Opinion: No need to celebrate Daniel Arap Moi, but we need to remember the lives he took!

There are deliberate attempts of sanitizing the history of the 24 years of the President Daniel Arap Moi. The years of 1979 to 2002. The Kenya African National Union, the previous Vice-President under the first President Jomo Kenyatta after independence in 1963.

President Moi was ruthless. President Moi used all force and unleashed the state upon the dissidents of the state.  Mwakenya (Kenya Nationalist Redemption Union) was one of the opposition movements that the President targeted in his time. He targeted the dissidents of the Saba Saba (Swahili for 7). Arrested several of their leaders, including Raila Odinga for 3 months. He went after Wangari Mathaai, arrests, assaults and spreading fear.

In February 1990, Robert Ouko, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was assassinated, later in the year in August; the bishop of Eldoret Alexander Muge was killed in a suspicious “car-accident”.

While this explains the modus operandi of KANU under Moi:

“A number of factors point to the continuity in the philosophy of the KANU government, the first being the promulgation of the Constitution (Public Security) Order of 1978, 90 which effected Sections 4(1) and (2)(a) and (b) of the Preservation of Public Security Act,9′ soon followed by the Public Security (Detained and Restricted Persons) Regulations, identical to those existing previously. On December 12, 1978, arap Moi released all political detainees, but since that time he has thrown several more political opponents into jail, following arrests and trials that are a travesty of accepted norms of justice. Among these are included over 1,000 military personnel court-martialled for treason in mid-September 1982, and over 132 alleged to have been arrested or to have “disappeared.” Furthermore, 58 people are said to have been killed by the security forces since 1981” (Oloka-Onyango, J. (1990) “Police Powers, Human Rights, and the State in Kenya and Uganda: A Comparative Analysis,” Third World, Legal Studies: Vol. 9, Article 1”).

Freedom House reported this:

“The regime of Daniel arap Moi has become increasingly oppressive. Because Kenya has enjoyed relative prosperity in a free market economy, a significant and vocal middle class has emerged. When two former cabinet members, Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia, called for the legalization of opposition parties, they were vilified, harassed and eventually arrested. Demonstrations and riots ensued producing a brutal crackdown. Moi vowed to stay in office ten years or more and promised to hunt down his opponents “like rats.”” (Freedom House – Freedom in the World – Political Rights & Civil Liberties -1990-1991, 1991).

Also the TRJC Volume 4 report states this:

“The Commission finds that between 1978 and 2002, President Daniel Arap Moi presided over a government that was responsible for numerous gross violations of human rights. These violations include:

  • massacres;
  • unlawful detentions, and systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of political and human rights activists;
  • assassinations, including that of Dr. Robert Ouko;
  • illegal and irregular allocations of land;
  • and economic crimes and grand corruption” (Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission – ‘REPORT OF THE TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION – VolumeIV’ 2013).

Just these reports says enough. As plenty of people are writing of his greatness, his stature, as the old man, the supposed statement. While the toils, the pain and the suffering. The ruthless man, who used all tools, called out opposition and treated them as worst can be. Opposition fearing of assassinations and so on. When you fear for plots to kill you, you know your leadership isn’t that good. That should be easy to understand.

With this reality, the memory of Daniel Arap Moi, will for my part. Be in the remembrance of the ones he took. The lives that he hurt, scorned and killed, the missing people, the ones who he stopped. Those are the victims of him, the ones who most likely never had a case to answer for their demise.

While the President is now praised, honoured, called a “Strongman” and someone who did his thing. However, he should be remembered for the blood on his hands, for the victims and the ones arrested because of his orders. That he did this and did it deliberately. No one should deny that.

Moi shall be remembered for being a tyrant, a dictator and a ruthless man with sins we cannot forget. Because, we don’t won’t the next generation nor this generation to emulate the character, which was Danial arap Moi. Peace.

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Malawi: The Tipp-Ex wasn’t enough, now it’s nullified for new Fresh Elections!

Today, the Constitutional Court in Malawi have nullified last years Presidential Election after a successful petition by the opposition. The incumbent President Peter Mutharika have been nullified. The election was seen as fraudulent, not done properly in accordance with law. Neither with the verification of the ballots, the altering of electoral forms and so-on.

The case of Tipp-Ex President is now done and he to go for another round of Fresh Presidential Elections within 150 days. This is a victory for Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi Congress Party) and Saulos Chilima (United Transformation Movement). Both of them fought the case against the President and his Democratic Progressive Party.

The Malawi Electoral Commission didn’t get kind words for their work in the Tripartite Elections on the 21st of May 2019. The ones giving it well-wishes from the election observers from the African Union (AU), European Union (EU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) looks foolish now. As they rubber-stamped the events and gave-it a go sign.

Therefore, today is a vindication of the public. The way the MEC and DPP did this is now in the open. Tomorrow, the Constitutional Court will drop their 500-pages of the judgment. Today, its been all on radio and social media. All the commentary of the judges and the verdict.

What is important is that the incumbent President isn’t dully elected. His is the running one until the Fresh Presidential Elections. This gives the President a life-line, but the MEC cannot rewind the operations of the 2019 elections. These sort of practices, if proven will be determined unjust and make it null-and-void. Like it did today.

That means the MEC cannot tipp-ex the results and get away with it. Neither can it await to officiate the role of actually report and verify the results properly. Not hold the results back and suddenly release it. Just as it didn’t release the results within the legal window of 48 hours either. The MEC did what it could and did it wrongfully. The evidence of the opposition UTM and MCP was strong enough to prove that.

The President and his team should be in deep distress. As the demonstrations and the others are proof of dismay towards the regime. The President should worry that he cannot win confidence nor their votes. As he cannot use the same trick again. The MEC should also get another team and other leaders, whose trusted by the public. Not puppets of the DPP. The MEC needs to be independent and drop a viable timeline.

There is no time to waste. The MEC better do it simple, but the authorities better start reconfigure the MEC. Unless, we will see another round of Tipp-Ex and other issues. Which occurred last year and could repeat again. Then we are back to start and have to re-return without trust of the Fresh Presidential Elections.

The Elections Observers better chill and take a rest. They didn’t do their job. The Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) better be supported from afar and given funds to properly educate and observe. As they are own citizens wishing the best and honest about the results. Not like the outsiders, who only wants peace and not justified results. Which is the case of the matter here.

The MEC and DPP better act-up. The UTM and MCP have to gear-up for another election. They got to get to the front-lines and fight for the voters. The DPP cannot sleep on the laurels. The Presidency isn’t automatic.

Mutharika thought he could just Tipp-Ex it. However, that got whipped out too. Now its all erased and got to start afresh. Peace.

Brexit: The negotiations that Boris doesn’t seem prepared for…

The Tories think they can easily access the European Common Market without being a member of the European Union. However, today’s revelation in the draft negotiations paper from Michael Barnier proves that hassle the Boris Johnson government have to deal with. The Brexiteers will struggle with it.

Just like one key sentiment, which the UK have to understand:

reflect the United Kingdom’s status as a non-Schengen third country, and that a non-member of the Union, that is not subject to the same obligations as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member” (Barnier, 03.02.2020).

This here is very revealing and sets the tone. This puts the United Kingdom on the outside, as entity on its own, but still will not have the same rights the members of Union. Neither the same obligations and therefore, will be treated differently. That is key aspect, which the UK doesn’t seem to understand.

Boris Johnson statement in return:

The Government wishes to see a future relationship based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals for the benefit of all our peoples. There is complete certainty that at the end of 2020 the process of transition to that relationship will be complete and that the UK will have recovered in full its economic and political independence. The Government remains committed in all circumstances to securing all those benefits for the whole of the UK and to strengthening our Union” (Boris Johnson, 03.02.2020).

This here negotiations will not be easy. The documents from Barnier in his drafts proves the technicalities, even as the British has appointed a Task Force instead of Department working inside the Office of the Prime Minister. Because, that will run so well. Not like all the Secretaries of the Exiting the EU did a good job, but they would have civil servants dwelling on and configuring the fine details. Which the answer of PM Johnson is a kids story compared to the paperwork of Barnier.

Like Barnier said:

The envisaged partnership should establish open market access for bilateral road freight transport, including unladen journeys, made in conjunction with these operations:

by Union road haulage operators from the territory of the Union to the territory of the United Kingdom, and vice versa;

by United Kingdom road haulage operators to the territory of the Union, and vice versa.

As third country operators, United Kingdom road haulage operators should not be granted the same rights and benefits as those enjoyed by Union road haulage operators in respect of road freight transport operations from one Union Member State to another (“grand cabotage”) and road freight transport operations within the territory of one Union Member State (“cabotage”)” (Barnier, 03.02.2020)

Then Johnson said:

Road Transport

There should be reciprocal commitments to allow EU and UK road transport operators to provide services to, from and through each other’s territories, with associated rights, underpinned by relevant international agreements and commitments, and ensuring the necessary cooperation on monitoring and enforcement” (Boris Johnson, 03.02.2020).

Here is a typical statement towards each other. They have sort of the same pattern, but the leafy British statement, compared to the detailed EU ones. Show the work behind it and the details are expressing the needs of the EU to show difference between members and nots. The UK is a not and therefore, cannot do the same as they have done now. They got to follow more strict rules, even as they are allowed to cross the borders, but more rigorous than in the past.

These negotiations will be interesting to follow, as the UK and EU is in a stalemate, in a limbo, which is supposed to last a year. Before the final ending of the marriage is over. The Bride and Groom leaves each other and become Exes. Who knows how this will go, but the EU seems more prepared, than the UK is at the moment. Because, the statement from Boris wasn’t reassuring. When you looking into the work of EU at the moment. Peace.

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