Sunday, August 5, 2012

Peeling the Mask, my view

by patriotism101

Peeling the Mask, my view

I finaly finished reading “peeling back the mask.

While some have dismissed the book as a tabloid, Makau Mutua giving it a D rating, I am persuaded otherwise and now seriously question the credentials of the professor from Sunny. On what basis did he dish out a D to MM- did jealousy and hate cloud his professionalism? Yes, the book has its short comings but a D, hell no.

First let me register my frustrations with MM. I have raised some of the issues before so just for the record, I will repeat them here and be done with, he has responded to some of the issues already even though not candidly;

1. There are repetitions in the book which could have been sliced out. We understand that MM is bitter, and he readily admits to that fact- however, the repetition’s are unwarranted.

2. He labels Ngugi Wa Thiongi a turn court unfairly. Here is a man who is demanding what was rightfully his- just like MM is demanding his rights from RAO- why should that be a problem. This explains to me why MM was very careless with his choice of words when Ngugis wife was raped in Nairobi- in various web postings, MM cast aspertions on the rape allegations and declared that he seriouly doubted if those allegations were true- I wonder what that says about MM.

3. Miguna leaves out of his “memoirs” allegations of sexual assault and subsequent acquittal of the charges in Canada- in his subsequent rebuttals he argues that this is no biggie and calls people questioning why this was left out “miscreants”.

Some would argue that this was a deliberate attempt by MM to mislead readers by omission- whatever the case is, it adds credence to those who have charged that MM has attempted to portray himself as white as snow- nyeupe kama pamba – for my homies who have never seen snow. We all have weaknesses. A friend of mine avers that she is lucky her hubby is a drunk because teetotalers are the worst womanizers- I have always reminded her that I know people, especially here in Jukwaa who are both. For those who know MM and who have read his columns, it is very strange that he passes a chance to brag and rub it in (He was acquitted after all) For me this is a red flag and just like MM had his red flag moments with RAO, this one makes me question MM’s integrity and his ability (in the absence of any reasonable explanations) to stand for the truth especially when it is inconvenient to do so.

4. He outs several people he had private conversations with in the book but keeps secret the identity of a mzungu (white) ambassador who had dealings with ODM- why the double standard?- the hypocrisy is nauseating- my guess is that this is the the Dutch Ambassador and not the German Ambassador as suggested by a friend during one of those Kenyan siasa moments we had over nyam chom.

5. MM reference to Summer, Winter etc makes me wonder who his audience is. Most Kenyans don’t know what summer/winter/spring/ means- if they do it is abstract since Kenya does not experience the weather variances MM refers to.

6.According to MM, only one other person, Kasuku (Wonder whether this Kasuku has any relations with the Kasuka I have clashed with here on Jukwaa) knows what they are doing at the OPM. His secretaries, bodyguards and groupies in the PMs office are either incompetent, lazy or just running after deals- this is worrying.

7. MM in a bout of his ego- equate himself to luo and states thus….”luos have left him (RAO) in droves on account of my humiliation……..….”something to that effect- this is hilarious to say the least- even though it is not impossible for this to happen. Last time I spoke to folks in Luo Nyanza, I was told that people were pissed off because RAO was ignoring them and sending Maize in Ukambani in the hope of securing their (Kamba) vote. The mode I was reliably told was that, "wangni"- meaning this time we will vote with our heads not hearts- but this was before MM found it convenient to trash RAO.

8. MM continuously complains about RAO’s dictatorship tendencies in the book but to my horror dismisses everyone who has beef with him as incompetent clueless, nincompoop or other derogatory term. He is impatient and unwilling to listen and be taught/learn -this to me are qualities of a good leader

9. MM declares himself ideological pure-mmmmmmh- did not see that one coming

10. Finally- everyone knows the circumstances under which MM was fired. Both friends and foes condemned the manner RAO fired MM- that has never been in doubt. Indeed, “Peeling Back the Mask” is as a direct result of the humiliation meted out on MM by the PM and not very much MM’s the fact that he loves Kenya more than RAO So it is not a surprise that you can actually cut the anger /pain in MM’s tone if you wanted.

RAO knifed MM in the back, MM could do worse if you gave him the chance for solominic justice. But does the anger sort of cloud the point MM is trying to make? Is the message lost at the end of the book because of the rage and matusi MM employs in his narrative?

Supposing you gave this book to a total stranger who has no clue of the Miguna's Kenyan “situation” would they come out wondering what hit the fan? We can debate this until the cows return- but my humble opinion is that hate, bitterness and anger takes over and the message gets clowded in the dust. The “Miguna sting” is diluted and the effect is a flat high.

Having listed my issues with MM above, should we dismiss the whole book as rumours and propaganda? Does MM raise issues Kenyans should be concerned about? Absolutely-

Unfortunately the issues have been sliced as “jaruos”/Kikuyu proganda issues either on Facebook or elsewhere on the blogosphere. Indeed MM is now Njuguna Njuguna, a name he has personally applauded on K24 and therefore furthered the tribalization and trivialization of his book. Instead of telling Jeff Koinange off about the labeling, he laughed it off and encouraged it. Last time I checked, RAO was the PM of Kenya not just of the Kikuyu or the Luos.

That aside, MM should be commended for recording for posterity the happenings and the shenanigans in the government during period 2007-2012. This book could not have happened if MM was not kicked out by RAO- that is a fact MM acknowledges.

There is no question that the book was rushed through to beat certain self imposed deadlines- but again- MM has a family and 5 kids to feed so this can be excused- even though a second and third edition should be in order. However the decision to rush the book may come back to haunt MM since some of the things he writes about, even though may be true, can be easily be verifiable and be twisted as untrue. Take for example the case of Joshua Obel- here is a guy who was RAO’s errand boy in the US- it is true that he was jobless for a while and could not access RAO- eventually he got a job through the RAO connections- not that he was qualified for the job anyway -but because of knowing Jakom. Now for Job of Jukwaa to tell us here that Obel has confirmed to him one or two things verbally is not surprising- did he expect Obel to support MM? Obel has no choice but to be a sycophant, he cannot hold a job in the US because of numerous DUI/DWI -he had no choice but to cooperate with the King. A better example is another Obel sidekick Kaula. Another errand boy of RAO in the US- Job- please confirm whether he has direct access to PM – the type of access he enjoyed or so he claimed he had while in the US.

The tragic lesson in the entire MM saga is that MM jumped into the RAO relationship with all his legs- he never had a plan B and only realized all that is obvious about RAO the moment he was kicked in the ribs. Who doesn’t know RAO’s love for his beer and bar hoping? In 2006, after settling down in a strategic corner at my favorite watering hole in hurglingham/kilimani area, RAO and the late Serikal, two other hangers on and a lady- not sure if it was Shebesh- burst into the pub with a crowd of hangers on who were left ouside. They advised the bar manager to evict us from the corner table we had settled in so that they could sit down. I recall we stood our ground and warned the manager that if they forcefully evicted us- it would have been headline news on KTN that evening- in any case we were in the company of journalists and they quickly realized they could not mess around with us . They relented- but what I recall as clear as yesterday was the giggles from both the lady and RAO that evening.

One of the ladies we were drinking with commented thus - “aki ya mungu kama ninge juwa nini huyo mwanamke anapea Raira hata mimi ninge leta compe” –literally translated-If I knew what that woman was giving RAO I could have been his groupie. If it was not Gor Sungu drinking with Raila in a shady pub with women it was another politician. These are facts.

MM also charges RAO of having reverse tribalism amongst the LUO. He alleges nepotism clanism and all that. Again, Miguna disappoints by telling us what is common knowledge. There is nothing new, a little bit of research by MM should have revealed the web of deceit that permeates the Kenyan politics and society. Isnt the ruling class related either by marriage, business or blood in Kenya to screw the common Mwanainchi? FYI – RAO is related to not just the people MM has mentioned in his book, he is also related to Oparanya, Atwoli, Parasankul name them. Infact you don’t have to go far, look at the PM’s flagship company, Spectre International- where last time I visited employees were served nyoyo (githeri) as part payment for labour- you can only work there only if you are either from Gem-Ida’s village or Sakwa (RAO’s) hometown. In 2006, they were still using nyundo, a hammer, to make gas cylinders instead of electric presses and all that- the work conditions then were pathetic. For those attacking MM - these are facts and speaks volumes about RAO’s leadership, managerial and reform credentials.

Truth be told, RAO co-opted Luo’s in the Kisumu molasses plant – this is a fact which I wish Job, Phil and R911 could address. There has been no transparency about how much was raised, how much stake the luo public owns in the company etc. Similar to Spectre factory in Nairobi, the workforce at the Molasses plant is rumored to be from two places in Luo Nyanza.

What about the lineup for Senator, Governor and MP for Bondo. I heard about this line up last year. Can anyone educate me why other Kenyans cannot vie for these positions? These are legit questions MM is raising and should not just be swept under the carpet.They deserve to be addressed by RAO.

RAO should be relieved that MM did a shady job at exposing who he really is and rest easy. For all those trying to hit MM, please be fair to the man. MM has taken contemporary issues in Kenya and tried to give us the context even though sometimes that context was clouded by anger, bitterness, hubris and an over blown ego.

Take for example the text Miguna sent RAO after the sack. Jukwaist wondered whether it was hacked by the NSIS and leaked on the internet- some argued that it was a hoax. MM did not address the matter but everyone on this blog can recall the text.

To the extent that MM has contributed to recording Kenyan history for posterity he should be applauded not condemned.

Let us not hang the messenger.

Part 1

Senti 5
« Last Edit: Yesterday at 9:30am by patriotism101 »


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