Why Imenti Central Constituents Must be Worried

CENTRAL IMENTI POLITICS:The Next MP
 It is no doubt the political ground has shifted from under Mwiti Irea's feet, and unless he conducts himself in a different manner in 2016, his fate seems sealed.What awaits him at the ballot is what befell Kirugi Mukindia in 2007.The Mwiti of today is not the Mwiti I voted for among 16,604 other voters in Central Imenti.If I were him, I would report to work with the zeal and energy portrayed by Things fall Apart's Onkonkwo to salvage the situation. For starters, Kirugi was a colorless MP who skipped Central Imenti for the entire lifetime of the 9th parliament earning the nickname Gatiria.This guy had the guts to postpone his homecoming celebration growing rumors he was unwell in spite of the fact that he was a frequent patron of Gipsy Bar at the heart of Westlands - our MPs have a thing with Westlands.In April 2004, he had to deny openly rumours he had fallen sick and died in South Africa.He would later show up on the ground after parliament was dissolved seeking re- election.At the ballot, he emerged a distant sixth. Since then he has rarely appeared in public functions save for the burial of Senator Muthamia though he left unnoticed after addressing the mourners.In his remarks he quipped '' niatia atongeria ba Abothuguchi bakararire,kabaere arongo?"(what happened to Abothuguchi leaders,did they become all liars) For an under-performer of Mukindia's magnitude to realize Abothuguchi is sinking should not only worry Mwiti but the residents at large -By https://web.facebook.com/Mutugiseth017

Why Education System in Kenya Needs Urgent Sergical Changes

Back in 2003 after the NARC government assumed office and rolled out the Free Primary School program as promised in the campaign pledges, Kenyans were a smiling lot; heaping praises to the Kibaki led government. Fighting ignorance was one of the three post-independence goals for all African states.  Eradicating Hunger and Diseases were the other two. None has been achieved more than fifty years later. I beg to dwell on Ignorance and leave the rest for a later date.

The enrollment of pupils in January 2003 hit record levels with 1.3 million kids joining primary schools.  It was a fete to recon.  The achievements of this noble program cannot be understated.

In the endeavor to have its citizens enjoy a good education, the then government did not stop at abolishing tuition fees in primary schools. On the other hand institutions of higher education had previously barred students from pursuing courses of their choice through a quarter system of the so called Cut-off points. Kenyans were given a reprieve with the popularization of the ‘parallel’ university programs that absorbed the ‘rejected’ students; the ones who could not attain the grades on or above the cut off points set out and renewed annually by the Joint Admission Board (JAB)

We saw an upsurge in the intake of students in higher institutions of learning. It culminated from admission into Public Universities  and Institutes of the new Module II ,self sponsored, and chartering of Privately owned  institutions.

That is where the rain started beating us folks. The self sponsoring program and private universities turned into money minting machines. The noble mission to provide a good and quality education was thrown under the bus. It was no longer an endeavor of sharpening the skills of the populous rather a wealth amassing one. All that mattered is the number of students enrolled every entry. Let me explain with analogies:

I have seen in a certain private university a class of fifty I.T students with a single functioning computer!  My pals used crack jokes of an institute in Thika town which was running adverts on TVs  that featured somebody operating a computer; they said the computer was the reception secretary’s not students’.

Another institute is located at Thika Industrial Area, a story above a local milk depot store! To market itself, It had pamphlets and brochures circulating all over the country that bore an image of a Photo shopped building towering the an unknown location, the administration block methinks. Quite impressive and captivating. A young man from my village fell for the tower’s magnificence. I once met he and others carrying chairs along a three hundred meters tarmac stretch to YMCA Centre. They had a class to attend. The classes at the ‘main campus’ could not accommodate all the students, hence the carrying of chairs to the rented place was the norm.

Campuses in major towns in Kenya are no better. They are situated in defaced buildings above noisy bars, brothels and stalls trading magendo goods. Classes are over congested, dirty and poorly ventilated. NO library. If any  it is a stock of old irrelevant books bearing stamps of C.M.S Mwithu-Mwiru Primary School and torn copies of Parents Magazine Issues 12! Hostels are ten square feet with triple decker beds. Bed bug infested. ‘Lecturers’ cheats with falsified certificates; better at exchanging grades for quickies with the naïve female students.

One wonders how the hell on earth such humpty dumpty institutes acquired operation go-aheads and worse their recent over-publicized ISO Certificates of Quality!  Corruption, dear compatriots has compromised the quality of education in Kenya. The required letters of accreditation and other document are sold to the highest bidder like a piece of land at Muguga Kiambu county. No inspection No nothing  just greasing of the hands.

On the other hand Public Universities are not any better. They enroll more self-sponsored students against the stretched resources. Their newly built gates and rioting students are the trending topics in social media NOT Researches and Academic Publications. Chairs of their Students’ Unions are akin to African strongmen, in East Africa only Museveni can outshine their stay in office. The elections that bring forth these leaders are marred with malpractices. Tribal hegemony, bribes and administration patronage carry the day.

  We have heard of the Council of Legal Education demanded the closure of Moi University School of Law in two months time for what it termed as failure to meet requirements to offer the courses and poor performance on the inspection of facilities and resources used to offer the legal program.  Kisii University students have been rioting following an order by the Commission for University to close down its campuses across the country for being in pathetic conditions; premises unfit for habitation, small lecture room, poor ventilation and sanitation among other contraventions of  Universities Standards and Guidelines 2014. This must not rest at Kisii only, let the whip be cracked on all universities and the students ought to save us their Ignorance.

At the time of completing secondary school education, majority of students don’t know what they will pursue at higher levels. Our education system has no regard of what one is best at or talent. It is a blind-folded run to anywhere. It is unfortunate that the  biggest percentage of Kenyan kids are in school to mature physically, to ‘grow’, not to be more knowledgeable, acquire life skills or better the community and self.[To be continued]

Follow My Lead;How The Public Opinion Court Exonorates Graft

‘This is Kenya’. This familiar phrase is a colloquial used in conversations among compatriots to downplay|casually  mean whatever you think  is strange or surprising is NOTHING NEW or as the youths put it ‘Ivo ndivyo kunaendanga’.

Whenever BIG NEWS/BREAKING NEWS of an exposé of say a big money scandal involving public officer or a ‘big fish’  loots from the public coffers millions of money, grabs a public land, plunges a parastatal into financial doldrums   the phrase comes handy. I mean why is anyone a Kenyan citizen surprised that such a thing has happened or that a certain individual is the mastermind or a beneficiary? We are so used or accepted such happenings as the Kenyan norm. And why so? Simple. Because if I were in the ‘culprit’s’ position I would do likewise. After all who enjoys waking up at the crack of dawn and sleeping late in the night doing jobs whose rewards are merge and cannot match the efforts?

What more, whoever  ‘hits  big ’ automatically acquires IMMUNITY from the system itself, our very history is witness to this.

Dear compatriots, the above are just an ‘old school’ style of doing things and getting away with them. In this ‘digital’ era folks you must be a bit smart. We live in times that when you commit a ‘normal’ (rather dishonorable or bound to cause uproar), you need an EXONORATOR. And oh, I don’t mean the Mutunga courts as our honorable members are fond of referring the judicial arm as. NO. It is rather the highest, powerful institution of justice the Kenyan style, the Public Opinion Court; what people say or think.

This distinguished institution is what you to win hearts’ of. With it you are sure to ward of nightmares that accompany the big hit; the fifty shades of tint you persona and reputation, the bad blood with those who could not do it or unhappy that it is you who did it, the moral cops who cannot do it |who think you have committed a crime| and of course the Mutunga courts which are more cautious not to irk the people whose interests they serve than to exercise the penal code.  What more it is  pro-Bono ,no legal fees required.

Be warned though! This road is not an easy one as the words may imply. NO. It is an ‘investment’ that will cost you financially and deprive a few days’ morning sleep, well before the repose. But not to worry, just follow my tried ,tested and proved lead. Are you a Cabinet Secretary, parastatal  head or member or a high profile officer, under whose domain big money  reigns  and have access to or controls resources worth a mention? Say you are a tenderpreneurer, a land grabber of a public utility or a beneficially of a financial scam. Your seventh sense has come to your aid that hell is about to break loose sooner than later. Call the ‘Breaking news’ starved press, put on a show of a patriot and play your exposé tape. Tell us that the cartels had you shape in or shape out, borrow a leaf from the likes of Wikileaks if you so wish. Tell the nation of a cartel that has reaped off us the resources and whose effects will be felt by its third to come.

The truth of the matter is that you are not saying anything new, you   are confirming a rumour doing rounds in the media for the last or so. You will be killing two birds with one pebble; one, the media where the rumour originated takes credit. Two, you have shielded off the blame that follow. Bingo!

Leave the rest to ‘analysts’  in the main stream  media and hired keyboard warriors in the social media to keep us busy before a better tape is played by somebody else of your ilk in a week’s time. If things don’t work out according to plan, quit and we will forget you like Matemo of EACC.

Life goes on. This is Kenya.