EXCLUSIVE: Esther Arunga Timberlake on her political intentions - SPEECH

The Kenyan DAILY POSTEditor's Choice, Entertainment News, News01:12

ESTHER TIMBERLAKE OFFICIALLY DECLARES HER BID FOR KARACHUONYO CONSTITUENCY MP

THE DECLARATION SPEECH MADE AT A LUNCHEON IN WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that Esther Timberlake is the woman with whom all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of her woman power is alive in our time, who still questions the power of her woman hood, then tonight is your answer.

It's the answer that has led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve if we put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but this time, because of what we're about to do, in this general election, at this defining moment, change is coming to Karachuonyo, changes are coming to Kenya.

I want to thank my husband QUINCY TIMBERLAKE, a man who has stood by me, for me and suffered from his heart on my behalf during these turbulent times. He is the man Kenyans still do not know, he is the one I chose and still have and shall grow old and die with! He has faced a constant hail of attacks for a mistake he wasn't meant to suffer for. Marrying me against the will of those who think they could get any skirt they wanted. I am suffering because I stood my ground and said NO to the cabinet minister. My husband is my defender and my life rotates around him. I humbly request you my fans, friends, grand mothers, grand fathers, brethren and the extended community to accept my choice to marry him because I love him very much. He's been jailed, blackmailed, sedated and continues to be tracked on a daily basis because of me. He has never quit and never will, therefore do not despise him if you really look up to me as your guide to the next development in the political arena. He is a victim of the selective wrath of a political group he dubs "crocuta crocuta." Stay behind me to support him too, in order to ensure his security and protection.

I was never the likeliest candidate to be MP for this constituency but I will come out and bring the best that a woman can. Judging from the selective punishments we have endured, I will use that platform to benefit the same. Those who also have succumbed to wrong politics, economic torture and mental degradation shall benefit from raw viand experience.

I know you will support my bid to win the coming election, and I know you will not do it for me. You will do it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead in our constituency. Challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime:the jigger pandemic, a constituency in peril, lack of healthy clean water, lack of cash crop agronomy, school girl sex abuse, village level  insecurity and the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as I am declaring this bid from Wellington (New Zealand), we know there are brave Karachuonyians waking up in hunger, poor health, lack of fees and extreme poverty to risk their lives for us in ensuring that everyone in the constituency can still feed, drink and etc by doing the strange jobs available to them. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll construct a thatched home or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their children's education.

In Karachuonyo, young people are the largest resource in development.  About 55% of the Karachuonyo population is under 20-35 years of age and good percentages are between the ages of 15 and 25. Young people who are given early access to information and communications technologies tend to become early adopters and adapters of the technologies, skills valued for spurring innovation and economic growth. Youth are at the forefront of societal transformation through I.C.T because technology is what they have grown up with, what they know more about than their parents, and what gives them an edge. With the Internet, young people have acquired a powerful new tool to connect, communicate, innovate and take action on things that matter to them on a scale that transcends their locality.

Young people’s high level of social consciousness is often underestimated, but they care about many things including climate change and the environment, the spread of HIV and other diseases, economic inequality and the lack of employment opportunities. Because of their ideals, those among them who are proficient with I.C.T and are motivated to create change have the propensity of linking the use of the technologies to development goals. However, without entrepreneurial skills, they lack the necessary ability to sustain their efforts and overcome challenges that stand in their way.

It is a blessing to Karachuonyo youths because they have community knowledge centers which are equipped with computers and Internet. These facilities should be used as a stepping stone to have access to what is happening in the outside world.
I.C.T plays a greater role when it comes to Education System. With the availability of community knowledge centers, teachers should make good use of powerful animations available on the internet. These animations help student have better understanding than what they read in the books. Let us embrace I.C.T and make good use of it in Karachuonyo.

I adore the steps that the late Kenyan minister Karisa Maitha took to ensure his constituency's Youths were issued with passports to fly out and work in Mauritius cane plantations, Seychelles home jobs, Angola's petroleum fields and etc. Youth, it's not about America or the EU or Dubai. We can use Africa to get finance and build ourselves. What shocks me is that the Immigration Department is ministered by a South Nyanzian resident. The Youth should NOT be struggling to access passports and ID facilities, yet it has been made so difficult for them to access such documents in the name of them originating from "the border" areas. Kenya is a nation united by borders. I declare that kind of rule an immigration discrimination. I will vote in parliament to repeal that article. 

The Immigration Department should introduce RFID system if they do not trust their own registration mechanisms which are expensive and bureaucratic. I will introduce a BILL in parliament to introduce RFID and border e-gate system to control the inflow of illegal foreigners who in turn make it difficult for residents from the "border areas" to access enhanced passports and ID facilities. Smart e-Gate system which reads passport information and captures biometric data including facial recognition in 12 to 14 seconds should be introduced in Kenya's borders. So that the stress that the Kenyans living along the borders go through be shortened and be leveled equally as others in hinterland areas.

Passports would also allow several Youth to participate in international sports and earn some money. For example, Karachuonyo is a green land with water bodies where Youth can also introduce unique sports never before seen in Kenya, like kayaking and canoeing. They can also cross on to the shores of Lake Victoria and train in sports swimming, motor racing and etc. They can also train in beach volley, darts, athletics, fencing, archery and others. This would give them opportunities to represent Kenya in continental or intercontinental sports competitions. They would therefore be able to make enough money to support themselves and their families. When I was issued with tight security by a very senior principle in the government to go and peruse Karachuonyo, I conducted my own research and discovered a lot of issues that the current MP promised and didn't deliver in his term of 5 years. These are the issues am coming to deliver.

I request that all TRUE friends and fans of ESTHER TIMBERLAKE visit my facebook group page and join to support my bid. It's called ESTHER TIMBERLAKE FOR MP 2013. Click on this link to listen to my campaign bid song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSR4hzc0m-U. A sophisticated website is also under construction in the US by Scott Thomas of SimpleScott. It shall also include names and photos of my closest and loyal Kenyan friends and fans. Finally, check my constituency MP announcement webpage: http://kenyadecides.co.ke/mp/esther-timberlake/

The times when women could not talk in Nyanza are coming to an end. The times when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed in Nyanza's political decisions are up, I'll ensure in my capacity and own right that they live to see themselves stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. That's the change we're bringing and the change we all believe in.

My manifesto dubbed "Timberlakesto", short for Mrs. Timberlake's Manifesto is getting completed very soon and shall reach your nearest delivery points.

My dear people of Karachuonyo, this is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to agricultural work and open doors of opportunity for our children; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the Kenyan dream at the Karachuonyo level and to reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people, This Is Our Time.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the people of Karachuonyo. 

Your MP in waiting,

ESTHER TIMBERLAKE 

This message has been forwarded by:

NICOLE HAMILTON-BARFORD

PERSONAL ASSISTANT & HEAD OF SECURITY INTELLIGENCE

ESTHER TIMBERLAKE DIASPORA CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT TEAM &

VOTE ESTHER TIMBERLAKE 2013