The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN Posted Wednesday, February 23 2011 at 19:07

UNSOLICITED ADVICE. Having keenly followed the controversy that has been raging over nominations to top constitutional offices, Johnson Ireri says President Kibaki’s withdrawal of his list is wise. And his unsolicited advice to him is to heed America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, who once spoke about the need to “give all a fair chance in life”, by making the process of filling the crucial jobs transparent. Paraphrasing another thinker, Ireri adds: “Trust is the glue that holds the leaders and the led; once it’s lost, it’s very difficult to govern. Well done, your Excellency!”

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REJECT JOB. If asked to vote, David Jasondu says he would chose Prof Githu Muigai for AG “because of his qualifications, competence and a sober approach to issues”. However, since President Kibaki’s unilateral nomination to that high office has created such a public outcry and raised political temperatures, Jasondu thinks the best decision would be for him to decline the offer. “We respect and admire you, Prof Muigai, but the best you can do for your country in these circumstances is to reject the job,” he adds.

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NOISY TOWN. A Nairobian, who recently relocated to Kisumu, Lynda Ceasar, says Nema’s imprint is nowhere in the lakeside town. The anti-noise law is brazenly flouted by religious crusades at Obunga, near Tom Mboya Estate. “I’m not against spreading the word of God, but the deafening noise that has left me nursing a sick baby is unacceptable! The matter is compounded on the other side by clubs that play loud music throughout the night. Can Nema move over?” urges Lynda. Her contact is clynmusa@gmail.com.

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NET DONOR. Kenya, as a donor country, is something that has excited Barasa Wafula, but who doubts the practicability of the very idea, following a Sh1 billion grant Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka announced during a recent visit to Juba, the capital of the brand new country of South Sudan. He adds: “I find it rather ironical that Kenya can give South Sudan such a huge grant while its own people are starving and those displaced by the post-election violence of 2007 remain in camps. Isn’t this another case of the wrong priorities our leaders are famously known for?”

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ANNOYING STUNT. Nothing pains Cyril O. Steinar like seeing children in public schools sitting on dusty floors in mud-walled classrooms, hospitals without drugs and compatriots lacking access to basic needs. He is so riled to hear police can’t respond to calls for help due to lack of vehicles and fuel. He was, therefore, stunned to learn that Kenya had offered South Sudan a Sh1 billion grant. “How would it be okay when IDPs are still in squalid camps? I wonder what vote head this will also fall under in the Treasury books.”

Have painless day, won’t you!