The Cutting Edge

Posted  Monday, May 30 2011 at 19:20

TRAFFIC CHAOS. A bunch of morons is endangering the lives of other motorists with their deadly antics on Airport South Road, near the JKIA, Nairobi, reports Mbutu Kariuki. “From 4pm everyday, they are out there, breaking every rule in the book — they overlap, drive on the wrong side of the road, and block others, creating a gridlock that lasts for hours,” says Mbutu. However, most annoying is that traffic officers at the Airport South/Airport North/Outer Ring Road roundabout just watch the mess without lifting a finger. His contact is mbutukariuki@yahoo.com.

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DEADLY NUISANCE. Motorbike riders have become a deadly nuisance in Eldoret town, moans Samson Koech. Unless traffic police put their foot down and municipal council officials regulate their movements, it will soon be quite difficult for residents to find their way around the town. On May 26, at 3pm, Samson reports, a motorcyclist hit a pedestrian while making a U-turn and sped off. “The rider had better present himself to the police as I took down the registration number,” says Samson. His contact is Tel 0720264702 or samsonkoech30@yahoo.com.

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OBAMA ROOTS. Responding to David Herbling and Tony Gee on Barack Obama’s flirting with his Irish roots, John T. Mukui says everyone has maternal and paternal lineages, “but a man’s rejection of parental responsibility inclines a child to the maternal line”. He adds: “Even Hardy Drew’s recent homecoming song, No one as Irish as Barack Obama, has verses that acknowledge his Kenyan roots. ‘He’s Hawaiian, he’s Kenyan-American too’ and ‘The Irish in Kenya, and in Yokahama’. It is only in Kenya where a man can filiate a child to its maternal line, and later claim him if he becomes famous. Examples are legion.”

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THREE-PIECE-SUIT. The lesson from the Ikolomani by-election is that the power of the popular “three-piece-suit” voting style since the reintroduction of multiparty rule is fading, says Amos Abuga. Congratulating Dr Boni Khalwale for recapturing his seat, Abuga declares that he won over voters with his track record and not the party he belongs to. “I admire Raila Odinga but I would not have voted for ODM candidate Bernard Shinali. Let’s not forget that the loser is Shinali and not Raila. And Dr Khalwale did say that he would be voting for Raila for President.”

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WHERE, JUSTICE? For K. Kihara, nothing epitomises the maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied” than the plight of his brother, who is languishing in Kamiti Maximum Prison. In March last year, his brother’s appeal was heard in Machakos by judges H. Waweru and Jessie Lessit and judgment set for June that year. Come that time, Judge Lessit was transferred. A year later, the judgment is still pending. What has alarmed Kihara even more is that Mr Justice Waweru has also been transferred. “Who do we turn to for justice?” asks Kihara, whose contact is kihara@yahoo.com.

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POLICE ATMs. One of the pledges Anne Frid remembers Mathew Iteere made on being appointed Police Commissioner was to reduce the number of roadblocks, which, he conceded, had become a den of corruption. Many months into the job, she adds, the opposite seems to be happening, with a marked increase in these illegal police “ATMs”. One is always on the Kiambu Road, where the officers mount a barrier from 7pm, and “vehicles, especially matatus, have to stop and give a ‘toll’”. She asks: “Could Mr Iteere have forgotten his promise, or has he changed his mind?”

Have a promising day, won’t you!