Uhuru Will Use The Media Bill For ICC Purposes!Wise Man!-Ochengo Onguso

Not Even the media understands Uhuru's Stategy over the Media Bill!Find out.
The media bill is not just a law in waiting but something more. in politics, you have to master who can bring you down. second, how do you conceal your intentions for him/her to be led astray? Now here we go. The President was to go to ICC on 12th November. The presidency knows it is the media that can be used as a platform to spearhead the criticism of him going or not. Therefore, the bill comes not to be enacted but to divert the attention of the media from overt focus on ICC. The president when he fails to go between 12th November and 19th November will openly refuse to assent to the bill when the ICC discussions will be fresh. The media will naturally focus on a 'good, democratic president who has turned down a draconian media bill'. This will be a control on the role the media can play to ignite tensions over ICC...the strategy is, the president must take part in populist activities a week before 12th November and a week after to neutralize the ICC effect..turning down the media bill is one of the populist activities after 12th November. That is my Hunch...The president has smart men around him.

Knowledge has become too expensive in Kenya!- Kigondu Ngata (School of Law-UoN)

The right to education is a crucial and important fundamental human right. The enjoyment of the right faces serious challenges across the country, emanating from perennial violations , majority of which revolve around lack of resources, unavailability of schools, discrimination, inequality in access and resource allocation.

Kenya has a marked improvement in access to primary education, but completion rates are low due to impediments like child labor, early marriages and the exclusion of girl children. Early in 2003, when President Mwai Kibaki as he then was, introduced free primary education (FPE) without sufficient attention to facilities and resources, the quality of education has since  taken a downward trajectory. The school life expectancy (SLE) in Kenya in only 11years.

Confusing and conflicting education policies within the education sector, only serve to obfuscate a system already in dire straits. Not to mention brilliant recommendations in the Ominde report, Gacathi report, McKay report and the Koech commission all of which have lackadaisically been  implemented.

The new constitution (Prof. Ben Sihanya abhors calling it new 3 years later) institutionalizes education as a tool for upward social mobility, makes the state its custodian and commands affirmative action in certain circumstances. Education has not been devolved under the constitution. Article 53(1)(b) donates that every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education. The recently enacted basic education act has tried to breathe life into the said article by banning the admission fee for pupils joining public schools and punitive action against parents who fail to enroll their children to school.

Equally, under the plane of  international law, kenya still has obligations to fulfill the right to education, the commitment is binding , for instance under article 26 of the Universal declaration of human rights(UDHR), “education shall be free at least in elementary and fundamental stages…..” other  binding treaties include.

·         Article 4(a) of the UNESCO convention against discrimination in education

·         Article 13(2)(a) and (b) of the ICESCR, international covenant on  economic  social and cultural rights (kenya has not  ratified its protocol)

·         ARTICLE 28(1)(a) of the united nations convention on the rights of the child(CRC)

Moreover Kenya has also committed itself to goal no. 2 of the millennium development goals MDGs which is to achieve Universal primary education UPE with targets of ensuring by 2015, children both boys and girls will complete primary education.

Jurisprudence on the right to education shows that it’s not subject to progressive realization but immediate realization. Therefore Kenya cannot hide behind the doctrine of progressive realization to justify its failure to provide quality FPE. In Costa Rica, the constitutional court has declared that school fees or charges of any kind are unconstitutional, after parents filed a petition against a state educational institution for refusing to enroll their son in the state sponsored school after he could not afford to pay “voluntary contribution”. The court held that it hindered constitutionally obligatory right to basic education.

Judicial decisions in Africa has upheld and whittled down the right to education in proportional measure. For instance, the Kenyan high court decision in  R vs.  Head teacher, Kenya high school, exparte SMY, the court upheld the principals’ directive, stopping Muslim girls from wearing hijabs at school. A loccus classicus  of clash between right to religion and right to education. In Zimbabwe, the case of Dzvova Vs Minister For Education Sports And Culture &Others, the Supreme Court issued a general declaration that expulsion of Rastafarian student from school on the basis of his belief contravened the Zimbabwean constitutional provisions on the right to education. An ECOWAS decision of Serap Vs Nigeria, the court held that corruption and mismanagement of funds couldn’t justify a states violation of the right to education. (See also open society initiative vs. government of Kenyan a.k.a the Nubian children case)

Going forward I would recommend 10 strong points for  the jubilee government, now that the country is turning 50, amid its midlife crisis, to do the following in favor of the right to education.

1)    Provide free transport by having GoK designated buses to ferry to school all children especially those in ASALs who live very far from school.

2)    Provide safe drinking water in all public schools.

3)    Ensure sanitation facilities that are beyond reproach.

4)    Provide classrooms, textbooks, blackboards and stationer.

5)    Provide qualified teachers by lifting the ban on hiring of teachers.

6)    Ensure that while FPE is compulsory and state funded, then tertiary education is highly accessible to all.(e.g. By increasing HELB).

7)    Ensure that children with disabilities have effective access to education in a manner conducive to the fullest possible social integration.

8)    Give free meals to all public schools pupils.

9)    Proscribe all illegal levies and or hidden costs charged by schools e.g. supplementary exam fees, KCSE fees, PTA fees, additional tuition fees, development levy, trip costs, and fees for meals.

10) Amend the law to include death penalty on the proof of a balance of probabilities to those embezzling FPE funds.

While my list above is not exhaustive in any way, I humbly submit that as a country who  each year cannot account for 300 billion of budgetary allocations(euphemism for misappropriation)  we can realize the right to education for posterity and economic progress failure to which the bourgeoisie will fly their children out to greener academic pastures, or enroll them in high end local international schools where  term fees is equal to  a governors salary, the middle class will build academies for their children while the proletariats child will be wasting away in the village, sinking deeper in academic penury while making daily odysseys’ into a dilapidated public school beyond the horizon.

WHICH WAY FOR AFRICA?-DAVID OYOLA (Chair,Nairobi University Political Science Students' Organisation)

The same fate that begot the Organization of African Union,OAU and killed it, which later begot Muammar Gaddafi and KILLED him is the same one eating East African Community and the same one that is going to KILL the African Union. EAC and AU have one thing in common,They are destined to great failure due to poor leadership from the African leaders. Too sad to see great institutions started but used politically by bad leaders for their own gains and finally dies a natural death.
It all started going wrong when they all openly came out lashing at the west with insults, bravado and arrogance.  A student of comparative foreign policy will tell you that under such diplomatic mishaps, in the realists theory, nations which are at the CORE i.e rich countries; controls the international systems and ALL international organizations e.g the UN which African Union falls under and by default,the EAC.
Countries at the periphery a.k.a those at the south or third world countries or developing countries all salute the nations at the core. The only way countries such as those from the third world countries to to sustain their national budgets and control the international organizations is simple,let them develop towards the core. That is why Kenya will never succeed in her shuttle diplomacy against the Hague.
China the other day made a debut into Kenyan market. they started with toys, phones which are made by Chinese students and get tested or dumped in Africa, they then went ahead and won several govt tenders on infrastructure development. The west had to move so fast; immediately they started exporting their machines like vehicles,tractors and motorbikes into Kenyan market. The US whose currency,the Dollar, is used for international trade and transactions, introduced COMMISSIONS on any dollar traded internationally on certain goods listed above, that would mean that importing any vehicle from china into Kenya,would cost higher than Japanese Toyota products. China is a developing nation,just like Kenya and Somalia,this makes her talk softly in the table of men at the restaurant of international politics, other countries such as Uganda are just waiters in the same restaurant. African leaders simply needs to put their houses in order and stop combative political bargains in the international arena. The US is not opposition leader in any African state,hence the presidents needs to know how diplomacy is generated and identify the difference. A clear case study is by simply looking at the latest behavior by Tanzania,Burundi and South Sudan.
Kenya's budget for the year 2013/2014 was at US $19b while that of Tanzania was at US $11b, this is a difference that can be bridged in years not more than 20. Kenya and other African states needs to improve on their foreign policies.
By: David Oyola;
Chairman, University of Nairobi Political Science Students' Association

UHURUTO ICC CASES: AN EXPERT’S ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION- G.N GEOFFREY

 Before the March 4^th general elections, Kenyans were warned about impending consequences of their democratic choices. Kenyans are still waiting for the consequences six months down the line. Some think that Jonny Carson’s warning was far-fetched.  However, I tend to disagree with those that think that Carson wrong. Carson was very right. If you are a keen observer, you will note that some of the consequences are already here with us.

The immediate and the most notable consequence was that the Cases that Kenyatta and Ruto were and are still facing at the ICC ceased to be personal. Prior to the election, Kenyatta had argued that his case was personal and that Kenyans needed not to worry about how he would serve them in the office of the president while at the same time fighting with the monster ICC. However, nothing could be farther from the reality. The fact is that the process and the end results of the ICC process will affect the country Kenya in one way or the other.

Opinion is divided as to whether Kenyatta should be tried in the Hague based court while still in power or not. African Union has brutally attacked the court and labelled it neo-colonialist. The Kenyan parliament is in the process of withdrawing the country from the Rome statute. With all these happening within six months, only a fool can continue buying Kenyatta’s theory that his case is personal.

The most emotive issue has been that of whether Kenyatta should continue cooperating with ICC or not. I have heard very logical arguments from across the divide. Up to now, I’m still ambivalent as to whether he should continue cooperating with the court especially if it demands that he be within the court room though out the trial. It might be necessary for the victims who need justice, but what do forty million Kenyans stand to gain? And if you look at the other side of the coin, what does Kenyans stand to lose?

Kenyatta has so far not commented on the issue, but certainly, he is thinking about something. So, what exactly is in Kenyatta’s mind? As a politician, I’m sure that he is already planning ahead. I can confidently say many would never want to hear; 2017 is on his mind .However, becoming the best is easier than remaining the best. 2017 will be trickier for him than 2013. Kenyatta knows that his future in politics rest squarely on how well he will implement his own manifesto, forget about the ICC fiasco. After all, he won the election as an ICC suspect. He can still win it even as an international fugitive if only he fully implements his manifesto.

Implementing a manifesto is not a joke. That is the greatest burden on Kenyatta’s shoulders. Although he has a cabinet in place, it is impossible to implement the manifesto without close supervision. Every decision must be analyzed critically, and every assignment needs follow up. If he is not around for one or two months, chances are that he will find a golden berg of its kind. The manifesto implementation process will slow down and yet time is not in his side.

Kenyatta can still save his political career by refusing to attend his trial at The Hague. By so doing, he will have ample time to coordinate his government, spearhead development agenda and implement his manifesto fully. That is the only way he can have a smooth ride come 2017, and in fact, that is the best he can give to this country.

But again, we have to worry about how ICC will react if Kenyatta snubs the trial. If ICC issues an arrest warrant, who will arrest Kenyatta? Aren’t Bashir and Kony still walking free? The arrest warrant will not affect Kenyatta significantly in political sense. But will it affect Kenya? Certainly it will. But how will Kenya be affected? That is debatable.

From whichever angle you look at it, you realize that this is fine balancing act. The future of the country lies in the balance. Kenyatta’s problem became Kenya’s problem on 4^th of March, 2013.

WHAT WILL YOU SHOW AFTER FOUR YEARS IN THE UNIVERSITY?- SONU CHAIR-Zack Kinuthia

WHAT WILL YOU SHOW AFTER FOUR YEARS IN THE UNIVERSITY?- SONU CHAIR-Zack Kinuthia

Education is the key.This is probably the earliest statement of wisdom that you came across.You must have either rejected or adopted this nugget.  However,the anti statement loyalists did so out of frustrations that this key was evading them. The pro statement because they hoped that doors will flung at the might of the key.
Far from the attachment that you draw from the wisdom,I want to express my disillusionment of my fellow colleagues in the academia.
The key that was, as I have come to rightly hold, was not just to open doors of happiness which it can, especially economic halls, but to close the doors of pains of life.
In Athens,back then, the fathers of logic and philosophy, went out of line to reveal to the people that the happiness they needed could only be found in liberty. Liberty of mind and conscience. The antidote being education.
The free man would only be found within and beyond the precepts of education. The greatest crusaders of this liberator are usually the ones with the least or none of education, perhaps because they feel the pain of the contrary.
I will join the long list of the elders who perpetuate the call to education. Nevertheless, I would rather put it clear that my campaign for education is on a different panorama. Not the one that formed the source of my disillusionment.
Education that sharpens the mind and blunts the soul succeeds in making imps. Education that ignores the faculty of imagination leads to robots.
Useless of all is the education that teaches humanity the skills for making money while breaking the family. Education that orients our children that one’s talents are meant for their personal gratification is our enemy.
Education that seeks to compare the learners leads to discord.
Four years in the university is enough time for one to surrender the emotions destructive like anger and intolerance at the altar of education.
Four years are seen to succeed when the culprits are confidently courteous to disagree with positions they hold differently. Real education for a graduate who hopes to be one, is the greatest defender to violence of capitalism.
If anyone leaves the university with wavering stands about the pertinent issues of societies,disown them. If anyone leaves the university with grammatical errors and pathetic reasoning capabilities, strip them the title 'our pride.' If anyone after four years can throw a punch as their defence of reason, tremble. If they cannot hold their flesh under hostage against destructive emotions because money blinds them,refuse them land. Education must be the Key.