Comment
Promoters and event planners in the US and the greater Kenyan Diasporas alike should take cue from Thanksgiving Atlanta 2007. The message sent by the contingent of Kenyans who descended upon chilly Atlanta, Georgia was loud and clear:
“We want it big; we want it better.”
Locals and revelers from all over the country started pouring in on Wednesday November 21st for the 4-day event and were anxious for what had been dubbed the ‘Thanksgiving Experience’ by one camp of promoters and the ‘13th Annual Thanksgiving Re-union’ by the other side. Either way Kenyans were spoilt for choice.
Two Sides
2Kat Solutions, an Atlanta based event-promotion outfit, together with Kenyaniyetu banded together to run the thanksgiving event under what was mostly construed to be a unified theme, a colossus of a get-together under the banner ‘One People, One Party’. From an insider’s take, the two parties, which had never worked together before, sought to harness each other’s resources to protect what had been an event mostly promoted and managed by locals. As such, the ‘One People One Party’ theme was heavily promoted together with appearances by Kenyan artists Nonini, Longombas and Amani.
On the other side, Take-Over-Djs (TOD), a professional DJ unit in tandem with ‘Genge Entertainment’ sought to introduce new concepts to the 13-year old tradition, amongst them a Live Band & DJ set, bigger and better venues, showdowns amongst famed turntablists from Kenya, performance by Kenyan artist JuaCali and day time family-themed events. Promotion began early in the year with mixed CDs and Flyers being distributed in cities across the nation. TOD estimated that over 7,000 CD’s had been distributed by the commencement night on Wednesday November 21st.
Déjà vu?
We have witnessed what happened in Atlanta before. Rival promoters going at it, one side protecting a home-town event and the other trying to break in. We witnessed it in San Diego at the annual Rugby 7’s tournament and again over the memorial weekend, the ongoing struggle between two cities; Houston and Dallas. The singular effect is that it splits a crowd but more often than not, the events themselves are usually similar in style thus very little differentiation. This time, however, things were a bit different.
2Kat-KenyaNiYetu
Overall, I felt like 2Kat and Kenyaniyetu, despite great venues (Club Esso, Club Pure) and slightly new and innovative marketing concepts ( FlatPanel HDTV lottery) and excellent music (an experienced DJ lineup certainly helps) struggled against a TOD marketing campaign that had long been in place for this event. It is important to point out that 2Kat has been at the forefront of some ground breaking events in as far as event-promotion is concerned. They were amongst the first to bring famed Kenyan DJs to the states.For instance, Homeboyz’ DJ John, CapitalFM’s DJ Adrian, DJ Pinye and CodeRed DJ Sytlez have all found their way to the states on 2Kat’s direction. Their pedigree is well documented amongst the greater Atlanta community. Perhaps this may have been a contributing factor to the late start as far as marketing was concerned since they may have felt like they already had the audience’s ear, being a local outfit.
However, Amani, Longombas and Nonini, inasmuch as their celebrity can pull a crowd, did little to dent the buzz around having JuaCali at the TOD camp. Furthermore, and this is a lesson to be learnt, if you have a two-person group such as the ‘Longombas’ or ‘Deux Vultures’ being able to showcase only one member of that group, for whatever reason, can be quite a tricky proposition despite the help of a live band. 2Kat’s Sunday event venue was also changed at the last minute and as such many people were shocked to arrive at an empty and locked ‘Bombay Grill’. Despite numerous text messages and a disclaimer on their website (pretty hard to see if you ask me because directions are on the lower half of the flyer – the disclaimer should have been there) most ended up at the TOD’s ‘Kwaheri Night’. Even more perplexing was the appearance by Nonini at TOD’s ‘Kwaheri Night’. Why would Nonini – here on 2Kat’s tab – be at a TOD event? These are some of the questions the 2Kat duo of June and Daisy will have to ask themselves going forward.
TOD – Genge Entertainment
TOD on the other hand, could learn a lot from the major gaffes we witnessed at their events. Firstly, from an insider’s take, they knew way in advance that the Homeboyz’ DJ John and DJ Kaydee would not be able to make it (from what they said were contractual obligations to the fledgling Homeboyz Radio Station) and still continued to market the event with both in their lineups. The revelation that both would not be in attendance was not made until the last minute by TOD. If said contractual obligations existed, we all know they would have been in place long before TOD decided to make it public that they would not attend. Secondly, at their events at ‘The Temple’ no one bothered to make the call for ‘last call’ as is the case at most clubs. As such, the bar was abruptly closed leaving quite a number of patrons having purchased tickets for drinks, with their tickets in hand and no recourse to get their money back. This was truly tacky! In addition, their sound system was wanting for most part. It is quite embarrassing for a maestro such as JuaCali to be performing on stage and have the amplifier system shut down thus having no bass at all. This was a problem that inexplicably persisted for two nights (Friday and Saturday).
TOD is a young and bright star in the Kenyan community in the USA however. Their concepts take away from the regular events we have almost become wont to attend. Despite the gaffes, the DJ-Live band event was quite interesting, it is truly something to listen to ‘Banjuka’ live and Flex’s ‘Amejibeba’ on a Dr. Dre beat on a live set. Our all-star DJ’s didn’t disappoint and TOD’s attempt to introduce what they dubbed ‘The Next Generation of Kenyan Entertainers (DJs)’ was also gracious. If they set the trend, our next generation has a lot to live up to. JuaCali, an exquisite performer in his own right, also brought the house down. It is easy to see why he has become such a popular performer and personality especially amongst Kenyan youth. He is truly something.
Winners - Losers
So who won? In my opinion there were no winners or losers. Does TOD walk away thumping their chest and declaring supremacy? Hardly. Does 2Kat walk away disappointed? Again, hardly. The singular most common response from members who attended both events was that the atmosphere was great. Each was entertained. TOD had a bigger crowd but 2Kat had a much better managed event (despite Sunday). In addition, this should be cause for them to cheer, despite a well-oiled marketing machine employed against them, 2Kat managed to hold their own for most part. TOD can learn valuable lessons from the problems they witnessed as far as crowd-control and managing such grand events; they can only get better. Those of us who understand the complications of event management can appreciate what we were able to experience in Atlanta. We were all entertained by both sides and look forward to future events in the area. In addition our hosts were classy and pulled all stops for our entertainment purposes. This event certainly sets the stage for quite an interesting ‘Thanksgiving Experience’ 2008. Hope to see you there.
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About
Magaidi.com is the journal of the African kid. A diary of sorts, a collection of musings and a discussion point on the way forward for the motherland.
