Odero's response to NARC-KS

Dear Narc-KS Committee Members,

It has come to my notice that you published my resignation letter from the ODM-KS committee on your Web site http://www.narckenyascandinavia.com. As far as I know, I did not copy that letter to anybody in Narc-KS, so how you got it is best known to you. The letter is genuine no doubt.

There have been reactions elsewhere towards the publishing of this letter with claims and counter claims on what "to resign" should mean. I was appointed to the committee, I served and resigned. How come the resignation of the former ODM-KS Treasurer was accepted as "resignation" and even published? Whether a committee is interim or permanent, the principle of resignation remains, so there is nothing to challenge or debate about the word.

I stand by the contents of the letter and now that it has gone public, let Kenyans know that those were my observations while in office. You can currently read about the contradicting messages from ODM-KS flowing freely in various media. It only confirms one of my complaints about personal agenda, instead of going by their Constitution and the so-called 12-point program.

Best regards,
Jared Odero April 22, 2007




Narc-Kenya is a political movement founded on the Vision and Ideal of one Kenya, One Nation, One people

NARC Kenya

When Narc kenya was launched, many dismissed it as another reincarnation of DP or a "GEMA" based political party, but time has proved that, thats not the case because Narc kenya has the support from almost all the corners of the country and infact its a force to reckon with given the people behind it. Apart from narc,kanu, ford kenya and ford people,Narc kenya is the fifth biggest political party in parliament because it has three parliamentarians who were elected during the by-elections,somitimes last year following the deaths of five mps involved in a plane crash. If there are people or persons who have been in the front line in populising and selling Narc kenya, its Hon. Beth Mugo, Hon. Danson Mungatana and Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri.I do credit them because they have done alot for the party and especially during that period when by-elections were held. Narc kenya, is believed to be the vehicle in which the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki is going to ride on during this year's general elections,even if Mwai Kibaki has not come out openly and say that, in did that is the party he gonna use.There are some fears within Kibaki supporters who believes that, he might stich with the original narc, thus making Narc kenya irrelevant.In 1997, some politicians allied to Kenneth Matiba,formed a splitter group from Ford Asili after Matiba rocked horns with martin Shikuku, who was the secretary general of ford Asili.Kimani wa Nyoike, found himself alone after Matiba disowned him, and infact there is that fear within kibaki supporters. As narc kenya is trying to potray itself as a formidable force in kenyan politics, many questions are also raised in the way its being run.The most intriguing issue is how some mps associated with the party are trying to block the aspirants from joining the top decision making body of the party.By doing so, the party may loose alot of support from young and progressive citizens who want to energise the party.Another serious issue which has torn the party, is whether the party should hold elections or not. Some are arguing that, this being an election year,the party may face alot of defections if elections were held, but those who belong to that school of thought are the mps,who want automatic nominations.Personally, the party should hold elections for it to be seen as democratic and not just like a club of some elites who are trying to hang on power without giving in space to some new blood. Narc kenya, claims also to be the party of the common mwananchi, but given the amount of money which is charged for one to have platinum card, it makes one feel like that its the party of the rich.Unless such issues are addressed properly, many citizens will not be in a position to exercise democracy within Narc Kenya. While majority of kenyans want to see president Kibaki re-elected,some of the leading members in his campaign team will be his biggest obstacle because they are fighting only for their own survival not the well being of the country.Narc kenya should not sit and wait for the ODM kenya, to split so as to gain political milieage but instead at the moment,there should be a secretariat in place,fully effective otherwise, Narc kenya would face the same song like what happened during referedumn.Kibaki troops ought to be under one central command unit, but given the current situation in narc kenya, all is not well and more should be done so as to see president Kibaki being re-elected.

Githuku Wa Muirani




Narc-Kenya is a political movement founded on the Vision and Ideal of one Kenya, One Nation, One people

ODMK-Skandinavia in Crisis!

ODMK-Skandinavia in Crisis!
Dear Committee Members,
Jared Odero (29/03/07) Greetings from Johannesburg in South Africa. Am here meeting my research partners and the weather is cool, partly sunny, with scattered showers. However, it is a productive stay so far. I am announcing my resignation from the ODMK-S committee membership and Vice Treasurer in advance through this email. If deemed necessary, I will sit with the committee to discuss, but I will exhaust my reasons here, so it will be unnecessary to meet, because my resignation is immediate. It is good to be away because it gives one time to reflect upon certain things in life. I have done this with the ODMK-S matter, and felt that resigning is the most noble thing, though I will remain a party member.
For Blog owners, Osewe and Munala, if you want to improve your hit ratings with this
scoop, then you better cut and paste my resignation letter word for word, otherwise I would advice you to leave this as an internal matter, because I was not appointed to the committee via the blog.
Reasons for Odero's resignation from the ODMKS Committee:
1. Lack of collective drive/push:
When I first joined the committee in November 2006, I was very enthusiastic and hoped that the vision charted (constitution and the 12 point program) would be implemented at the fast pace that the members had. So far, this has not worked and instead there have been loose misinterpretations and deviations from the original scripts. I do not have to quote, but so far all know that we had to re-debate the independence of ODMK-S. I will not even repeat the half-hearted way of dealing with other Kenyans within Sweden, who have shown interest in joining us.
2. Financial
challenges:
I foresee challenges ahead in raising money for the ODMK-S office rent and activities, because so far the only solution is to sell drinks, which some do not even buy. This is therefore an unfair way of recruiting money because some are in the bandwagon at the expense of the others. No other clear financial activities have been agreed upon to generate money. I personally do not wish to donate any more personal cash to fund the office. The revival of KUWA et al., remains rhetoric yet rent will be needed soon in 2 months' time. Alternatively, the lokal can be rented later on a demand-basis, instead of running an underutilized and expensive place every month. We are not even talking of the monthly maintenance fees of SEK 50 any more. No clear strategies are in place to recruit more members, even in Stockholm. ODMK-S cannot be run by the committee alone.
3. Collaboration with
ODM-K:
I was enthusiastic in the beginning that ODMK-S would be supporting or challenging ODM-K as per the ODMK-S 12 point program. So far nothing of the sort has happened. The trip to Nairobi by the ODMK-S Chairlady yielded nothing other than personal nods. The Secretary's trip to Nairobi only unearthed our ignorance on how to collaborate with ODM-K. Clearly, they have no time for us and we do not have the registration fees to be their branch. What is the implication? Individuals do not want to face the bitter truth that our initial 'baby-steps' towards ODM-K have been cut short, because there is no formal recognition. On the other hand, what about being critical to ODM-K? So far there are no signs from ODMK-S. When I raised my thoughts on Raila's display of his Hummer vehicle on entering the Parliament recently, only Osewe responded, and this is on email so I will not repeat it. I do not see any critical voices in ODMK-S who
can debate on the crooks in ODM-K without reservations. We cannot claim that we are only focused on the party and not the individuals who form it, because they are inseparable.
4. Side projects:
The confusion exhibited when I raised the Korogocho project issue, only left me wondering whether we are certain about the minutes agreed upon and written, during committee meetings. Some people want the Korogocho project in ODMK-S to gain political mileage, while the reality is that this woman and many others are suffering and need help. I recently donated SEK 500 genuinely to help, so I was puzzled that some people want to hang onto others tailcoats, yet they do not enthusiastically donate to this and cannot even narrate the genesis of this project.
5. Personal agenda in ODMK-S:
I will not reiterate the enthusiasm I had when joining ODMK-S. I found it running but I
have also now gathered that there are some people in it for personal and selfish reasons. There have been questionable cash transactions done by others without the full awareness of the committee. A good example is the opening of the ODMK (odm-k.org) Web site which was done with a personal agenda. This project was not sanctioned by the committee, yet it is claimed that money from ODMK-S was used to finance it. For whatever reasons, this project has no impact because the last update on this Web site was on March 7th 2007 and the traffic has almost stopped. We donated money for our own Web site and Munala has been responsible for it. By the time I was leaving Stockholm last week, it was NOT yet up and running.
6. ODMK-S has no impact in Kenyan politics:
So far, nothing has been done by ODMK-S to impact Kenyan politics. There are individuals within ODMK-S who use the media to vent their minds, but the group as an entity
is nowhere near there. Raila met the ODM-K Uganda Chapter enthusiasts the other day, meaning that maybe mainstream ODM-K branches and NOT independents like ODMK-S, are closer to those leaders and share a forum to express their support and criticism (while within). It is probably futile for ODMK-S to fight outside the 'cow-shed' in the name of being independent. The recent political "tsunamis" in Kenya have been staged while inside the government and not outside.
7. My professional life:
I have a lot on my plate right now within my professional life, so I will set aside more time for this but remain a member of ODMK-S. I think I will be more objective and speak my mind freely as a member and not a committee member. Thank you all and it was a pleasure working together.
Best regards,
Jared Odero (29/03/07)


Foundation
Narc-Kenya is a political movement founded on the Vision and Ideal of one Kenya, One Nation, One people

We like the mother party share the same vision and ideal of one kenya,one Nation,one people. Our mission is to sensetise the kenyan people both in Kenya and abroad, friends of Kenya and other interested parties the problems affecting our people in Kenya and how to solve them.

Narc-KS will or has already stated discussions with the Kenya gorvernment on matters affecting the Kenyans in Diaspora on matters of Duo Citizenship, Voting while abroad, oppening up a desk within the ministry of foreign affairs to cater specifically on matters affecting kenyans abroad.This website will be open for anybody to view and comments are welcome because no man is a mountain of thoughts.Chairman Daniel Mwaura.

Foundation
Narc-Kenya is a political movement founded on the Vision and Ideal of one Kenya, One Nation, One पीपुल

Kenyans in Diaspora

According to kenyan finance minister, Hon. Amos Kimunya,more than one million kenyans residing in us and europe, do contribute more than $1 billion each year.This is a very significant contribution and it should not be assumed or just be treated lightly as far as our economy and development of our country is concerned. The current government headed by Hon. Kibaki, should at least be commended on the issues of kenyans in diaspora, because even if it has not done much to address their issues,at least its recognising the monetary contribution of the hard working and patriotic kenyans in the diaspora.Majority of kenyans living abroad, do work hard and infact for many hours in order to support their families back at home, and in doing so, they do boost the economy, create employment and also lift or upgrade the living standards of our fellow citizens. Despite the fact that kenyans in diaspora do contribute much to our country,their efforts has never been taken seriously by our previous governments and thats why we are hoping that, the current one,will make a difference.First and foremost, Narc kenya as a progressive political party should address the issue of duo citizenship,because majority of kenyans residing abroad have acquired the citizenship of the countries they do reside. According to the current kenyan constitution, there is no provision for duo citizenship, and this factor has discoureged some of would be investers in our country just only due to a "paper" document.Here in Stockholm., majority of kenyan politicians who have had that chance to meet wakenya, for example,president Mwai Kibaki, Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o,Raila Amolo Odinga, Mwandawiro Mghanga,Charity Ngilu, Martha Karua and many others, they have been promising wakenya that, once the go back home, they will table a motion regarding that issue and also voting from abroad, but to the amazement of wakenya, none of them even those who have once lived in exile like Koigi Wamwere, have ever bothered to intiate such a motion in the kenyan parliament. Narc kenya on whose slogan is, one nation, one people should be in the front line in championing the rights of all kenyans and especially those in diaspora to have also voting rights and create some diaspora constituencies.In the Italian senate, they have reserved two seats for the italians in diaspora and Narc kenya should also champion for the same.If tourism in kenya has a full ministry, why should not the government also create one or a department in the ministry of foreign affairs, to cater for the kenyans in diaspora? Since Kibaki government has gone one step ahead of the other previous regimes,through Narc kenya, it should come up with programmes which are viable in the current technology era.The issue of honouring and recognising our heroes and heroines like, Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi, Koitalel Arap Samoei,Meketilili Wa Menza, Nabongo Mumia of Wanga and many others, its move which was welcomed by all kenyans and more could be done. Narc kenya, the nordic region branch, would like to encourage our mother party in kenya, to push for the creation of the ministry of kenyans in diaspora just as there is tourism ministry since we do contribute as much as tourism does.We would like also to request Narc kenya, to push also for the creation within our embassies for the posts of diaspora attache's so as to cater fully and closely the matters pertaing to them and there welfare.

Githuku Wa Muirani.

Kenyan Women and Politics

By Ann W. Njenga,
Ass.Secretary,
Narc-Kenya Scandinavia

Kenyan women have truly come a long way in penetrating through the political male-dominated world. Kenya’s political history has recorded great women who went through many difficult and humiliating conditions to fight for equality and participation in politics. Some of these difficulties include the beating of female candidates by the supporters of rival male candidates, male power play (manipulating and possibly rigging women out) and the lack of funds for women politicians. Since Kenya’s independence from the British rule in 1963, female representation in Parliament has been very low. During the last Kanu (Kenya African National Union) regime that ended in 2002, there were only nine women out of the 220 members of parliament (MPs). There has also been very low female representation in decision-making positions within government sectors/departments, the local government (municipalities) and parastatals.

In the current Narc (National Alliance of the Rainbow Coalition) government, the number of female MPs has at least increased to 18 out of the 222 members of parliament. However, this still falls short of the United Nations target of achieving 30% representation of women in politics.
It also falls short of the Beijing Platform for Action (the Fourth World Conference for Women in 1995), where it was agreed by all governments that there should be equal participation of women and men in decision-making bodies. The gender imbalance in Kenya’s political playing field has widened so much, since the male political ideology continues to define the standards of evaluation of women’s political performance and participation.
Women MPs continue to play second fiddle and none chairs a parliamentary committee during this ninth Parliament. They are even still not allowed to carry handbags into the House, according to the archaic male-dominated colonial rules.
What hinders women from being frontrunners in politics?
One of the major problems that women face is the lack of funds to conduct elections. Due to the feminization of poverty, many women interested in politics are faced with financial constraints which bar them from contesting, compared to their male counterparts; hence their political potentials go unnoticed.
The political parties’ structures are also male-dominated, thus are discriminative against women. It therefore becomes challenging for women to voice themselves or to take leading positions. Most of these parties only nominate men to winnable positions during elections. It is also evident that very few women politicians are seen hitting the campaign trails. If present, they are rarely heard on the podium because the campaign rallies are often male-dominated. It is paradoxical that women form the majority of Kenyan voters.
Certain cultural aspects also block women, who are portrayed as not possessing strong leadership qualities; many Kenyan communities still believe that men should lead. Combining politics and ‘child-rearing’/family life has also proved to be challenging. For many women, it is hard to balance both private and public life, which in most cases have interfered with many marriages.
Media coverage on the successes of women politicians and potential contenders is limited compared to their male counterparts.
What to do
The success of women in politics in Rwanda, Liberia, Sweden and South Africa for example, shows that there are many strategies women can use to gain power. Women in Kenya should feel challenged and call for affirmative action to increase their participation in decision-making bodies. They should unite and actively participate in nation-building activities.
Which is the best party for women to voice themselves?

Of all the strong and main political parties present in Kenya, only Narc-Kenya seems to be women friendly. Narc-Kenya, unlike ODM-K (Orange Democratic Movement of Kenya) seems to have an upper hand when it comes to addressing gender issues. The party does not only have a larger number of women representatives, but its policies are also gender sensitive and the party seems ready for affirmative action. It is the first party to hold a rotational national party chairmanship, giving all a chance to lead, including women. President Kibaki has also advised public institutions to increase female participation in key positions. ODM-K on the other hand, is spearheaded by male chauvinists who are not gender sensitive and are about to get rid of Nazlin Umar, one of their two female presidential candidates.
It is time for women to look for a way forward and join Narc-Kenya, the party which they can approach to air their grievances and allow them to participate fully in politics.
By Ann W. Njenga, Ass.Secretary, Narc-Kenya Scandinavia.