NICHOLAS OTIENO

@MrKipkalya Jaramogi was great. Despite Oloo Aringo being very close to him, he lost to Otieno Makonyango a political detainee and journalist.

After careful analysis, I have made the conclusion that Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was both a brilliant national leader as well as an exceptional community leader. In contrast, Raila Odinga, after him, was a brilliant national leader but a poor community leader. I think Raila's death has exposed this fact. Look at it this way. In the 1992 election, Jaramogi got himself 21 Luo MPs. 22 if you add the one in Langata. 23 if you add Ochieng' Mbeo, who joined two years later following the double by-elections in Kasarani (first, following a successful petition by Ferdinand Masinde and then the death of Masinde himself on by-election night, occasioning two by-elections in quick succession). Jaramogi's cast was so stellar that some of their names were already legendary before they even set foot in parliament. Jaramogi himself in Bondo. Iconic freedom fighter Achieng' Oneko in Rarieda. Political scientist, economist and academic giant, Prof Nyong'o in Kisumu Rural. Firebrand lawyer and feared liberation hero, James Orengo in Ugenya. Leading environmental expert and academic, Prof Ouma Muga in Rangwe. Celebrated legal intellectual, Dr Oki Ooko Ombaka in Gem. Sports administrator, business guru and leading reformer, Joab Omino in Kisumu Town. The multiple-times detainee and most uncompromising liberation fighter, former university lecturer, Raila Odinga in Langata. And the only woman in the entire cast was also the most accomplished woman in the whole land, the inimitable Phoebe Muga Asiyo of Karachuonyo. Their elections were hardly ever contested. The people chose their finest. Jaramogi never raised anyone's hand. Delegations never went to Bondo to change the will of the people. In fact, the man considered the worst of the whole lot, Tom Obondo of Ndhiwa, as if on cue, defected back to Kanu soon after the 1992 elections, and was replaced by Accountant Orwa Ojode in the ensuing by-election. The class of 92 spoke and the nation listened. In parliament, they broke down data, discussed policy, delved into complex international issues and were at home in the midst of intellectual discourse. Back home, they focused on the quest for justice and liberation. They were smart, coherent and at ease with whatever item of discussion came their way. They led from the front. They complimented Jaramogi in every sense. But the first sign that the Raila era would come with leadership regression must have been when two of the very finest Luo minds were replaced by two of the worst MPs to ever hold office, as NDP took community power in 1997. The revered Achieng' Oneko lost to one George Odeny Ngure while the hugely respected Prof Nyong'o was beaten by Winston Ochoro Ayoki. The downhill fall had begun. A quarter century later, and following Raila's death, I've been looking at the list of elected leaders in Luo land and making comparisons with the class of 92. Only four of the current leadership would make it to the Class of 92, and that includes Nyong'o and Orengo who were already there. Which means only a maximum of two, and just barely. The more disturbing question is just how did Luos end up with intellectual tadpoles like Sam Atandi, public nuisances like Gladys Wanga, political smugglers like Junet Mohamed, confused elements like Paul Abuor, comedians like Jalang'o, confirmed street ruffians like Fred Ouda, smiling empty debes like Ojienda, perennially dazed and lost souls like Lilian Gogo and Adipo Okuome and echo chamber praise machines like Rosa Buyu and Kaluma? Did Raila deliberately kill the quality of Luo leadership or did he simply focus on national leadership as the community itself regressed? Were the NDP-ODM era party nominations programmed for failure? Were Luos taken for a ride, as they voted in jokers and ruffians, while trusting only in the top leader? Something went wrong between 1992 and 2022. We need to find it.

@ahmednasirlaw The per diem culture will collapse our country

How can a poor third work country called Kenya spend Kshs 1.1 trillion in just 9 months on tea, mandasi, samosa, workshop/seminars in Mombasa and air tickets?

@WehliyeMohamed @GItauRyan @Ohta_Ryota @AdanMohamedCS Miguu ilipona?

@GItauRyan @Ohta_Ryota @AdanMohamedCS You wouldn't clean his boots.

The first thing @AdanMohamedCS should work on as CG KRA is to review the tax exemptions. Ksh 510B in tax exemptions looks crazy. From VAT exemptions & zero rating to corporate tax incentives to import duty exemptions to personal tax exemptions etc. Hapa ndio kuna ukora sana!

@Moha001_Onyango No. Even London has a Mayor. Nairobi like every other town just needs good leaders

Nairobi should never have been turned into a county in the first place. The capital city of a country is too important to be run like an ordinary political constituency. It should have been administered the way Washington DC is. Directly under the national government with a mayor focused purely on service delivery, planning and urban management. Instead, we turned the city into a political playground where every governor is thinking about the next election, tenders and political survival instead of long-term urban planning.

@Osama_otero During clamour for reforms and multiparty, Nyanza and Central were together. After multiparty came, they parted ways, Kibaki became president and Luos were labelled stone throwers, yet they did it together.

How things change. Yaani Kiambu ndio Kondele saa hii.

@Dr_AustinOmondi It's just PR. He will appeal and he will be reinstated or suspended

I strongly disagree with the university for expelling Marlon Ochola over the viral video. He is a young man and there should be room for grace. I am however particularly mad at the student doctor who released the video. Your attempt to clown your classmates has ruined his life.

@Winnie_Byanyima @KagutaMuseveni Ilikulwa

You are strangely fixated on other people’s pasts. Yetwaare! Some family histories are far less flattering when examined closely. @KagutaMuseveni please rein in your son.

@BillowKerrow Imagine Wasawo, Ominde, Ogot were all bypassed for Karanja.

The sad part isn't the ethnicity. It's the claim of merit in these appointments and their spectacular failure to perform. Yet, when other Kenyans are appointed to public institutions leadership they despise them. Bure kabisa.

@NelsonHavi Probably they should have renovated the colonial governor house in Wajir which was left to decay.

Why build all these edifices yet we cannot build schools and hospitals for the People of North Eastern in particular and the People of Kenya in General?

@wmnjoya Kenyan independence was a negotiated settlement. If it was military victory, then ask ANC fighting force in SA.

My dear brother, Mau Mau fought against land alienation, police violence and lack of sovereignty. They were not alone. The trade unionists, Dini ya Msambwa and Barsirian arap Manyei were also in colonial detention at the same time. What made the status of the Mau Mau different is that the British decided to also engage in collective punishment of the Kikuyu Embu and Meru and pretend that the struggle was ethnic, not political. So few Kenyans know that the Maasai, the Kamba and the Luhya participated in the Mau Mau. Chief Mukudi of Samia was detained by the British for administering the Mau Mau oath. I saw ES Atieno Odhiambo mention some Luo soldiers in the Nairobi ranks of the Mau Mau but I lost the reference. I'll keep looking for it. Independence isn't liberation. It's the management of the colonialist state by Africans. The whites were not chased out. They are still here. They still own land, plantations, mines and major installations. They gave us CBC. They just got a military agreement in Mombasa which exempts soldiers from prosecution. Wazungu didn't leave. They retreated from visibility, but not from power. Until the late 1950s, the British had no intention of leaving. In their dream, Kenya was to be a multi-racial state. Shortly after, they aimed to leave in 1975. Then after, they decided to leave in 1963, but before they did that, they needed to ensure that Kenya was left in the hands of the sympathizers, your Lancaster people and the #IwenttoAlliance's. Whites remained in the independence government, protected by Sir Charles Njonjo of Kabeteshire. Bruce Mackenzie was Ministry of Agriculture. Humphrey Slade the Parliament speaker. Goeffrey Griffin, a former information officer, started Starehe. Carey Francis moved to Pangani High School. In 1972, UoN students were violently suppressed by the police after complaining about the architecture department being staffed by wazungu faculty who were failing the students. Guess who was in charge of Nairobi Provincial Police? James Myles Oswald, who had killed many Mau Mau fighters. The decision of the British to hand over the state to Africans was forced by the African resistance, of which Mau Mau was a major player. The British realized that it would be too expensive to keep suppressing rebellion, especially because the Mau Mau started to regroup in 1961. Plus the whole pan-African world's imagination was captured by the resistance. It was cheaper for the British to have African elites, your favorite Lancaster guys, rather than settlers, in charge. But overall, the British remained in charge from London. Forcing the British to hand over the colonial state doesn't mean we were liberated. It just means we got black settlers in charge of the state, instead of white ones. Reading helps even the best and the brightest.

@VerminusM Ask Charlie magazine of France

Islam is the world's second largest religion yet there are no Western mainstream shows or movies about the history and roots of Islam like we have with Christianity and Judaism. There's no Quran movie or a Hadith animated series. Why is that?

@kingmahdi313d @MasterMaliq May the Lord Jesus Christ reveal himself to you.

@otynick @MasterMaliq You will regret. Read all my comments in here: x.com/kingmahdi313d/…

If Allah means God in Arabic… And Isa means Jesus in Arabic… Then Jesus is NOT God. Simple linguistics just destroyed the Trinity.

@Edenlife9 May the Lord Jesus Christ reveal himself to these dear sisters.

“When did this corruption of the scriptures happen, before or after Muhammad?” “Before Muhammad!” “So why would allah direct Muhammad to visit corrupted scriptures if He was in doubt?” 😭

@Maryam_Dr_ May you find Christ Jesus

I once got disqualified from a job because I said I couldn’t postpone my Zuhr prayer till after work. They asked: “What if you’re too busy? Please leave that prayer till after work.” I said: “No matter how busy work gets, I can’t delay my prayer, sir.” And honestly, I still left with peace in my heart because I can’t sacrifice my salah for work

@davidmakali1 I wish they do schools and hospitals

Designed for glory and benefit of contractors. Bora walipwe.

@iMiaSanMia But Mane was chased?

• You've won the league title 13 times in the last 14 seasons. Isn't that not only a problem for the Bundesliga, but also for FC Bayern? Uli Hoeneß: "For Bayern Munich, absolutely not, but for the league, yes. The day will come again when we falter, but then the others will have to be there too. Many clubs are very proud when they've made a great sale. I'm not a fan of this buying and selling at all. We buy a player for Bayern. And we don't want to be thinking about where we'll sell him to as soon as he signs the contract." • That's the business model of many clubs.. Hoeneß: "But if that's your business model, you can't be successful in the long run. We're way ahead of the others in that respect. In all the years I've been here, very rarely has a player left that we desperately wanted to keep. Michael Ballack moved to England, Toni Kroos to Spain. But even then, we were in control. I ran into Toni once and told him: "Toni, you can earn 10 million euros with us. But if you want to earn 10 million and one euro, then you have to leave." - And then he left. The same thing happened with David Alaba. He's the only player who still calls us on Christmas Eve. But I told him too: "This is our offer, and if you don't accept it, you have to leave." - It's very important to be able to say no sometimes." [@faznet]

@KeruboSk @jamessmat Connecting a flight in Berlin from Stockholm enroute to Dusseldorf. Plane was late. Got out of the plane running and pressed for short call and ignoring the toilets. Found out the plane was actually waiting for this one passenger coming in from Stockholm.

I missed my flight in Nairobi once because of traffic on Mombasa Road. Like fully missed it. I got to the airport sweaty, exhausted, dragging my suitcase like it personally betrayed me. I already knew there was no chance, but I still ran to the counter hoping for mercy. The woman checked her screen, looked at me, then said, “You were the last passenger.” I laughed a little because what else do you do at that point? Then she lowered her voice and said, “The plane is still on the ground.” Next thing I know this airport employee is SPEED WALKING me through the terminal like we’re in an action movie. Security waved me through, another worker grabbed my carry-on to help me run, and I’m apologizing to literally everyone while fighting for my life. I got to the gate completely out of breath. The guy scanning boarding passes looked at me and said, “Eh, Nairobi traffic. We understand.” People on the plane actually clapped when I walked in looking half dead. I have never respected airport workers more in my life. Big up to them.

@TomBwana @Thriving_luos Let him announce wantam

Flew KQ recently. I asked attendants if the pilot could announce that Gor Mahia are leading the KPL table and that we beat AFC Leopards like burukenge. Hostess told me 'sidhani huyu captain atatangaza hizo'. Now you see challenges to our football? Enemies of progress!

@AdroaPatLumumba @wmnjoya It was as a result of misplaced nationalism, Kenyan passport or ship out. At least SA did let the Dutch passport holders remain in SA.

@otynick @wmnjoya You actually gained economically They were expelled precisely because of their anti economic practices

😳 During Jaramogi's term as Home Affairs minister, he deported many British officers and officials of the British High Commission without seeking cabinet approval. Jomo got annoyed when he discovered that one of those deportees was Ian Henderson, the guy who tracked and hunted down Dedan Kimathi. Eesh. nation.africa/kenya/news/dee…