Kenyan Bloggers back to “almost” normal life

After many days of agony and political uncertainty, Kenyan bloggers have gone back to “almost normal” life. Bloggers can even afford to make witty comparison between Kenya and other countries.

Rants, Raves and reviews compares Kenya to South Korea:

So… why the above info? Well, it turns out that President Lee of S.Korea plans to cut down the ministries from 18 to 13 to “slimline” his government. And our “brilliant” maybe he is(not) prez-in-residence, the Hon. Mwai Kibaki, has named 50% of his cabinet. This 50% amounts to 17 posts. So there are another 17 posts waiting to be filled.

Even with the political leaders pushing and shoving, many people blamed international media for the grim pictures circulated

Kenya Imagine has done a media round up of most international commentators and their views about post-election violence:

In his column, Richard Prince, opines on the concept of tribes. “If It's Africa, It Must Be a Tribe.” He argues, citing international media houses, that “ethnic” describes the Kikuyu, Luo and Kalenjin best.

In her op-ed in the Washington Post, Anne Applebaum compares Kenya, not to “the rest of Africa”, but to South Korea and Ukraine, where she makes a case for Kenya's political turmoil and not ethnic hatred. Another comparison is drawn by Uzi Silber here: In Kenya Spare Iraq .

Huffington Post's John Ridley on why Kenya matters: he cites Kenya's political and economic stabilty.

Ali Mazrui suggests solutions to Kenya's post election crisis, while a Nigerian commentator, Ladipo Adamolekun, finds lessons for Nigeria in Kenya's crisis.

Edward M. Gomez wonders about Kenya's future should Kofi Annan fail to resolve the country's crisis.

Despite its social upheaval, breathtaking Kenya needs tourists , says Mary Ann Anderson from the McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

In technology, White African writes about the redesign of Afrigadget:

I’m proud to announce a brand new design for AfriGadget!

The old design was rather… old and ugly. I mocked up some ideas, and one of my friends was kind enough to take my amateur work and put a truly professional touch on it. (thanks Jared)

One blogger is certainly tired of political discussions and wants to talk about the economy:

I’m trying to move away from these political discussions, but people here don’t seem to want to do that. I suppose I’ve just come to the conclusion that Kibaki is not going to resign, they will be no coalition government (can anyone honestly see Kibaki and Raila working together?) and Raila is just going to have to fight it out in parliament. ( I understand politics does affect the economy and the two are inter-connected, but at this point, I think the private sector in Kenya is just going to have to find a way to ignore these politicians and try to sort out their own problems). The only good thing here is that Kibaki does not interfere with the private sector ala Moi. If he did, it would really create a disaster.

And guess what? Neither Kibaki nor Raila has to work (they are both indepenedently wealthy and maybe people should start ignoring both of these men). The blogger coldtusker had a nice summary on the economic problems that the country may face in the coming five years, but I want to open up this space to you (especially if you are based in Kenya).

Eyes on Kenya discusses the economic implications of the sanctions the donor community threatened to impose on Kenya:

With a review of the post-election situation and the loss of revenue that Kenya has undergone and is continuing to undergo, a retardation and even decline of economic growth, one can see an eventuality of a total collapse of the budget. Point five above would even bite more if the sanctions threatened by the EU are carried out. The government is heavily reliant on the world bank and its projects/ programmes. We do not know how far the World Bank would go to carry out these sanctions in review of their seeming tolerance of the government.

The fear that China would fill the gap without preliminary conditions is in our view over-rated. China’s interest in Africa so far has been hunger for natural resources. Looking again into the CIA Fact Book Kenya’s lack of natural resources stand out. And the little that Kenya has, seems to be already under China’s control: In what the East African called cynically a “an unprecedented act of generosity”, the government of Kenya gave the state-owned National Oil Corporation of China – CNOOC – exclusive rights to its hotly contested areas where oil might be found.

If a co-ordinated freeze aid to Kenya campaign is carried out by all donors in the face of the turmoil and violence, I believe the government and opposition will shape up and sit with the mediators to bring an end to the stale-mate that has cost many a Kenyan lives. It is the most effective way and we urge a consideration of this.

Despite the political crisis in the country, Nairobi theatres are busy. Bomseh blogs about the latest in Kenyan theatres:

Heartstrings Kenya opens 2008 theater calendar with an extremely outrageous blockbuster comedy “IDENTICAL TWINS” that is set to inject some joy at this low time of our country.

This will be with the efforts of the cast and the theater gurus Samwel Mwangi and Victor Ber directing it.

Hilariously, we will realize that you can get an African out of Africa but you cannot get Africa out of an African.

When: Friday 31st Jan., Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd Feb.

Times: 6.30pm weekday, 3.00pm & 6.30pm weekend

Venue: Alliance Française auditorium;

Tickets: 300/-

10 comments

  • […] GVO Kenyan Bloggers back to “almost” normal life 讓人感覺到一切正慢慢回歸正常。天佑世界。 作者:ilya,時間:1:49 am […]

  • Kenya’s road to peace is yet to come alive. I am part of a global effort and network to keep the communication going on the ground through human network for peace resolution. The network’s effort is Pyramid of Peace which treads together real time stories from the deep land of Kenya from tribe to tribe. We need Global Voices to connect with the effort by building peace through storytelling on the ongoing basis. The work group is http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?HelpKenyans

    Please join us in any way you can. We need the stories to be told and people connected.

  • simba.wst

    There are certain members of the Kenyan Community who would like to pretend or Day Dream that every Thing is BACK TO nORMAL in Line with theier Ruling Tribal Elite – But the Worst is Yet to Come The Squabblingamong the ruling family & the sanguine gory incidents on the streets of Lenay have now invaded the Kings Homestead.

  • simba.wst

    I referred to Kenya in my previous post.

  • Human blood is human blood! Red! You need not to pour any more blood of a single Kenyan out of the 43 tribes to prove this fact.Every tribe feel pain like any other. Please, Kenyans wake up! come and let us reason together! Isaiah1:18.Having eyes to see do we not see? Having minds to think! Do we not think? Having hearts to be touched, are we not touched? Having ears to hear do we not hear? Are our hearts hardened more than the heart of the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt? God has commanded again and again, “You shall not kill.”Exodus20:13 Do we still kill? God challenged Cain, “Where is Abel your brother? Cain said, “I do not know: I am my brother’s keeper? God asked, What have you done? The voice of your brother cries to me from the ground . And now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hands.” Genesis4:8-16.Jesus Christ answered the wise lawyer, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” This is the first and the greatest commandment. The second most important is similar, “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself Matthew22:36-40.Kenyans let us stop the bloodshed lest we are cursed by God, the earth and our ancestors.Kenyans must we hear God thundering with fire, earthquakes, storms and brimstones to know and understand that The LORD GOD is watching from the Throne in Glory. God have mercy on us all.Shalom!

  • I hope this reflects a gradual shutdown of the violence and the retaliations nationwide

  • My words are sent in my poem for peace.

    This is my poem for peace

    The one I cannot write for fear of shame

    The one no-one will hear for fear of pain

    And the one I cannot write will remain

    un-thought and unspoken

    like broken promises and fear of blame

    This is my poem for peace

    © Chris Hoskins 2004

    Sent with love and hope for an end to the violence and blood shed in your country!
    Chris Hoskins

  • Kenyans need to start sowing seeds of servant leadership in our children, our heritage, reward and prosperity. Kenya and indeed the world is today looking for servant leadership which is in short supply. At this time of great need in Kenya, any wisdom whether from any religion or philosophers which can help shed some light to the whole Kenyan dilemma must be brought forward.It will be very frustrating and irritating when everything has finally settled, for books upon books to be written on how the problem could have been solved.Most of the great people of all ages had been credited for exhibiting elements of servant leadership. Jesus Christ for example we are taught, “Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation&took upon himself the form of a servant,being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himself &became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
    Therefore God exalted him to the highest place&gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear&trembling, for it is God who works in you to will&to act according to his good purpose.Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless&pure, children of God without fault in a crooked&depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” Philippians 2:7-15.
    Servant leadership is being considered as one of the best form of leadership for the 21 st century and beyond. Kenyan stand to greatly benefit if we start cultivating servant leadership in our sons&daughters at an early age. The forms of leadership includes Autocratic leadership,Bureaucratic leadership,Charismatic leadership,Democratic leadership or Participative leadership,Laissez-faire leadership,People-oriented leadership or Relations-Oriented leadership,Servant leadership,Task-oriented leadership,Transactional leadership&Transformational leadership
    The elements of servant leadership includes love, devotion, sacrifice, listening,determination, empathy,respect,knowledge (lack of ignorance) healing, faith,awareness,hope, persuasion,forgiveness, selflessness, conceptualization, hard work, foresight,planning, accountability, stewardship,vision, fear of God, commitment to the growth of others,unity, promotion of peace, humility, building community, serving others&community.Even as we seek to promote truth peace , justice&a fair society, let us not use all energy on past.Focus on present&future. Shalom

  • Very well put reverend. Very well put.

  • […] Joy Tang used GVO to advocate for Kenya peace resolution during Jan, 2008 when the turmoil occupied in Kenya. GVO is an outlet […]

Cancel this reply

Join the conversation -> Rev John Karanja Kamau

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.