Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly...
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly...
The end is nigh, no? Yes, as it turns
out, the end may in fact be nigh, unless someone gets off his ass and
does something. Yes, Mr President, I'm looking at you.
Reports are coming out of an explosion,
this evening, in Eastleigh. This after an alleged bomb maker blew
himself up yesterday, also in Eastleigh, and after a grenade was
found in a church in Lamu, earlier in the day. That after the church
shooting last weekend in Likoni, and after a car rigged with
explosives was discovered at a cop station in Mombasa, the week
before. All this in March, this year. In February, the police
stormed a mosque, claiming militants were training within, killed at
least 4 people and arrested as many as 70 others. These alleged
militants had raised an al Shabaab flag at said mosque, in the
daytime. Then the police told us they'd killed an al Shabaab
suspect, a few days earlier, he who had killed a counter terrorism
cop. In January, there was a grenade attack at a beach bar in
Mombasa, and a possible grenade attack at JKIA.
These are the incidents I recall off
the top of my head, I suspect I've left out others. I know I have,
because there's the Westgate trial currently going on, even as the
FBI apparently has the bodies of the four attackers (yes, they were
only four, and Karangi says they killed them on Monday, two days
before they left the mall). There's always something going on in
Garissa, unfortunately, and the cops have taken to rounding up young
men in this city at will, just because. And then there's KDF, still
in Somalia with ANISOM.
In the same three months, our
government has managed to:
1. defend a dodgy railway tender2. frolic with the World Bank, but ban a demonstration supported by USAID
3. deny a looming/present famine, while flagging off relief food
4. ban a movie
5. defend a dodgy laptop tender
6. launch a massive irrigation scheme in Tana River County, not where there were clashes
7. order a coupla typewriters
8. evict a community from their forest
there's something else...ah yes...
9. retreat in Nanyuki, at a hotel,
just because, and then begin, and perpetuate, a nonsense wage bill
debate
Again, these are off the top of my
head, I've probably neglected to mention the sterling work Mututho is
doing.
Meanwhile, security has gone to shit,
people are being murdered, robbed, raped, lynched, you name it, we
got it. But hey, our prezzo says they have a plan, they always have
a plan.
As we learned last year, insecurity
anywhere in our region is a promise of insecurity everywhere. If we
do not help our neighbours to achieve the peace, freedom and
prosperity they deserve, then our own freedom and prosperity is
threatened. Last year’s evil terrorist attack, among the worst in
Kenyan history, forcefully reminded us of these facts. I stood before
the nation, and vowed that we would not be cowed or divided. Our
response was firm, without threatening the bonds of brotherhood that
hold between our different faiths. Under extreme provocation, the
unity of the nation was preserved.
Looking inwards, our internal
conflicts remain. Although reported incidents of violent crime fell
by 8% in 2013, this is nowhere near enough, as the horrifying
incident involving baby Satrin Osinya, will remind you all.
My government has laid a firm base
for the protection of our people and their property. Already, two
major new security programs have been launched. One, our new Nyumba
Kumi initiative, is a core national value: asking communities to join
their governments in providing security is as clear an example of
public participation as anyone could wish for. Our second program
took a broader, technology-driven approach. Among its first steps is
the introduction of CCTV in the streets of our major cities and
towns, and broadband connectivity at border points. My government has
also invested heavily in surveillance equipment, and at least 1200
vehicles for our police. We will also substantially increase police
numbers, which have already significantly progressed from one police
officer for 750 citizens to1:535, without forgetting their welfare.
Ground has been broken on a new police housing scheme at Ruai in
Nairobi; this will soon be replicated across all 47 counties. An
insurance scheme for our men and women in uniform will be established
by July this year. These, and more, will be underpinned by the most
extensive new investment in security since independence. My
government will allocate resources adequate to the needs of our
security agencies, the better to modernise them, and enable them meet
current and emerging threats to our safety.
Nyumba
Kumi, and 'a broader, technology-driven approach', whatever the
fuck that means.
Good plan.
Woi...
Be safe, good people, looks like we're
on our own for a while.
How do you sleep while the rest of us
cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why...
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why...
The song is 'Dear Mr president' by
Pink, because there's something about the prezzo that reminds me of
Dubya, but I can't quite place my finger on it. Yes, I am being very
sarcastic. I shall now go and get drunk, and calm down, while I
finish the post I started before the interwebs distracted me.
Useless fact, it is the work of the devil, twitter is. Good for
stalking though...
POSTSCRIPT
In the wake of security alerts and such
like, searches at the entrances of pretty much everything,
everywhere, have increased, and with that comes the hassle of dealing
with security types. Ah, the lovely watchmen, long may they vex us.
That said, the next person who talks shit about 'useless security
guards' at the malls and supermarkets and offices gets slapped.
Thanks to our wonderfully short memories, we've already forgotten the
images of security personnel being gunned down at the entrance of the
fucking mall. How now? Whining 'middle class' Kenyans, we have no
shame. NKT!
