-------------------
Also published in Kumekucha today: Where did you guys meet?
Small Business Kenya: How wild animals can teach you about marketing
-------------------
For Love of Country,
Guest column by Sam O. Okello
Is it the selfish streak so many of them seem to have of minding their own business and making money and staying away from the very murky waters that are politics in
It is instructive that in recent times many of them have discovered that if you stick to business and ignore the politics, the politics will not always ignore your business and sooner or later it will end up affecting your business. A perfect example of this happening was the beginning of this year when post election violence brought the entire country to a halt and nobody could transact any business.
I assume that I am talking to some of the most intelligent members of our society and it does not take a rocket scientist to tell that
Some very clever Kenyans in the run up to the 2007 elections had started floating the name of Titus Naikuni as a possible presidential candidate. Mr Naikuni who is the CEO of the national carrier, Kenya Airways dismissed the rumours and said that he had no interest in politics. He failed to get the hint or totally ignored it, I have no idea which.
If truth be told, Mr Naikuni is a great Kenyan who has done the country proud. Anybody who understands the airline industry will know that it is easier for a River Tana crocodile to ignore easy prey when it is hungry than for any airline in the world to make a profit. Indeed many have shut down and gone into bankruptcy in the recent past. However under very difficult circumstances the national carrier has consistently made profits under the guidance of Mr Naikuni.
Not only that, Mr Naikuni’s leadership skills have been tested time and again. Who will forget the KQ Doula (
It is clear that the leadership skills the KQ CEO has already displayed can be put to great use charting a new course for the ship called
One of the great fears younger Kenyans have of getting into politics is that they always fear the extremely “dirty” nature of Kenyan politics. And with good reason. You see the rules were made by the current dinosaurs and were clearly designed to keep those more gifted and talented than themselves from making any headway in the Kenyan political arena. But as US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has proved, it is possible to change the rules. So effective was Obama during the democratic primaries that at the end of the contest Hilary Clinton’s dirty tactics boomeranged back on her and proved completely ineffective.
What Kenya needs is a revolution and young Kenyans running multi million shilling corporations need to get involved pronto in mapping out a new direction for the country.
And don’t forget folks, we are already in injury time.
Over to you Mr Naikuni.
More information on Titus Naikuni
P.S. If they still have cold feet in this time of great crisis, prominent Kenyan CEOs can still play a key role by helping to identify appropriate candidates and then using their skills and resources to support them. They must realize that the entire crop of people calling themselves political leaders in Kenya today need to go home and pave way for a new generation, preferably born after independence in 1963. My two cents.
Also published today in Kumekucha: Deadly mother-in-laws
Small Business Kenya: The most important small business secret
Two men will be judged harshly by history for what has happened in our beloved motherland. The first one is Mwai Emilio Stanley Kibaki who ignored advice from several quarters, including the church, to postpone the referendum until tribal tensions cool down. Instead his blundering administration has continued on a steady path of taking Kenyans to the slaughter. The second man whom history will judge harshly is the director general of the NSIS, Michael Gichangi. Of all spy chiefs in the history of the region the man has made too many mistakes and Kenyans should now be asking themselves why he is still in office. His remaining at the helm of the NSIS is a threat to national security. See the long list of deadly blunders Gichangi has made (it is FREE) that have brought the country to its’ knees.
Most people fail to appreciate that one of the advantages of having a free speech zone on this blog (although some folks have badly abused the privilege to further their own selfish agenda) is that one gets to see a clear reflection of what is happening on the ground. Complete with the emotions and prejudices. If this is true (and I have plenty of evidence to prove that it is) then the comments here tell you that the country is very far from being healed. So why should anybody discuss 2012 and the presidential elections when clearly the country will never be ready for another general elections at this rate? More so when our so-called leaders are ignoring the clear danger signals that tell us all is NOT well.
Am informed that in the ongoing spate of secondary school strikes, disciplined schools that have previously had excellent reputations like Machakos Girls, Machakos Boys and Hospital Hill high in Nairobi amongst others have now joined the rapidly growing list of schools where students have gone on the rampage destroying property worth millions of shillings. As usual the government is busy treating the symptoms rather than the disease by arraigning many youngsters in court to face criminal charges.
If there ever was a clear and obvious hint for our leaders to prove that all is not well countrywide, then it is the current spate of school strikes. But still they ignore all the fires being lit in schools all over the country. The latest statement from the duly elected president is that parents will have to pay for the damage their children have caused in schools.
You see the truth is that
Now is the time for a new generation of leaders to emerge. Their time and their chance is NOW. Currently the younger people of
The young people of
One man whom I see as vital in getting Kenyans to rally around this noble cause irrespective of their party or tribal inclinations is former ethics PS John Githongo. We need somebody with a track record of saying “NO” to corruption and John is exactly that person. I mean the guy risked his life when it would have been easier to take the money and look the other way. We also need somebody whom we are sure will never fall back to his tribe in a crisis. John is that person. The guy cannot even speak Kikuyu properly. For all intents and purposes, he is tribeless. Above all we need somebody young and born after 1963 and yet somebody who has the experience to make things happen. John has that and already works with various worldwide organizations and lobby groups.
I stand to be corrected but I cannot think of any better qualified person to rally all Kenyans from all tribes to do something like yesterday for the motherland before it is too late.
I am of course keenly aware that this post will upset many of my dear readers who are staunch supporters of the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. These guys don’t want to hear about any other president for 2012.
But my dear beloved brothers and sisters, please let us reason for a moment. I need to ask a very simple question. Will a Raila Presidency unite a country that is badly torn right down the middle? The answer to that question is NO. Raila is a great man, but he cannot pull this one off. Let him prove his greatness beyond any reasonable doubt by making the greatest of all sacrifices and stepping aside for a new generation of Kenyans to take over.
I must also ask if a Martha Karua, Uhuru Kenyatta or George Saitoti presidency is capable of uniting the country. The answer again is a resounding NO. We need a fresh start and that that start needs to have its’ foundation in fighting corruption.
My dear fellow Kenyans we need to start thinking outside the box and it needs to happen NOW. This is very very urgent.
Also in Kumekucha today: Mother-in-law or Monster-in-law?
How a small business was rescued from bankruptcy to prosperity. Copy the tips.
What would you do if you have been a strong anti-corruption activist for many years and then you are suddenly confronted with the question of how your own family acquired the wealth that was used to pay for your education to enable you to be where you are today?
There is no doubt that the topic of how the wealthiest Kenyan families made their money has rubbed many up the wrong way. But it is a reality that we MUST face. And for many reasons but mainly because for the war against corruption to be successful, justice cannot be dished out selectively. And yet for that justice to be done, one would have to touch virtually every prominent respectable wealthy family in
Even more disturbing is the fact that the top 5 wealthiest Kenyans are all names from Kenyan politics.
My report this weekend certainly smoked many “snakes” out of their holes. And they come out firing from the hip, both barrels desperately blazing. One commentator claimed that by offering sensitive information via email, I was collecting email addresses to sell to Nigerian scam artists. Now that is somebody who is really running scared over the information that is now being widely distributed to Kenyans. Let me tell you a secret. One of the reasons why I favor email is that emails get forwarded all over the place and a vast number of Kenyans will end up getting information in the safety of their email inboxes that many rich Kenyan families would do anything to keep from them.
I take this opportunity to reassure all those who request for my free sensitive information via email that I highly respect their privacy and will NOT pass on their email addresses to anybody (let alone Nigerian conmen). I urge you all to trust me on that one, in the same way you have trusted me to bring you political information that you cannot possibly find anywhere else. In fact the issue of privacy and security is one of the reasons why I have opted to use Yahoogroups the most reputable email opt-in service in the world who also have a reputation to protect. I have done this rather than use many of the other options including my very own software. Yahoogroups is also very easy to opt out of and you can stop my emails coming to you at any time (no questions asked). I therefore urge those readers who are yet to register to do so as recent developments are going to force me to increasingly reveal the most sensitive information I have via email. The service is of course free, send your email Now.
The other ominous threat that I have taken very seriously is that of a man who has said that he intends to shut down this blog in two weeks. You see how desperate folks are?
But I will not be stopped and this is one of the reasons why I have decided that I will continue with this hot topic on how the wealthiest Kenyan families acquired their illegal wealth in my weekend special, next weekend. Don’t miss the second and final part of this important feature which is bound to be even more sizzling hot than last weekend’s.
I would urge all Kenyans to be brave enough to face the truth, however terrible it is. It is the only way we are going to save the motherland.
Try going to the Carnivore restaurant on any Friday or Saturday night and chances are that you will get to brush shoulders with some of the wealthiest families in the land. Families which matter in Kenya.
Sadly there are very few self-made families. Just too few. Eti people who worked their way up from rags to riches? Very few indeed.
At the Carnivore, you will look around and see the son of a very corrupt former official who worked for the immigration department for instance. His father’s ill gotten wealth enabled him to get a first class education and now they are professionals doing very well somewhere. And you can tell from the way they are so comfortably leaning on the bar stool and sipping their drink like royalty itself.
One day recently I found the tears quickly gathering in my eyes when I thought about it. The truth is that children of non-corrupt Kenyans more often than not end up absolutely nowhere. Their parents don’t have the contacts and even if they sell everything to see them through university abroad, they will come back and there is no job. The family just doesn’t have the contacts. Kenya, as they say, iko na wenyewe na upende, usipende, it is controlled by the corrupt and the thieves of public property. Uta-do?
Even a substantial percentage of my dear precious readers on this site have been educated and are web savvy today thanks mainly to corruption money and stolen cash. The children of none corrupt Kenyans and those who did not have an opportunity to steal, are rusting away in the rural areas drinking changaa and other lethal stuff that is killing them slowly but surely.
I know this is sensitive but even as we criticize corruption here in this blog, it may be useful to ask yourself the million shilling question, how did your family make it’s vast wealth? That is the right place to start if we are going to fight corruption successfully in Kenya.
But some fortunes are from criminal activity pure and simple.
In the 70s a fascinating disciplinary case came up for consideration at the police headquarters. A police constable had disagreed with an Assistant commissioner of police. Constable is the lowest possible rank in the police force and assistant commissioner is the highest. The name of that assistant commissioner of police was Bob Morgan (now deceased) and the name of the constable was John Harun Mwau. The two gentlemen were incidentally both members of the Kenyan shooting team and admittedly the latter was better with a rifle, a sharp shooter whom few have been able to equal since.
The incident was an open and shut case and the fact that constable Mwau survived was a clear indication that he had powerful friends somewhere. But a few years later Acting Inspector Mwau was in yet another problem with his superiors. He had been appointed an instructor to pass on some of his talents with a rifle to trainee policemen at Kiganjo Police Training College. Ordinarily he would have stayed at Kiganjo in the accommodation usually provided for instructors. But instead the acting chief inspector chose to stay at an expensive 4 star tourist hotel at a nearby town. The bill he would run in one night was about half his monthly salary. So where was the acting inspector getting money to live so lavishly?
In fact today Mr Mwau is easily one of the wealthiest men in the land. So how did he make his money? Clearly he seems to have launched his business when he was still in the police force. Indeed the man got so arrogant towards the end of his police career, that he decided that he should not shave like other policemen (right up to the police commissioner himself) and got a doctor’s letter indicating that shaving his beard would be harmful to his health and well-being in some way. So you would see this shaggy-looking policeman with hir all over his face.
Now I know for a fact that there are a few Kenyans who have gotten asylum in the United States and elsewhere because of their fear for Mr Mwau and what they say he can do to them. So details of the exact business the man deals in can only be read via email. Get my SPECIAL REPORT on exactly how the man made his money. It is FREE. And you will get all the details to solve this mystery.
I also happen to know a number of corrupt journalists who never miss any press briefing or press conference called by Mr Mwau. When I ask them why they run so much when Mr Mwau whistles, they insist that their relationship is professional but admit that the man is very generous without giving details.
For those who may not know, Mr Mwau who is now an assistant minister in the grand coalition government was one of the chief financiers of the ODM’s Raila Odinga’s presidential campaign last year. In fact he was offered a full cabinet post on the ODM side by the PM, but declined saying that it was because he makes frequent trips abroad “on business” and he felt that his hands would be tied because the procedure is that a cabinet minister has to seek permission from the president every time they want to make a trip out of the country.
If you are continuously getting a sinking feeling even as you read this, then let me welcome you to this “sinking feeling club” because the truth is that the deeper you dig into how the wealthiest Kenyans made their money, the more the tentacles of corruption come nearer your very own door step and even touches those you love and believe are NOT corrupt. Money, the say makes the world go round and I can tell you that money also makes Kenya go round.
---------------------------------
I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report shocked me to the bones and made me cry tears at the same time. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports.
N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.
It was the time that, after a number of years away from the rugby scene, I made a come-back. One day we were out of town for a rugby tournament and the youngest member of the team, a son of a long-time and well-known corrupt Permanent Secretary in government (later long-serving MP) was asked what he intended to be when he finished school. His reply came swiftly and without hesitation. He said he wanted to be a PS. Everybody at the table understood immediately that what he really meant was that he wanted to be a “corrupt PS” when he finished school, just like his dad.
I despaired because this was a clear demonstration that role models we have given to our youth and children will ensure that corruption and ill-gotten wealth will remain with us for many years to come. You just have to look at how the young people of Kenya have been divided along tribal lines after the 2007 elections to realize that they have been good students to everything terribly wrong that the older folk have been doing for decades which has brought the republic to its’ knees today, sagging under a very heavy weight of seemingly unsolvable problems.
The reality is that Kenyans hold in high esteem anybody who is wealthy and it really doesn’t matter how they made their money.
To make matters worse, virtually all the wealthy and highly respected folks we have in
Respected
There are some fantastic rags to riches tales from the heady coffee boom days. An assistant manager (name with-held) of a prominent branch of Barclays Bank in
There are dozens of other wealthy Kenyans who made their money in the 70s using their positions to “borrow” huge amounts of cash. Stanley Githinguri was a National bank branch manager in
A few other crafty Kenyans used their tribal accents to commit serious crimes and get away with it to date, emerging as very wealthy individuals. All they would do was to approach a business or land owner after doing a little research. They would introduce themselves and say that they are from State House Mombasa (where President Kenyatta used to spend a lot of time) and that they had instructions to take over the said business or piece of land and compensation would be worked out later. Now there was no way for the hapless person to verify how true what he was being told was. Surely he couldn’t pick up the phone and call President Kenyatta to ask him if it was true he wanted their precious beach plot. In fact in those days people were terrified of the government and those close to the president. You just needed to mention his name and most people would promptly start urinating on themselves. And with good reason. There were many terrifying tales of what happened to those who dared to defy those close to the president. Many ended up being found dead with their private parts cut out and stuffed in their mouths. Others just disappeared never to be seen again.
If you are in
For those who don’t know, it is very easy to convert property you own into cash, especially in
It is also true that the Kenyatta family owns a substantial amount of property at the Coast which was also acquired in more or less the same way. It includes numerous buildings as well as numerous valuable properties on the beach. There is in fact a property management company owned by the Kenyatta family that has a very busy office at the Coastal city. I was shocked to discover that only one client keeps them so busy, the same client who owns the property company.
Another well known family with substantial property at the Coast is the Kibaki family.
Next Post in this Weekend series: The junior policeman who made himself a fortune from his criminal contacts. Today he is a well-known nice guy
I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report made me cry tears. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports by sending me a blank Email right away
N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.
Most popular Kumekucha link yesterday: How do super-earners make $100,000 online?
Where is the President?
Most people would assume that he is as usual holed up in State House Nairobi. The imposing address along State House road, where President Mwai Kibaki has spent most of his time since taking occupancy in January 2003. The place that he could not bear to bid goodbye to last December and therefore sanctioned a plan to stay put whether or not he was re-elected. A scheme that anybody could see was destined to cause blood shed in the country (which is exactly what happened).
The duly elected president of Kenya with his first of two wives, serial-slapper Lucy.
But if that is really where the duly elected president is at the moment, then my next question would be what his health status is?
-------------
Also in Kumekucha today: Biggest hindrance to relationships will shock you
How super earners make $100,000 online
-------------
The truth is that President Kibaki has not been seen in public for a number of days. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, of course. Kibaki has been known to drop out of sight for 2 weeks and even longer. However this time round this blogger is receiving reports from various sources that are alarming. Unfortunately I cannot publish them here because I make a big effort to publish in this respected site, only information that has been verified from several independent sources. However you can receive my email report reproducing the reports that I have received so far. And it is FREE. Just Email Me Now
It would be a good idea of the government came clean and issued a statement on the exact position concerning this matter of national interest and indeed national security.
Gone are the days when the health of the president would be a carefully guarded secret. In fact when one considers the ruthless behavior of certain politicians in recent months, who are embroiled in the ongoing circus that is the Kibaki succession battle, the reports I have received become rather frightening. Clearly any health problems that the president may have can be very disturbing news to Kenyans.
Although the president has always been pretty good at masking his health problems during his long career in public life, experts say that he has never really recovered from the road accident that almost took his life in December 2002, barely weeks before the General elections of that year.
Previously in the 70s while still Finance Minister Kibaki suffered a serious stroke during a public function somewhere in Nyanza province and had to be rushed out of the country for emergency treatment. His recovery then was remarkable and he was back with his sharp wit and mind within a matter of weeks.
I am still pursuing various contacts and sources and will update this post if and when I receive more information.
Get my detailed Email (it is FREE) of what the reports and rumours are saying about the President’s current health status.
Don't forget your hot date for the weekend tomorrow, right here with Kumekucha Weekend Special. This weekend my articles reveal some of the dirty ways in which the richest and most respected Kenyans made their money. You will be shocked. Don't dare stand me up. I will be here waiting to spice up your weekend.
Fascinatingly, despite the fact that we are now told that over 300 schools countrywide have been involved in strikes, few Kenyans realize just how serious the problem is. For instance many do not know that in the course of this term alone
It is interesting how the local media which has rushed to talk to teachers has generally heaped all the blame on parents who are said to dumb their unruly children in school and leave them to “terrorize” teachers. Surely how can this be true when youngsters spend most of their time at school (a minimum of 9 months out of 12). Would the reverse not be a little more accurate in that teachers who have mostly despaired in many schools across the country are molding the kind of youngster who end up terrorizing parents whenever they are at home. But having said that it is not a smart thing for all the blame to be heaped on any one party. Both share responsibility and it is supposed to be a team effort. Sadly these days, rather than co-operation the two key groups are busy mostly fighting and second-guessing each other at most schools, my investigation has revealed.
From my 3 day investigation I am forced to announce that the number one reason for the current problems in schools is that teachers have mostly abandoned their responsibilities in schools and are too busy trying to make extra money. While it is true that there are various other factors that have contributed to the current crisis including the withdrawal of the cane without an adequate discipline system to replace it, the truth is that if teachers were on the job, they would have sounded the alarm long before the first can of petrol was purchased to burn down anything.
What has in fact happened is that teachers have despaired and are only in schools to do the bear minimum to enable them earn their salaries so that they can re-invest in all kinds of enterprises that occupy their mind and indeed most of their time. There is nothing wrong with a teacher being enterprising, the only problem is that teaching is the kind of profession that does not work with anything less than total dedication.
The reaction of the government to the wave of strikes is bound to make the situation worse. As usual they have rushed to address the symptoms (so that they are seen to be doing something) and nobody is interested in digging out the root cause of this unprecedented crisis. That is why the ministry has banned DVD and CD players in school buses (what does that have to do with the problem?). Indeed they have also opted to charge as many of the students as possible in courts. While I agree that no mercy should be shown to arsonists, the reality is that quite a number of innocent students will get a chance to mix with hard criminals in police cells and you can be sure that they will never be the same again.
A more productive approach would be to start with the teachers and ask them where they were when the students planned and launched their attacks. This will hopefully lead to teachers admitting about their current state of despair which will in turn lead to the issue of the cane (which must be re-introduced). This will be much more useful than banning music in school buses and locking up barely legal youngsters.
P.S. 1 :
In your weekend special this Saturday: How prominent Kenyans made their money. Kenyans worship money and they really don’t care how their leaders made their cash as long as they have plenty of it so that during election campaigns, they can distribute Kshs 50 or even Kshs 5 to voters (when some of them have stolen thousands from each individual Kenyan countrywide). For those interested in the way in which these wealthy well known Kenyans made their money my detailed series of articles this weekend will amaze and surely disgust you. Dump your girl friend or boyfriend for yours truly this weekend (I promise not to disappoint). And let’s meet right here in your one and only Kumekucha Weekend special.
P.S. 2
Yesterday I published a story in my raw notes that I can NOT dare advertise here. Get the details on what it is about including a sneak preview into the hottest article I have ever penned in my over 20 years in Kenyan journalism. Email me NOW for FREE details and also regular advance information on what is going to be published here including Breaking News Alerts. And it is all FREE. Email me at; make-money-kenyans-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
P.S. 3
I appeal to regular readers of Kumekucha to remain on high alert and to refuse to be taken in by common trickery, especially in the so-called comments in this blog (and I am NOT talking about the ones coming in from a mental asylum in
It is also fascinating that the attacks are mainly focused on articles that I write myself and not so much on the other contributors. Some of this chaps lack reading skills because they also pounce on guest posts written by others that I post myself. Anything with Chris’ name at the bottom is earmarked for scrutiny with the intention to attack.
Heheheheheheehe. I know you guys are terribly worried at what I know. Lakini pole
I am not one to brag but there is only one possible explanation as to why Kumekucha is the most attacked Kenyan blog on earth. Folks, they fear us too much and with good reason. Keep it here and if you are easily confused by clever propagandists, just skip the comments area and read the posts only and then wait for as long as 2 months for the story to break in other media.