The cutting edge

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By THE WATCHMAN 
Posted  Tuesday, March 27  2012 at  18:14

THE HAGUE IS BEST. Gema’s endorsement of Uhuru Kenyatta for the presidency may seem like a storm in a tea-cup, but it could end up fuelling ethnic divisions, warns Mohinder Dhillon.

“This is unfortunate coming at a time when we should be healing the wounds of the post-election violence by settling those displaced from their homes and farms.

Uhuru, who has been reiterating his innocence, should clear his name at The Hague and return to normality.” According to him, Gema’s intervention won’t do Uhuru any good. His contact is mo@africapix.co.ke.

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IMPUNITY SICKENING. The impunity displayed by some motorists at Nairobi West shopping centre, perhaps in collusion with City Council askaris, is sickening, says Gonzo Manyasi.

He is talking about the tendency to block pavements and use them as parking bays. And to make it worse, a garage and a bunch of taxi drivers occupy most of the road leading to Nairobi West Hospital and also towards the Madaraka estate roundabout. “The poor pedestrians are forced to walk on the road, risking getting hit by motorists.”

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ISN'T THIS A RIPOFF? What kind of maths is this? asks James Mugo, upset with the Higher Education Loans Board which he thinks wants to rip him off.

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By September 28, last year, James adds, his loan balance was Sh219,703.60, and every month, he has been paying Sh16,000. He thinks the balance should now be Sh203,703.60, but HELB says it’s Sh210,939, as of March 5.

He would like to know how the board officials arrived at that figure. His contact is chelae2007@gmail.com.

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HOTLINE DOESN'T WORK. Does the old police 999 hotline still work? Eldoret resident Muruka Kays doesn’t think so. 

Last Sunday, he reports, some public spirited citizens spotted a gang of four trying to vandalise the railway line about 20 metres from the road connecting St Mathew’s ACK Cathedral to the Freemasons’ Hall and dialled the number, but it was dead.

“What are citizens supposed to do when they can’t reach the police in an emergency?” asks Muruka, whose contact is mokays@yahoo.com. Over to you, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere!

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CLEAN HANDS DRIVE WORKS! The campaign to sensitise primary school pupils on the need to properly wash their hands and improve their hygiene is actually working, remarks Martin Makundi.

Says he: “I believe this is what led my little daughter to alert me that in the Blue Band advertisement in which a mother chases after a school bus on a child’s bike to deliver her lunch box, she does not wash her hands before applying the margarine on the bread. I felt humbled as I hadn’t noticed it myself.”

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JOB TOO SHODDY. Though some good work has been done in the construction of roads around the country, not everything is going well.

Karanga Kimani wonders if Roads minister Franklin Bett and his senior officials know about the construction of the 200-metre stretch to Ragati Road between Mara Road and Haile Selassie Avenue, which has taken almost two years. As if to rub salt into the wound, the bit that has so far been done looks rather shoddy.

Have an impressive day, won’t you!

E-mail: watchman@nation.co.ke 
or write to Watchman, 
POB 49010, Nairobi 00100. 
Fax 2213946.