The highly farcical goings-on in government in the last few days alone behoove Kenyans to take to the streets like the Tunisians/Egyptians/Yemenis...

then again, the Kenyans who have the wherewithal to trigger this off are compromised and self serving while the masses are hugely subjugated and despondent...

If COTU was a real trade union...it would be the ideal vehicle to take worker's forward...its their taxes that are being wasted shipping some clots across the continent to lobby for immunity from the ICC...its their taxes that are being wasted on lavish lifestyles and a bloated government...its from the brow of their sweat that the rich get richer ....working in inhumane conditions and bereft of worker's rights and protection under the law...

OK, I'm having one of those days filled with ansgt....we still have IDPs out there, famine looms large and there is so much to fix.

The same clowns that are trying to shield the Ocampo six are the same three ring circus disagreeing about judicial nominees (is that a red herring or what?).

Start by signing the ICC petition, just takes 5 seconds of your time...
http://www.petitiononline.com/811976/petition-sign.html

Saw an invite for a peaceful demonstration from freedom corner to the parliament today in support of ICC.Things have started.No wonder Wazua was down.
A government in panic.
Lets see if Marende will put Kenyans first in his ruling.

Like Abdikadir, asked why do we like doing things the hardway?

Kibakis government may have constructed the roads , FPE CDF but it may come out as a goverment that was out of touch with the people.

Moi was veeeeeery bad , but atleast he was in touch with the people on the ground.He knew the breaking limits of the people.eg the repealing sect 2A in 1990s.

@Rahatupu, you said:

"1. As Che Guevara observed in the 1970s in Zaire, Africans have this kinship attachment that hinders them to think from an economic point of view. Can you imagine the Kikuyu, Luo, Kambo, Kalenjin, etc peasants joining ranks to revolt against RAO, WR, Kibs etc? Only when this important group is fully liberated from the idiocy of tribalism will there ever be a revolt on this soil similar to the Tunisian or Egyptian one. The point is we do not look at what we have in common from a class perspective it is time we raised our class consciousness to the next level."

True, but the 70s are different from now. So much has changed - there has been some level of maturity in democracy, increased literacy and awareness of human rights.

You talk of peasants but I will talk of working class Kenyans and I will say this about them:

1 - Feeling of oppression (and getting really fed up)
a) You might be a Luo in Ahero or a Giriama in Mazeras or a Meru in Chogoria - when matatus take the law into their own hands, overcharge, overload, insult passengers, drop them anywhere they like, etc - this ONE aspect is symptomatic of a bigger problem - rule of law and disrespect for human rights. A 3 shilling increase in fuel results in a 10 shilling increase in fares. No one holds them in check. Meanwhile FKE fights back on proposals to increase wages and COTU sits on its hands. The traffic department and Min of Transport does f*** ALL to rein in this sector. This sector generates BILLIONS of shillings and the real only contribution to public coffers is by way of fuel levies. This is a monster of its own. Whether you are Wairimu, Odongo or Zulekha - you will feel violated EVERY day on the road either as a motorist or a commuter. It will not be because you are kikuyu/luo/rendille/etc

b) Rising cost of living and exploitation - I'd like to think that there is no TRIBE immune to this. It might be said that there are more wealthy people from one tribe than another - and that in itself leads down another road with many branches (weather, arable land, culture, political history, displacement etc). We cannot change much of that without opening a new can of worms and even if we resolve some of it, it will only affect the higher echelons in each tribe (0.5% of Kenyans) - lets look at the masses - at any given time, go to downtown Nairobi or to the slums - you will find all tribes living in hardship - of course they sometimes rally together for security and sense of being - but they hunger the same, suffer the same and strive the same. They also buy Jogoo for Kshs 80.

c) Constitutional rights - perhaps they should rephrase this to "constitutional rights for those with money" - I have said this before and perhaps we have all seen this. Poor people are treated worse when in the face of or in the hands of the law. You will be "Ngombe wewe!" as a poor hawker who was arrested selling wares without a licence. You will be "Bloody Kumbavu" if you are a househelp arrested in connection with domestic theft. Notwithstanding your culpability - you should be treated the same. Meanwhile, Bwana Tumbo Kubwa, Mheshimiwa Siasa Mingi and all the "pharmacists"/car dealers/bogus contractors/killers/etc - who have raided public coffers, engaged in corruption, grabbed land, etc etc - do not even see the inside of a police station, let alone a cell. Their cases drag on. Meanwhile, Mweni, Onyango and Idris languish in cells for days and weeks. Their cases drag on for months and years. And this does not happen because they are garba/samburu/kamba/teso/nandi - they are equally F--KED because they are of less than modest means.
2 - The wheat farmer in Narok, the maize farmer in Eldoret, the cane grower in Nyanza and the coffee farmer in Kiambu - whether peasant farmers or large scale, at any given point in time they each have some wants from the government - good roads, subsidies, access to export markets, access to capital, bans on imports that affect their prices, etc - when the government had NO useful policies and corrupt politicians do what they want all these people suffer.
3 - Labour laws and exploitation - please don't let me start on this - I might use more than colourful language to describe the two or three people who could make a difference for all the factory workers, construction workers, EPZ workers, etc - suffice to say, if we "stormed the bastille" - I'd have their necks under a guillotine in a flash.
4 – So, we look on – we are told 40% of fuel costs go to government – we pay for this as commuters, we pay for this as consumers (commodity transport costs) and then we also pay for this as electricity users (power generation). So, we pay. We pay VAT and PAYE. We pay city council licence fees, we pay bribes to avoid a day in court about an offence for which we should have been fined on the spot. Our kin get killed or mained in accidents – the big insurers hire lawyers who help the cases drag on so long that the interest alone on possible awards, becomes a revenue stream. The poor person is royally f***ed from all possible orifices.
5 - Meanwhile, they buy big cars, they ferry politicians all over the continent to help shield their own, they talk endlessly, there bellies grow bigger. We should have more teachers and smaller classes. We should have more roads and more security.

I could go on but my point is, there are more than enough things Kenyans have in common than what sets them apart (tribe, financial status) – there are more reasons that Kenyans can come together for a popular revolution - the working class Kenyan is bent over and taking it up the tail pipe – if the middle and upper class want to enjoy their wealth, security and well being – they should realize that you can't look on and watch the working class get pushed against the wall.

Everywhere the poor guy turns, he/she feels oppressed, exploited, harassed...unsure of his/her rights...hungry, financially struggling and lurching from crisis to crisis...no water, no electricity, no health care...it gets to a point, just as it did in Animal Farm where you can't distinguish between the farmers and the pigs - they all look the same....soon it will not be about tribe...
Where there have been successful revolutions, its been the masses - the hungry people, the deprived, the subjugated and oppressed...
Sooner or later the centre won't hold….

As at 1701 hrs Thursday 3 Feb - just 5198 signatures.

Some few facts before we rush to sign up - lets see what ELSE could be effective

1 - three million internet connections and an estimated 8 million users in Kenya.

2 - 18 million mobile subscribers...SMS cost Kshs 1.

I think to have a paid for SMS poll (only for registered SIM cards) would be more inclusive and easier understood - it would cost 18 million but save us millions.

@newfarer You had a good point until you got to the point of comparing Moi and Kibaki and concluded that Moi is better.

Please don't forget how many men had their nyeti finywad at Nyayo hse before Moi could yield to pressure.

Kibaki plays with any loophole he can find that favours him. Moi, on the other hand was the law itself, he was always 'right'!

Mwai may have numerous weaknesses and messes, but comparing him to Moi is being too unfair to him or being too generous to Toroitich!

@that is a great article, but u didnt have to give us that useless excerpt which dilutes the whole thing...The first comment noma sana...no other country can manage n sustain so much noise fm everyone n remain in 1 piece. Yes, kenya is a DIPLOMATIC n a POLITICAL comedy, but united by citizen BICKERING, UJUAJI n ACTIVISM. Its a Kenyan peculiarity n cant help bt be a proud kenyan "mjuaji".

Pewa juice!

All this are not in my list of preferred presidential candidate .Id rather spoil my Presidential vote than vote for any of these.
I have severally said this and I mean it.See my signature.

@Rahatupu - I think Karl Marx's ideologies might not hold true today because of ONE thing - technology - rural life is no longer rural life. Rural folk no longer exist in isolation and are accesible by radio, TV and MOST important, MOBILE phones. Some of those mobiles have FM. And thats just Karl Marx - have you read the Green Book?