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Broken News, Ntimama seen to admit guilt, threaten more

Written by Patrick Gathara

Thursday, 17 July 2008

On NTV's news at 9pm yesterday, 16th July, a report by Robert Nagila was aired showing a confrontation between National Heritage Minister William Ole Ntimama and Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto in the presence of Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Agriculture Minister William Ruto. The revelation, a confirmation of much suspected and reported involvement by the top politicians in ethnic confrontations, took place during the Mau stakeholders forum held at the KICC on Tuesday, 15th July. The meetings are intended to forge a lasting solution to the trouble in the Mau Forest area, where many, mostly Kipsigis and Maasai lives have been lost in violent clashes over land and water in the past. In the report, a clearly agitated Ntimama, seemingly unaware or otherwise unconcerned that the cameras were rolling and that the mike was on, appeared to be admitting responsibility for the killings of 600-1000 people and even inviting the Chepalungu MP to "bring his people" for an all out battle over the Mau.

Breaking news? One of those clear news of the year contenders? Don't hold your breath. This morning I woke up nice and early hoping to catch some more on that confrontation on NTV News, or even a repeat airing, just to confirm what I had seen but there was none of it, the clip had disappeared. Neither is it available on the NTV's YouTube page. There is absolutely no mention of the confrontation in today's Daily Nation either despite the fact that the dispute over the conference is itself front page news.

Another example of self-censorship in our supposedly free press? Or did someone make a late night phone call to Nation Centre? Anyone know where we can get hold of the clip?

Update:
Here is the clip.

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UPDATE
written by gathara , July 17, 2008

You can view the news clip at MarsKenya

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zzzzzzzzzzz
written by Stephen Wanyama , July 17, 2008

Of course the amazing thing is that we are at all surprised. First, a bunch of thugs standing about threatening each other with violence is no news. This would not have been a scoop, Kenyans have documented evidence of Raila, Ruto and Ntimama acting like thugs for close to 15 years, violence is at their core, they simply cannot help it. There are still countless reports and links available from their KANU days, maybe only because the Kenyan media do not hide their stuff on the internet as well as they do on tv and radio. Second thing, the The media and the 'human rights and governance folks' are the ODM's heart beat. There are emails going about showing that many of them were actually in the ODM's pocket. Shocking that MarsGroup are publishing this video, I thought they were also with ODM. What happened?

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Wanyama
written by mkosakabila , July 17, 2008

Could these emails doing the rounds (i.e. the ones that demonstrate that the media, HR and governance types were/are in the ODMs pocket)be placed somewhere on KI? I'd love to read them and to distribute them widely.

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nice try
written by Stephen Wanyama , July 17, 2008

First of all, there's no use fighting such battles, the Kenyan people enjoy being led by such leaders. Now, as much as these emails are quite detailed, and the rumours backed up by a lot of circumstantial evidence, it is unlikely that it is all true, or all provable. I felt a little dirty myself finding them in my inbox. If you will allow me, I'd like to cede that province to the Media and the ODM.

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Wanyama
written by mkosakabila , July 17, 2008

You're right...why feed the vice while virtue starves, and anyway, generalizations can be....offensive.

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Sad day
written by gathara , July 18, 2008

It will be a truly sad day for our country when we fail to be shocked by such things as a Cabinet Minister openly acknowledging responsibility for the deaths of 600 Kenyans and the media covering up the sentiment. That would simply mean we have given up the dream of a free nation at peace.

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...
written by mkosakabila , July 18, 2008

Gathara,
We are simply a lawless country. I am afraid. Very afraid.

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...
written by aliosema , July 22, 2008

Well, Stephen Wanyama must have either predicted or ordained it. The Mars Group link is no longer there. Stephen please find it again. Or perhaps you are right Mars is in ODMs pocket and was compelled to take the clip down too. Shame on them....send them to Mars.

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Video here
written by Amina , July 22, 2008

Not to worry, I suspected as much, so I saved and posted the video here

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...
written by Nyabs , July 22, 2008

Here is a link to the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUO0N16Wgyo

Very shameful. Since this is an ODM Minister, there has been no calls for his resignation and parliament is unlikely to pass a vote of no confidence.

Kajwang has also been busy lying to us- but no censure and no sign of any.

We should be afraid, very afraid. We are pretending everything is fine but unless we deal with warmongers in our midst, this country may go to the dogs.

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Epiphany by Wanyeki
written by manta ray , July 23, 2008

In an interesting revelations, Muthoni Wanyeki admits to having undergone an epiphany by revealing that her investigations have established that oathing and politically organized ethnic incitement and consequent cleansing did take place in the Rift Valley before and after the elections, and was even compelled to give the names of the political manipulators and perpetrators responsible to the Waki commission.
Her and Maina Kiai's initial denials should be a basis for them to eternally question their own processes and principles of judgement, specifically their ability to apply logic to given facts and situations. Whatever the case, their behavior is merely a reflection of the wider Kenyan society, which going by the daily media circus we are subjected to, is cruising through life blissfully ignorant of how we are ruled by gangsters and thugs who we glorify daily, and have promptly forgotten how close to catastrophe we came just a few months ago.

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Depressing
written by mkosakabila , July 23, 2008

Without a sense of where and how (confessing to the Pope vs drunken stupor at some karaoke club vs admission at a 'civil' society forum vs writings in some magazine/newspaper, etcetera)
L. Muthoni Wanyeki made this 180 degrees, Manta Ray's note above is just as unhelpful as Wanyama's reference to mysterious emails earlier.
Oh well, cant get blood out of a stone, so below a short film by Senegalese comedians, depressing but refreshing, at least their governance reforms are moving fowards, somewhat. Pumzisheni roho!
"Weex Dunx and the quota: Plucking local democracy in Senegal."
http://www.vimeo.com/599291/

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tangential course
written by Ngigi wa Kamau , July 23, 2008

While we're on a tangential course...anyone find Muthoni Wanyeki's demeanour in the least bit disconcerting? (Monotone answers - head perched arm in a morose gesture) etc.

I suspect I am being petty - but it is a shame that the Waki commission would stoop to seeking answers from a person who initially denied that ethnic cleansing was taking place. It is only in Kenya where time add credibility to spinelessness.

Ngigi

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...
written by mkosakabila , July 23, 2008

No, I didnt find her demeanor strange cos I didnt see it. Which movie was this? Still, I figure she couldnt be too comfortable testifying, having faced all those death threats earlier. Cant be easy.

But I hope the commission NEVER interviews that clown, Maina Kiai. I've never wished anyone genital warts before. :(

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sound in VDO not audible
written by Wuod Aketch N , July 23, 2008

Unless you are an expert at reading lips, I do not think that the subtitles represent what Ole Ntimama wanted to say.
Some conclusions here are baseless.

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...
written by John Ongeri , July 24, 2008

basi denial is not just a big river that flows thru misri

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That dirty, open secret
written by mkosakabila , July 24, 2008

Wuod:
And reading from all the smiles and happy gesturing, Hon. Ole Ntimama must have been inviting them all to his homecoming party where they would be free to finish 600 crates of beer and a similar number of bulls. He told them he’d bring his dancers and they could bring theirs too for a friendly face off.

Having happily accepted the invitation, Raila, Ruto and others all got up and walked off in a hurry, not wanting to run afoul of their fishing appointment.

Remmebering he’d forgotten something, Hon. Ole Ntimama rushed to inform them of a planned pentagon photo op, after which he went to have his head examined and underwear inspected.

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idiocy
written by Daniel.Waweru , July 24, 2008

Unless you are an expert at reading lips, I do not think that the subtitles represent what Ole Ntimama wanted to say. Some conclusions here are baseless.

The segment - luckily for us, unluckily for you - was in Swahili. Proof, if proof were needed, that you're bestially stupid.

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...
written by manta ray , July 24, 2008

Ngigi, i second you on that. Why question somebody who could have been so wrong, even to the extent of writing the same misinformed opinions for the New York Times, and consequently muddying the waters such that some very powerful and influential people(Condi Rice comes to mind), probably made very critical decisions on Kenya at the time based on(not entirely of course) those very blinkered and ignorant opinions, and merely on the basis that her views made it to the NY Times pages?

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Armed forest guards kill people in Kakamega forest
written by mkosakabila , July 24, 2008

I change the subject a little, since I'm not sure where to plug this, but it sort of has some link to the democracy in senegal notes above but it's in Kenya.
Kenya's forest guards, who are now armed with sophisticated weaponry (perhaps), just killed two people, cold-bloodedly, who were grazing livestock in Kakamega forest. All this runs counter to what the new forest law is in principle trying to do. I simply hate these ten steps back and hope our idiot 'civil' society will call further attention to how NOT to manage forests. Very sad.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dai...sid=127958

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