WILL MUHAMMAR AL QADDAFI SURVIVE THE UPRISING?

By: Qeko

That African strongest military leader, Muhammar Qaddafi is facing the greatest uprising is like a joke and a hard thing to believe. When Mubarak and Ben Ali vacated their hot seat, we never thought the Libya was to be the next african nation to be hit by the Revolution and protest. This time around it all clear and Qaddafi has lost control of almost the entire nation apart from Tripoli where he stays. This is because Benghazi and other major cities have fallen in the hands of the anti government protestors who are demanding that he resigns and leave the country.

However unlike Mubarak, the Brother leader is so difiant and it seems he will not give up power easily but that he will fight until the end. Qaddafi is difiant and assisted by his son who seem to be the second man in command in Libya as he can get on TV anytime he feels like to talk about the protest taking place in the country and how much his father is still in control.

In a way of making sure that Qaddafi surrenders, the UN, US and the European Union have imposed sanctions against Qaddafi and his family and a freezing of all Asset that the Qaddafi family have the US and other European nations. now the Question is will these sanctions help to remove the Brother leader? What actual need to be done by the UN, US and the European is they have to show some seriousness in support of the prostestors? We are of the veiw that sanctions doesnt work at all mainly when its about an African head of state. Freezing their assets is like a game because they can still survive with what they have inside their country. For instance, Qaddafi has alot in Tripoli and he doesnt need to travel to US to survive. He can still stay in Tripoli and still be in charge. So Sanctions as such have little impact in trying to solve the problem. What they call targeted sanction is a waste of time because African leaders and Qaddafi is able to survive. The travel ban is just a huge joke of a century because we need to be realistic here to see how many times does he travel outside the country?

So the UN, US and their key allies needed to do something that was to immediately help the people of Libya.

CHRR, CeDeP AND MANERELA MISGUIDED AND WRONG

By: Qeko

The news that the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Centre for the Development of people (CeDeP) and the Malawai network of Religious Leaders Living with or Affected by HIV and Aids (Manerela) have released a communique attacking the Malawi Council of Churches ove the criminalisation of lesbians is worrisome, unfortunate, bad and all geared to please the western donor nations.

It is very sad development mainly to see that we have some Malawians who are advocating and help spread the kind of traditions and a way of life that is unmalawian. One wondeers as to why actually CHRR, CeDep and Manerela can go this far to attach and condemn the Malawi Council of Churches. Actually these rights organisation need to know that any attack and action against the Malawi Council of Churches become an attack on the entire Malawian Church and an attack on every Christian in Malawi and all God fearing people the nation has.

These rights agancies need to know that they are in Malawi and that they need to respect what is important and of value to the people of Malawi. They should know that they Malawi is not the US or a European nation where such Satanic and abominable way of life is accepted in the name of rights and freedom. They should respect what is good for Malawi and in this case criminalising lesbians because you dont need to have a degree to know that it is unmalawians for a woman to marry a fellow woman. Every Malawians you ask in the streets will tell you that this strange way of life is bad and not good for this nation. What is good in the US or Europe can not be good for Malawi and this is how life is. So these rights agencies should stop imposing on Malawians a strange way of life in the name of rights and people's freedom.

Having said this, let me call upon these rights agencies to know that whoever is forcing them to act in this unmalawian way is doing them no good at all because they end of the day, they still remain Malawians and thus they shall be. If its the western blasphemous donor money that is forcing them to act and talk in this manner then they should know that whatever thing they do will not help them becaue Malawians willnot give in to the demands coming from western donor nations through them. Malawians are wise people and we know who we are and what we stand for as a nation and the one thing that Malawians can not accept is to see that a woman marries a fellow woman. Also they should know that no any amount of money will managae to change the way we do things in Malawi because we are Malawians and shall do and act in a way that shall protect and preserve our identify and our way of life.

Now as regard the argument that Malawi is a secular state hence every blasphemous and evil way of life should be accepted, let me point out the following in a way of educating these rights agencies in Malawi:

Firstly is that as they operate in Malawi, it is important for them to know the kind of people who the nation has and also they should know the history of the nation. These rights agencies should go back to school and be taught the composition of this nation in terms of what we believe in as Malawians.

Secondly is that these rights agencies need to do a little statistics on the religious component of the nation. On this one they will find out that close to 95% of all Malawians (Muslims, Christians and African Tradition Religion) believe that there is God which translates that this nation is a God fearing nation. This is the UNWRITTEN LAW OF THE LAND and its very clear to every Malawian who is not bribes with western donor money. This is reflected in the everyday life of the nation. In as much as the constitution is not clear (black and white) on the matter, this does not mean that we are a secular state. How can a state be secular when 95% of the people are God fearing citizens? The state is composed of citizens and the religious belief of the citizen body determines whether the state is secular or not and in this case, MALAWI IS A GOD FEARING NATION AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE and no wonder the nation criminalised lesbianism and other blasphemous and strange way of life.

Thirdly is to inform and remind these rights agencies that our national anthem bears witness to who we are and every verse of it speaks of the truth of whom we Malawians are. The national anthem is a plea to God to bless our country and the whole message in that song is addressed to God. Now you tell me since 1964 we all have been singing this national anthem and we believed every bit of it and we know that there is God in Heaven. So how can someone call this nation a secular state when even our national anthem talks about God. How can we be a secular states when the citizens are God fearing as earlier said?

Having said this, i finally want to say that Malawians should refrain from acting in a way that will negatively affect the progressive development of the nation. We need to be patriotic Son of the land and love our country and make sure that we protect it from any wicked foreign influences in the nation of freedom and democracy.

THE POWER OF THE UPRISING: WILL THE REVOLUTION SUCCEED IN BAHRAIN?

By: Qeko

The wind of political revolution which continues toshake and blow across the Arab nations has instilled hope and new deternmination in th lieves of people in that they not have realised that they have the power to change their own political and economic destiny. This wind of political revolution is leavin no stone unturned and the Arab region will never be the same again. Through what happened in Tunisia and Egpyt many in the region feel that they can topple any oppressive and autocratic regime. The Tunisian and Egpytian model of uprising and politcal revolution shows tha there is the indescribable power in the electorates when they are united with one common purpose geared to achieving one common mission.

After the fall of Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, people asked, "who is next on line to pack up and go? After the historic Egpytian revolution, the wind of political change blew continued to blow across the Arab region and the nation affected so far include; Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Libya. Confirmed Reports shows that in these Arabs states, demonstrators daily continue to gather in their various freedom squares to call for an end of their autocratic regimes. However we now want to briefly analyse the uprising in Bahrain.

Bahrain is a western backed monarchy ruled by the Al Khalifa's family from where many in Cabinet and high offices comes from. Bahrain is a nation ruled by a single family and this has been the case for more than 200 years. The main problem in Bahrain is that the minority sunnis are the one in control of the nation while the majority Shiites are the commoners and basically poor. The majority Shiites Muslims are sidelined in the administration of the state and the wind of political change blowing accross the Arab states has waken them up and they are calling for the abolition of the monarchy and a call for freedom and respect for human rights. The monarch and political elite who are mainly from the royal Khalifa family are extremely rich while the majority Shiites Muslims are middle class and poor.

The Bahrain's uprising just like the one in Yemen seem to be unique because the western government have not come so strong in condemning the ill treatment of the protestors by the regime. Particularily what surprises many is that the US is not coming so open in support of the protest. This silence is sending a very bad political signal to many in Bahrain and the world because this silence is taken as the US indirect support of the oppressive monarch. The US and western governments need to see the writing on their middle east political wall and should play this game with care otherwise history will judge them wrong. If the US is not in support of the protestors now then what will they do when the monarchy and the regime in deposed? Now is the time for the US and western nations to act and get involved in supporting the fighters of democracy in the region just as they did with Egpyt. However we are yet to see how this political revolution unfolds in this small gulf state of Bahrain.

MZIMBA AND THE NGUNI KINGDOM IN MALAWI

BY: Peter Qeko Jere

One of the key features that appear on the map of Malawi is the most famous Nguniland in the northern part of the country called Mzimba. The word Mzimba is a Zulu – Xhosa one and it means the body of a human being. The word is famous in Malawi not because of its meaning but because this is the largest district in the entire country. It’s the only district which is ruled by children of one man, Zwangendaba (Ka Jele, Ka Qeko, Ka Lonyanda, ka nyandeni, Ka Khali , Ka lovuno, ka nguwoyempisi) who in the 1800s fled the wars of Shaka. Zwangendabah was born in Zululand but died in Mapupo while his children settled in the northern region of Malawi in a district called Mzimba. These children of Zwangendaba are present JERE ruling class of the Mzimba kingdom who during colonialism, formed the JERE COUNCIL which was the highest decision making body of the kingdom.

Mzimba with its capital at Mzimba Boma has of today more than 610944 people and covers 10430 square kilometers. This territory is basically occupied by the JERE Nguni’s. Northern region of Malawi where this district is located has other four smaller districts where we find the Tongas, Nkhondes, Tumbukas and Lyambias.

History says that as the Zwangendaba Ngunis were on their way from the south Africa, they in 1835 crossed the Zambezi river and briefly stayed in the present day Zimbabwe where they fought some fearless wars before going further north-east into Malawi. In Malawi they briefly settled at Mabiri from where Mmbelwa was born. Zwangendaba moved northward and crossed into Mapupo-Tanzania where he later died. However his children moved backward into the south and crossed into Malawi while one called Mpezeni moved and settled in the eastern side of Zambia from where he rules as INKOSI YA MAKOSI MPEZENI IV.

In Malawi, there are seven Zwangendaba sons who are ruling the ruling class in Mzimba Ngoni kingdom and these are the Jeres under INKOSI YAMAKOSI M’MBELWA. Now Inkosi Yamakosi Mmbelwa IV (who was given the name Zwangendaba at birth) is the overall King of the Zwangendabah Jere Ngunis of Malawi and he reigns from Edingeni and Engalaweni some few kilometers from Mzimba BOMA. His other brother is INKOSI MTWALO who reigns from Ezondweni which is an offshoot of Ekwendeni (ekhaya lagogo). In the southern Part of Mzimba district is INKOSI MABILABO who rules from Ekhahleni, Emfeni and Elangeni. In the north western part of the district is INKOSI PHEREMBE who rules from Emcihleni. In the central western part of district is INKOSI MZUKUZUKU who reigns from Ephangweni and Embangweni. In the eastern part of the district is INKOSI MZIKUBOLA who reigns from Emcigohleni or emchakachakeni and finally we have INKOSI CHINDI who reigns from euthini.

Some may wonder as to why we the custodian of Ngoni culture and tradition seem not to recognize Kampingo Sibande and Jalavikuba Munthali as part of the Amakhosis in the kingdom. To clarify this, those of you who do seem not to know Ngoni history and tradition, Kampingo Sibande and Jalavikuba Munthali has special cultural role to play and that is to lender their cultural obligation to Inkosi Mthwalo and other Amakhosis in the kingdom. They are under Inkosi Mthwalo and they can not just begin to rule at the same level as Inkosi Mthwalo. As far as the Ngoni Culture and tradition is concern, Kampingo Sibande and Jalavikuwa Munthali still remains Senior Ndunas of Inkosi Mthwalo.

The elevation of the two to the status of Amakhosi is and remain unwelcome by many in the kingdom because this whole exercise undermines and violated the Ngoni Cultural and tradition. I emphasise on this because those day when I was growing up at Ezondweni in Mthwalo, I used to seeing these two being part of the many meetings that the late Inkosi Mthwalo IV was hosting at Ezondweni. They fulfilled their duties as senior Indunas of Inkosi Mtwalo and elevating them to the same status of Inkosi goes against culture. I will undertake a project where a full research shall be done on this matter responding to the question as to why the Mzimba Ngoni Kingdom in Malawi lost its glory and its dignity.

HOSIN MUBARAK AND THE TURNING POINT IN EGYPTIAN POLITICS

By: Qeko
29/1/11

The sacrificial death of Mohammed Bouazizi which gave birth to the Tunisian Revolution continues to spread in the entire Arab world. In Tunisia it led to the unceremoniously departure of President Ben Ali fled to Saud Arabia for refuge while in Egypt this is causing serious political change where throughout the streets of major Egyptians town, people are demonstrating and calling for an end to the Mubarak long decade rule. In the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, protestors burns key government buildings and fought with the police. Television pictures shows that Egyptians were prepared for this Revolution and they are ready and determined to fight the Mubarak regime until he is leaves office.

And speaking on the Egyptian Television in response to the demonstration, Egpytian President Mubarak showed no sign of giving up power and he is far from leaving the country into exile. President Mubarak is not intending to leave Egypt as Ben Ali did but that he will stay in the country and face the protestors head-on. In responding to the protest and meeting what he feels are their demands, Mubarak is planning has asked his government to resign and he is forming a new cabinet. Now the question is does Mubarak read the signs of his times on his political wall? Will he say in power in the midst of such a huge and massive demonstration and allow innocent blood to be shed in Egypt? What kind of solution do we need to solve the Egyptians problem?
To begin with, we need to say that this wind of regime change blowing across the Arab world seem not to spare any nation. When the very wind of revolution was hitting Tunisia, Egyptians authorities seemed to have undermined it and never thought that it was to invade their country in a big way as it has done.

Now it seems to some of us that Mubarak is missing the point in the direction he has taken. The Egyptian population are calling for him to resign and leave office and he is busy asking cabinet ministers to resign their office so that he can appoint new ones into office. Mubakarak need to see and read in a very clear language that the electorate who voted him into office this time around are using a shortcut and asking him to resign because they are not satisfied with the way he has so far governed the country. These only message one can read from these huge mass demonstration is that Mubarak’s regime has become unpopular and that the people are calling for him to leave office something which Mubarak fails to see at the moment. From Mubaraks action of failing to read the writing on his political wall, we get our first lesson that in politics politicians need to be able to read carefully the writings on their political wall and properly translate them. The failure to read and interpret what is written on their political wall will like Mubarak, make them clings to power against the wishes of the people something which if not properly handled, could lead to more bloodshed and created political madness.

President Mubarak said on the Egyptian Television that he is forming a new cabinet to respond and satisfy the demands of the protestors. Again Mubarak has missed the point. Egyptians are not demonstration because they want him to change cabinet or form a new one. Egyptians are demonstrating because they are sick and tired of his autocratic and undemocratic rule where some key opposition leaders are not given fair platform for them to properly play this political game. The people want him to leave office peacefully and give way to a new leadership that will properly respond to their demands. They are particularly asking that Mubarak should go meaning that there has to be a new administration excluding himself. So our second lesson is that political leaders need to be able to properly hear the voice of the people who voted them into office. The regime change revolution that is sweeping across the Arabs states is showing us that power belongs to the people. Now politicians need to make sure that they satisfy the demands of those who voted them into office.

As the Egyptian revolution continues to unfold, we have noted something unique in the way the protestors are being treated by both the army and the police. The police tear gassed and bit the people while the army are seen on Television being warmly welcomed by the people in the streets of Cairo. It seems there is a good relationship between the army and the people unlike the police. It also seems that the people basically don’t like the police and may be because of the way the police have behaved against the people throughout the many decades of the Mubarak reign. People don’t just resent the police without a reason but that there are enough factors that have led the population of Egypt to resent the police and the Mubarak reign. At the same time, the army are warmly welcome because they are looked upon as peaceful and their instrument of hope in times of trouble. We are yet to see if the Egyptian police will join the protestors like what the Tunisians police later did. The challenge the police are facing in this revolution is that they are forced to tear gas and bit their own brothers who are protesting in the streets and no wonder the Tunisian police made a U-turn and joined their brothers and sisters in the demonstration. Now from this scenario, we have our third lesson that there is always time in life that people will resent us because of the way we treat them in one way or the other. If we treat people badly our actions we then should know that the same measure we used on others will one day be used on us. What we mean is that if we are the instrument of pain in people’s lives today then some day some how before we die, we shall see the results of the seed we planted. The Egyptian police in as much as they are ordinary citizens of the land, they should be having difficulties to properly live with the people they have mistreated during the entire reign of Mubarak.

A critical look at the mass demonstration in Egypt shows that the US’s interest is the main reason why Mubarak is defiant and not ready to leave office. The US to a large extent depends on Mubarak for them to achieve their Middle East agenda and as the way the political events are unfolding, this whole episode is giving the US a troubled moment. Against all odds, many expected the US to support the mass demonstration but instead there is no clear message from White House in support of the will of the people. The US is very careful on how to handle this because they know that Mubarak is at the centre of their Middle East agenda. Many expected the US to ask Mubarak to go but surprisingly, the US is asking Mubarak to come up with reforms. The US is missing the link here because the will of the Egyptians’ is not for Mubarak to come up with reforms but that he should go and leave office. The US should know that the will of the people as of now is for Mubarak to resign. The US should give more support to the demonstrators because if they fail to do this, history will judge them as being a nation that supported a autocratic regime. Of course it is allegedly argued by many that the US is the main reason why Mubarak stayed in power this long. The US used Mubarak to have their Middle East policy properly executed.

THE REVOLUTION: THE DEMISE OF THE MUBARAK AND BEN ALI DYNASTY.

By: Qeko
31/1/11

The Revolution is here and here to stay. The political wind of regime change blowing across North Africa seems to spread like the hurricane wind that will not be easily stopped. For many decades, North Africa has been rule by dictators many of whom have survived because of the American support. It is the US who continued to support both Tunisia and Mubarak’s Egypt. The US maintained their support for the North African dictators because they were crucial and important in the US Middle East foreign policy. For instance, the US needs Egypt if their Middle East policy has to be a success. So this wind of political change blowing across North Africa has created a crisis in the US Middle East foreign policy because any political change that takes place in Egypt has serious repercussion on their Middle East policy. No wonder that for many decades, the US has given 1.5 billion Dollars to the Egyptian military as a way of showing their solidarity and support to the Mubaraks’ autocratic rule.

A critical look into the Revolution blowing across North Africa shows some unique elements as follows; Firstly in terms of their similarity, the one common problem for both the Tunisians and the Egyptians’ has been that they all were under oppression and that their regimes were autocratic and cared less about them but did everything under the sun to enrich themselves. Both Ben Ali and Mubarak amassed huge wealth and have expensive properties that were acquired corruptly at the expense of the majority poor people in their countries. Since the Tunisians and the Egyptians had one common problem, the Revolution took the same direction and the message was the same and this was a call for both Mubarak and Ben Ali to go. The protestors in both countries called for an end to oppression and dictatorship. They called for an end to dictatorship because both of these ruled their countries undemocratically and instead made life a living hell for their people. Ben Ali for 23 years turned Tunisia his personal estate while Mubarak for 30 years turned Egypt into his kingdom where he was about to make his son the next President of the country. The problem in Egypt was not that Gamal Mubarak was being prepared to rule the country but that the President himself Hosni Mubarak did little to lift the living standards of the people and concentrated on corruptly amassing wealth at the expense of the poor Egyptians.

The dictators’ response
Looking into the dictators response to the protest, we have noted the following; in Tunisia Ben Ali could not withstand the pressure and he fled the country to Saudi Arabia while in Egpyt, the military man Mubarak vowed to stay on and if anything die on Egyptian soil. The defiant Mubarak, a military General himself who is highly decorated because of the many wars he fought for his country, showed no sign of surrender unlike the fearful Ben Ali who escaped the burning hell in Tunis.

The Vacuum that Ben Ali left in Tunisian was filled by the Speaker of Parliament who was letter elevated to the Presidency so that he together with the Prime Minister take care of the transitional government. To properly handle the political pressure from the protestors, both the President and the Prime Minister resigned from Ben Ali’s ruling party. This unity government has never been welcomed by the majority Tunisians because they still see that through the President and the Prime Minister, Ben Ali even though he is in exile, will still rule Tunisia. The issue is that these two were part and parcel of Ben Ali’s political dictatorship and they cannot just change colours now just because of the pressure. Tunisians want a neutral interim administration which will prepare the country for elections. Their worry is that the Ben Ali’s Prime Minister and caretaker President cannot be trusted because they will end up using the power of the incumbency to win the election.

In Egypt however, Hosni Mubarak responded to the protest by appointing the Vice President after 30 years of ruling the country alone. Mubarak never wanted to have a Vice President but manage Egypt alone like his personal estate. In addition he also appointed a new Prime Minister himself. Many commentators have said that Mubarak appointed the Vice President this time around because he is in trouble and want him to play a front line role in the discussion with the opposition. In other words, Mubarak could not have appointed this Vice President if there were no political mayhem in Egypt. Why should he appoint someone now to be the Vice President after ruling the country alone for 30 years? However the one unique element about the three top Egyptian administrators is that they are all former senior military men and Mubarak has appointed them because of the huge respect the Egyptians people have on the army.

Now just like their Tunisian counterparts, the Egyptians’ anti government demonstrators have one common problem that Mubarak should resign and there be an interim administration which should oversee both the Presidential and parliamentary election coming in September. However the unseen US power seem to suggest that the US want Mubarak himself to be at the helm of power and oversee the election which is a problem to many of us. Mubarak need to give space to a neutral administration otherwise the coming election will lead to more bloodshed because the Egyptian people are sick and tired of Mubarak. What the US should do if they have to redeem their political integrity to make sure that they properly side themselves with the oppressed people of Egypt and tell Mubarak to leave office otherwise history will judge them wrong.

Western nations missing the point
The Tunisian and Egyptian revolution has shown how easily western nations seem to miss the point when dealing with African people. The Western nations are so much blind and deaf that they don’t see and hear the specific cries of African people as has been the case with Tunisian and Egypt. In both Tunisia and Egypt the people are calling for a total regime change and nothing else while unfortunately the US and some western governments are talking the language of allowing dictators to still stay in power and initiate reform. What reform can dictators who have ruled for decades introduce in the 21st Century. These dictators are old fashioned and have no idea what the youth in this century actually need. Thus is why in trying to appease these dictators, in Egypt the US is asking the Mubarak to hang on there and initiate reforms and thereafter call for elections in September. The one amazing thing is that Mubarak has rule Egypt for 30 years and had all the time on earth to initiate anything as a way of helping empower his people. So the US and their western counterparts are greatly missing the point and the best thing they can do is to hear the cries of the people who are calling for Mubarak to resign and leave office. If the US is a champion of democracy then they need to ask their friend Mubarak to resign which is in line with what the people are demanding. The people don’t want the reforms or any form of transition government but want one thing, that Mubarak should resign and leave office.

Of the Tunisian Political Revolution and the power of the people

By: Peter Qeko Jere
15th January, 2011

The sacrifice of one person has the power to bring about remarkable revolution and the downfall of a regime. This was the case in Tunisia where the sacrificial death of one man led to the revolution that forced the sitting head of state to flee the country. The one man who paid the sacrifice for the liberation of the nation was Mohammed Bouazizi, a poor vegetable seller who set himself alight to death in protest for the way the Tunisian authority treated him.

It is reported that the moments after Mr Bouazizi's death the first protests began where Tunisians gathered around his abandoned vegetable cart and scaled the Governor's gates. The unrest then spread across the country which forced Ben Ali to flee the country to Saudi Arabia. After Ben Ali unceremoniously left the country, the country’s Speaker of Parliament Fouad Mebazza assumed the power of the President and asked the Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a coalition government composed of all key political stakeholders in Tunisia as the country awaits the General Election in six months time.

In a move to please the protestors, both the interim President and the Prime Minister resigned from the ruling party in Tunisia. This however seem not to mean anything to the Tunisian people who see them as playing games with the people because they all along have been Ben Ali royalist. At the same time, the formation of an interim government by the Ben Ali’s Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi seem not to change the protesting mood of the Tunisian people who are still daily demonstrating asking for a total change of the regime, mainly that all Ben Ali’s key men to be out of the interim administration.

Now the Tunisian political revolution which has ousted President Ben Ali shows that there is massive power in the people if they are united with one common purpose. Ben Ali ruled the country undemocratically for 23 years and managed to self enrich himself nepotistically at the expense of the majority poor Tunisians. He managed to accumulate wealth corruptly within the 23 years of his reign. However what we witness happening in Tunisia has demonstrated that it is possible for people who are united with one common purpose to achieve great things. This has shown that in politics, power belong to the people. It took a few days of serious protest to have Ben Ali flee the country. This also has shown that in as much as the electorates are sometimes taken for granted, they have the power which if evoked, can cause massive damage in the political life of those politicians who care less about them. This Tunisian political episode shows that politicians need to respect those who put them in office and not take advantage of them. Ben Ali for many years thought he was the Tunisians untouchable great statesman and had no idea that he was gonna flee the country unceremoniously as he did to go into exile.

Now that Ben Ali has fled the country into exile, the key question is; should the remnant of Ben Ali regime continue to rule Tunisia? Should the Tunisian people allow Ben Ali’s Prime Minister and the care taker President rule Tunisia? Can this interim regime led by Ben Ali diehard be trusted? In as much as Ben Ali men still cling into position of authority, they need to know that the Tunisian people seem not to like them because they all were part of the corrupt and undemocratic Ben Ali’s regime. So the presence of Ben Ali’s key men ruling Tunisia today shows the indirect rule of Ben Ali in the country. Ben Ali even though he is in exile in Saudi Arabia, he will continue to indirectly rule the country through his men, the Prime Minister and the now elected President. The revolution in Tunisia was about a total change of political authority where Ben Ali and his men were suppose to leave office once and for all and give space to democrats in Tunisia to rule the country.

The international Criminal Court in Kenyan Politics

By: Peter Qeko Jere
30/12/10

The Western back International Criminal Court has released names of those whom they think were the perpetrators of the 2007 post election violence in Kenya in 2007. A key name among them is Uhuru Kenyatta the son to the Father and founder of the Kenyan Nation, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. In his response Uhuru who is the current deputy prime minister of Kenya said that what the ICC has done will not have any serious effects on Kenyan. However our main argument here is that the best solution to African problems is African themselves. That the Kenyan government’s stand to create their own tribunal is the best solution to effectively solving the problem and not sending the five to the ICC headquarters which is a westerner Kangaroo court created with the main purpose of humiliating African leaders and those who are key opponent of western exploitation.

To begin our argument, we need to know that the west is ever happy when African brothers takes up arms to kill each other because that way they are able to advance their agenda and have their way through into exploiting African resources even more. Africans are brothers and sisters and we have always lived in peace with each other even though we are enthnically divided. The coming in of western colonialists, created a situation where some tribes were favoured more than the others which at the end created more division and hatred amongst Africans. This resentment continued even in the post independent Africa. Its in this vain that those tribes in Africa who greatly benefited from colonialism have had more advantages than others and this has extended to the kind of politics we have in African today that basically people support the party which is born from their tribes than others. Ofcourse there has been unique instances when some tribesmen and women have defied tribalism and enthicism by supporting the party and candidates from different tribal background which is the kind of thing to be encouraged in African politics today, something which shows some sign of maturity in the way we transact our political business.
The ICC is not a genuine instrument for peace but its geared to break Africa and make it more ungovernable. Neither is involving the ICC in African problems a solution because there is no justice that the ICC can give to African leaders and African people. Therefore sending our African leaders to ICC is not a solution to African problems. African problems can only be effectively sorted out right in Africa and not sending our leaders to the western kangaroo court in the Hague. African people and African leaders at the back of their mind, wonder why African leaders should be issued with warrant of of arrest by the ICC when western former heads of states who committed serious crimes against humanity walk free. So for as long as the ICC fails to prosecute these two individual, George Bush and Tonny Blair African people and African leaders will never take them serious and as we write now, many African heads of States have some reservations when it comes to this ICC justice delivery system. They are too quick to act when its about the African people and they do nothing when its about the western leaders committing serious crime against humanity. Or maybe does it become crime against humanity when its about Africa and not other parts of the world?

Now the 2007 violence in Kenya was basically a demonstration of the tribal political conflict in the country. In as much as the ICC came to a kind of help, this didn’t mean that their findings were a final solution to the Kenyan conflicts. In this case, sending people like Uhuru and others to ICC in the Hague could make Kenya even more ungovernable and infact this court has no right to prosecute a sitting head of state in Africa. The African Union is clear on this matter and our reference point is the sitting Sudan’s President Al Bashir whom the ICC have tried to have him extradited to the Hague but they have failed. With the support of the western finances, so many NGOs which survives on western funding, have put their weight on pushing for the arrest of Al basher but Africa is not listening to them because everybody knows that they are a western puppet and they have to dance to the tune of their financiers in Europe. So the ICC and the west should know that Africa has realised that its not good to have their leaders send to the ICC. ICC is not better than the African court and infact Africa has more qualified people in law who can do a better job than the ICC itself. So we support the decision taken by Kibaki to have these five people tried in Kenya and not in the Hague. Let Africa do their own things in an African way. We have examples that in South Africa after apartheid, they came up with the Truth and Reconciliation commission where they effectively healed and united the country. In Rwanda after the Tutsi massacre, nobody was sent to the Hague but tried in Africa and the country continues in the healing process. So if Rwanda and South Africa managed then Kenya also can do likewise and the nation can be healed. What is important is to heal the nation and not to send people to the ICC to perish. Kenya need the healing process and not the ICC.

THE GBAGBO POLITICAL MADNESS

By: Peter Qeko Jere
10/01/11

A new political terminology is born in African political economy and this is the “Gbagbo political madness”. The so called Gbagbo political madness is the ill and unwise decision that is reached not to hand over power after losing the election. This terminology originates from the action taken by Gbagbo who in as much as he lost the election in Ivory Coast, still made himself the President of against the wished of the Ivorian people. Through the useless Ivorian constitutional court, the hopeless Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, stole the presidency against the will of the Ivorian people and never has such a thing happened in the history of politics in Africa. Gbagbo stole the Presidency with the help of the Ivorian constitutional Court which sworn him into office and this act of political vandalism is a shame to the African People.

According to the presidential results released by the election commission in Ivory coast, Alassane Ouattara won the Presidential runoff with 54.1% with Gbagbo 49% of the vote. The world backs the veteran politician Alassane Ouattara as the clear winner of the election and have asked Gbagbo to hand over power to the president elect. The international community has voiced their support for the elected president, Outtara and these include the United Nation, African Union, the West African community and other African regional blogs.

However with the support of the army and his tribal based south, Gbagbo still maintains that the elections were rigged by Outtara mainly in the north. The Gbagbo political madness reveals the connection and political romance that exists between African politics and ethnicity. When the partition of Africa was done some years ago, European colonialists didn’t consider the tribal arrangement in many parts of Africa the results of which are manifesting in the many civil wars and political conflicts we see in African political economy today. Many of the wars we see happening in Africa today are tribally based. As in Ivory Coast, Gbagbo comes from the Christian south while Outtarra comes from the Muslim north and these two are geographically, historically, politically and religiously divided hence no wonder the north overwhelmingly voted for Outtarra while the Christian south voted for Gbagbo.

Various peace envoys have gone in Ivory Coast to help bring political sanity and these includes, the former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the former Nigerian President, Obasanjo and Kenyan Prime Minister Odinga. Many proposals have been put in place to help bring unity and peace and these include the creation of a unity government based on the Zimbabwe and Kenyan model and the other one proposed by Obasanjo which would make Outtarra Vice President and allowing Gbagbo remain the Head of State. However in as much as different political solutions are put in place, those entrusted with this initiative need to know the historical and political background of this nation so that they properly begin to understand the main cause of this conflict. They need to know that peace in Ivory Coast demands the consensus approach where all key stakeholders are involved in the daily administration of the nation at every level. They need to know that leaving out one tribe ie north or south would generate more bloodshed and political confusion in the country but that they have to be a compromised and consensus political solution accepted by the majority south and north.