Lole Gwakisa
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 5, 2008
- 4,728
- 2,259
KENYAS DAILY NATIONS VIEWS ON TANZANIA AND EAST AFRICAN
This is a restrained response to an article on Tanzanias stand on East Africa as written and posted by one Mr. Gitau Warigi. I am a reader of many East African dailies; I was however amazed by his article as put forward in Web page of Jamii forums on the 29th Nov 2008, hence prompting me to write.
I for one, as many Tanzanians do, am very keen on what going on around me. If you have any balls, or if you are a dume la mbegu as we put it in Swahili, please print this article in your paper and for good measure too.
So let me air my reaction on the sad and despicable views that have been aired by one Mr.Gitau Warigi, a self appointed Tanzania analyst of the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper as hosted on this web page recently concerning Tanzanias stand on the EAC issue.
No right minded Tanzanian would have even raised an eyebrow had it not been for the derogatory manner that the views were presented and the knoweth that thou attitude shown by this out of know where character, Mr Gitau Warigi.
Such people, indeed, will not escape scrutiny from right thinking Tanzanians who have a broader mind than the narrow and often parochial view as advanced by this Mbugua fellow.
It is common for one to shoot himself in the foot , but in the mouth? That is interesting to note about this Warigi fellow, bad mouthing and frothing while he is at it.
One wonders how he, most of all a Kenyan, dare pass political and economical prescription that he is least qualified on Tanzanian issues and at most uncalled for.
Whom is he fronting? Is it the ordinary Kenyan on the streets or the sociopolitical status quo that holds the cards in Kenya.
Well, he has failed miserably in all the arguments that had an intention of cajoling and chiding Tanzania into accepting some of the salient features especially land and citizenship within the EAC federation issue.
At best he is polishing a rotting apple while going through the motions of neighbour bashing. One wonders what the end game, according to him, is supposed to be.
When Kenya pulled a fast one on the EAC break away in 1977 we learned our lesson of what a nyangau is capable of doing, and shamelessly.
NEVER trust a Kenyan advice be it a politician or otherwise.
To put it bluntly a Kenyan is self centered, narrow minded, thinks that money is all that it takes, and above all is inhumane and never patriotic-even to his own country!
Given the landless multitudes culminating into the formation of the Kiberas, Mathares and all, one would wonder what the heck this Mbugua guy is talking about.
So Tanzania is economically backward eh?
Its leaders globe trotting eh?
Tanzanias economy, a fraction of that of Kenya, can only be saved by the EAC eh?
That Kenyans are experts in their own fields and can teach Tanzanians a trick or two eh?
Tanzanians view Kenyans in awe eh?
What bull shit!
Kenya has no room to grow, and everybody knows that. The socioecomic set up in the country has ensured them to that stagnation.
When a Kenyan slashes a fellow Kenyan because he/she is of another ethic tribe, then the trading paths are more than set. One who slashes his brother with a machete today will not happily sell this man a Lifebuoy piece of soap the next day.
So where do you sell it then East Africa of course! That is the Kenyan economic gospel rewritten by econovangelists of the Warigi sort.
Lo and behold this is not to happen with our eyes closed, every nitty gritty on the East African Treaty issue has to be discussed and agreed upon painstakingly.
Boisterous behavior never helped anybody.
Through this erratic guy called Mr. Gitau Warigi, Kenyans are showing off for what they are worth-the latter day nyangaus-they will stop at nothing than rob, kill and plunder.
We really thank the Tanzanian Police for putting the crude Kenyan thugs in check earlier in the year. They were trying to get into the country through the back door, now they are trying the locks of the front door-the political door.
Now this Gitau Warigi fellow exemplifies the employed middle class Kenyan whose only command is English and nothing else to show, not even the common sense that abounds in man. He probably is parroting what is commonly discussed and schemed in the sociopolitical status quo in Kenya today.
No wonder he naturally thinks he know what is best for Tanzania not knowing that the facts speak otherwise.
Tanzania is growing at a rate of over 7% per annum, a rate which is promising by all means .Our aim in development is not to beat Kenya radher to make life easier in all aspects for every Tanzanian given the challenges before us.
The last General Elections in Kenya depicted just how socially fragmented Kenyans are, while in Tanzania things are quite different, one has to be a zombie to campaign on tribal grounds.
There are also many pointers to show that Tanzania is in business-real business, and has the confidence to attain it. Natural resources are in abundance and ready to be utilized.
Above all Tanzania knows its position of advantage in East Africa.
With a border stretching for thousands of kilometers touching eight countries, no wonder we are at the cross roads of East African development. This position must be discussed at our terms of advantage and not otherwise. Kenya must not forget that, as to our position centrally located position, we call the shots.
In their haste to break up the EAC in 1977 you fore bearers probably did not quite understand the meaning of geopolitical advantages. Today Russia is doing the same for oil passing through its land, and the west, well can only watch in silence.
Dreaming of economic success by coercing one into a one sided treaty is basically political con man ship. This Warigi guy like many other Kenyans have dreams of their own, greener land and owning more land.
The only problem is, the Kenyan industrialist, the business man and the politician also have the same ideas-expansion.
The whole scenario will lead into a chaos across borders that will be painful to extinguish.
So, Mr. Warigi and your allies stop self aggrandizement and getting self indulged moral highs and satisfactions through what you erroneously think is best for the rest of us, we have our heads screwed on right.
One who thinks he knows best for others must try to see his own pitfalls. The Warigi fellow is like a chap who has covered his frontal secrets while leaving his rusted behind bare for all to see. Unfortunately he is quite happy about it despite the snigger, sneer and outright laughter going on around him.
Kenya has its own share of problems that, though I sympathize with, one can only look on and wish them the best. You dont go marrying into a rich English speaking family but that is known to have a hereditary cancerous tuberculosis trait or some serious disease!
That is how we see Kenya.
I for one have skipped going to Kenya whenever I had the chance-those TV images of people being mercilessly slashed to death are blood chilling. The inherent chronic socioeconomic problems still do exist in Kenya, lying just below the surface. They only need a spark to ignite them, and Id rather not be there when this happens.
And come to think of it, has Warigi ever interviewed President Kibaki why he is holding onto power despite losing the election?
Mr. Warigi, President Kibaki lives in the same city as you do, you might probably be fair to your self to ask him why he is in power despite losing the General Election earlier in the year. Whom is he representing really!-the Kikuyu?
Tanzania can only form a firm union with another united country, not the Kikuyu tribe.
We have learnt our mistakes in Tanganyika and Zanzibar Union issue.
This blatant self centered spirit will not make EAC.
I dont have to speak on Uganda and Rwanda the situation in these countries speak for themselves-with dis enfranchised armies of renegades in their own countries creating havoc at home and abroad.
Not to say the least, Tanzania is surrounded by half cooked to hardcore dictators.
These are the guys that one would like to call neighbours, what a neighbourhood!
Kenya must realize that there must be a code of political ethics that must be adhered to by all leaders in East Africa before we indulge into anything serious.
That poor man who was slashed to death before the eyes of the whole world on TV is not enjoying the so called Kenyan economic dream. And many more have not, and will not by design, enjoy any social or economic benefits that the famous Uhuru cry was supposed to bring.
We must, however be fair to Kenya; it has probably the most developed economy in East Africa, just as the Warigi fellow bragged. Much thanks to the defunct British Empire. But is that a big deal?
For all one cares they can have their economic cake and they might as well eat it! We will take no offence really.
When Warigi touched on the land issue and indeed a burning issue in this discussion, he touched a raw nerve.
Whoever sent him to make the statement, unguided, is either dumb or an outright idiot. One wonders whether Mr. Gitau Warigi has a pinch of brain in between his ears to make sweeping statements and analogies on the Tanzania economic context.
Kenya has hardly solved their own century old land problem, now they want to export it!
Land will remain a property of Tanzanians, to explore and utilize as a resource. The little land that Kenya has has been mismanaged to an extent of creating local apartheids within Kenya.
Of course the land ownership system in Tanzania has some disadvantages to its people. The land is owned by the State, grease the right hands and all is yours. It will be naïve to pretend otherwise; on the land issue we must take reality into account.
No wonder the nyangaus are breathing hard on our doorsteps.
In Kenya the land, the whole of it, has been parceled into chunks, bits and pieces for the rich, influential and powerful, leaving out the ordinary wananchi to eat the dust and grime in the slums.
On the political front Warigis naivety is bare for all to see. There can be no comparison between our JK and other EA leaders and how they ascended into the top executive office.
His attack on our own JK was most stupid, we chose that fellow to be president and he was in his right senses to refuse advances from Kenya on some of the issues in the EAC treaty.
And mark you I call him a fellow because JK is a down to earth man, humility at its best, and we ordinary Tanzanians like him, thats why we chose him in the first place.
When JK put the EAC to referendum in Tanzania he tactically scored a far reaching goal that simple minded persons of Warigis character did not fore see.
Tanzanians did not only refuse the EAC Treaty as it was but also sounded the warning that hands off on discussion on our land.
In the meantime Ugandas President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was making a presentation lap across East Africa in the hope of becoming the first East African president-what cheap politics!
Kenyans are better advised that half cooked nitwits of Mbuguas caliber do not spoil its good name across East Africa, Tanzania in particular.
It is only those stupid characters that take Tanzanians humility for granted-and to their peril.
Mr. Gitau Warigi remembers that Kenyan gangster crime wave about a year ago terrorizing the north of Tanzania and even Dar es salaam? Well after some quick thinking somebody decided to call the bluff.
An infiltrated gang was quickly and efficiently eliminated, gangster style. And with apologies, Tanzanian style, the bodies returned to their next of kin!
People dont learn or remember,warigi will be enlightened with a refreshened memory of an episode of a similar nature which occurred some three to four years ago. A Ugandan gangster outfit gunned down three policemen who where in hot pursuit. Thats when all hell broke lose, two of the gangsters were meted with some of their own medicine in Dar es salaam while the rest finding it too hot in Dar dashed across the country to the nearest Ugandan border, over 1700 kilometers away. They were cornered in Dodoma and unfortunately summarily dealt with as they forcibly tried to resist a lawful arrest.
Thats how humane Tanzanians can be, when provoked. So watch out.
Idi Amin made the same stupid mistake. He died miserably and was buried uncelebrated in a foreign land, his only mistake was underestimating the resolve, determination and above all the humility of ordinary Tanzanians.
As to the question of the Union of East African countries I do not see this happening in the foreseeable future with Warigis state of mind reigning in Kenyas political leadership.
If Kenya has that thirty year itch for a union that they broke in 1977 they should try their northern brothers, the Somalis, at least they have something in common, with wilder nomadic dreams and all.
Tanzanians will be more than pleased to see how Kenya fares with Uganda and Rwanda and Burundi. In actual fact we wish you no ill feeling and you are blessed to go it alone. And you, Mr.Gitau Warigi , that knoweth all, will definitely get what is in store for Kenya and your likes down the mists of time.
Better still, please Mr. Warigi try convincing your sociopolitical cohorts into soliciting Mr. Obamas audience- to try make Kenya a 53rd state of America.The only problem is Obama is a Luo and Mbuguas cronies are all Kikuyu. Furthermore, it is on record, a Government of Kenya spokes person telling off Obama when he advised them on good governance and corruption when the young and youthful chap was still a Senator of Illinois. Now they love him (Obama) to the extent of the Government of Kenya declaring a two day public holiday to celebrate the occasion when he won the Presidential election in the US.
What hypocrisy, do you think Obama has forgotten?
The same short sightedness, we have not forgotten 1977.
By Lole Gwakisa
Dar Es Salaam
This is a restrained response to an article on Tanzanias stand on East Africa as written and posted by one Mr. Gitau Warigi. I am a reader of many East African dailies; I was however amazed by his article as put forward in Web page of Jamii forums on the 29th Nov 2008, hence prompting me to write.
I for one, as many Tanzanians do, am very keen on what going on around me. If you have any balls, or if you are a dume la mbegu as we put it in Swahili, please print this article in your paper and for good measure too.
So let me air my reaction on the sad and despicable views that have been aired by one Mr.Gitau Warigi, a self appointed Tanzania analyst of the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper as hosted on this web page recently concerning Tanzanias stand on the EAC issue.
No right minded Tanzanian would have even raised an eyebrow had it not been for the derogatory manner that the views were presented and the knoweth that thou attitude shown by this out of know where character, Mr Gitau Warigi.
Such people, indeed, will not escape scrutiny from right thinking Tanzanians who have a broader mind than the narrow and often parochial view as advanced by this Mbugua fellow.
It is common for one to shoot himself in the foot , but in the mouth? That is interesting to note about this Warigi fellow, bad mouthing and frothing while he is at it.
One wonders how he, most of all a Kenyan, dare pass political and economical prescription that he is least qualified on Tanzanian issues and at most uncalled for.
Whom is he fronting? Is it the ordinary Kenyan on the streets or the sociopolitical status quo that holds the cards in Kenya.
Well, he has failed miserably in all the arguments that had an intention of cajoling and chiding Tanzania into accepting some of the salient features especially land and citizenship within the EAC federation issue.
At best he is polishing a rotting apple while going through the motions of neighbour bashing. One wonders what the end game, according to him, is supposed to be.
When Kenya pulled a fast one on the EAC break away in 1977 we learned our lesson of what a nyangau is capable of doing, and shamelessly.
NEVER trust a Kenyan advice be it a politician or otherwise.
To put it bluntly a Kenyan is self centered, narrow minded, thinks that money is all that it takes, and above all is inhumane and never patriotic-even to his own country!
Given the landless multitudes culminating into the formation of the Kiberas, Mathares and all, one would wonder what the heck this Mbugua guy is talking about.
So Tanzania is economically backward eh?
Its leaders globe trotting eh?
Tanzanias economy, a fraction of that of Kenya, can only be saved by the EAC eh?
That Kenyans are experts in their own fields and can teach Tanzanians a trick or two eh?
Tanzanians view Kenyans in awe eh?
What bull shit!
Kenya has no room to grow, and everybody knows that. The socioecomic set up in the country has ensured them to that stagnation.
When a Kenyan slashes a fellow Kenyan because he/she is of another ethic tribe, then the trading paths are more than set. One who slashes his brother with a machete today will not happily sell this man a Lifebuoy piece of soap the next day.
So where do you sell it then East Africa of course! That is the Kenyan economic gospel rewritten by econovangelists of the Warigi sort.
Lo and behold this is not to happen with our eyes closed, every nitty gritty on the East African Treaty issue has to be discussed and agreed upon painstakingly.
Boisterous behavior never helped anybody.
Through this erratic guy called Mr. Gitau Warigi, Kenyans are showing off for what they are worth-the latter day nyangaus-they will stop at nothing than rob, kill and plunder.
We really thank the Tanzanian Police for putting the crude Kenyan thugs in check earlier in the year. They were trying to get into the country through the back door, now they are trying the locks of the front door-the political door.
Now this Gitau Warigi fellow exemplifies the employed middle class Kenyan whose only command is English and nothing else to show, not even the common sense that abounds in man. He probably is parroting what is commonly discussed and schemed in the sociopolitical status quo in Kenya today.
No wonder he naturally thinks he know what is best for Tanzania not knowing that the facts speak otherwise.
Tanzania is growing at a rate of over 7% per annum, a rate which is promising by all means .Our aim in development is not to beat Kenya radher to make life easier in all aspects for every Tanzanian given the challenges before us.
The last General Elections in Kenya depicted just how socially fragmented Kenyans are, while in Tanzania things are quite different, one has to be a zombie to campaign on tribal grounds.
There are also many pointers to show that Tanzania is in business-real business, and has the confidence to attain it. Natural resources are in abundance and ready to be utilized.
Above all Tanzania knows its position of advantage in East Africa.
With a border stretching for thousands of kilometers touching eight countries, no wonder we are at the cross roads of East African development. This position must be discussed at our terms of advantage and not otherwise. Kenya must not forget that, as to our position centrally located position, we call the shots.
In their haste to break up the EAC in 1977 you fore bearers probably did not quite understand the meaning of geopolitical advantages. Today Russia is doing the same for oil passing through its land, and the west, well can only watch in silence.
Dreaming of economic success by coercing one into a one sided treaty is basically political con man ship. This Warigi guy like many other Kenyans have dreams of their own, greener land and owning more land.
The only problem is, the Kenyan industrialist, the business man and the politician also have the same ideas-expansion.
The whole scenario will lead into a chaos across borders that will be painful to extinguish.
So, Mr. Warigi and your allies stop self aggrandizement and getting self indulged moral highs and satisfactions through what you erroneously think is best for the rest of us, we have our heads screwed on right.
One who thinks he knows best for others must try to see his own pitfalls. The Warigi fellow is like a chap who has covered his frontal secrets while leaving his rusted behind bare for all to see. Unfortunately he is quite happy about it despite the snigger, sneer and outright laughter going on around him.
Kenya has its own share of problems that, though I sympathize with, one can only look on and wish them the best. You dont go marrying into a rich English speaking family but that is known to have a hereditary cancerous tuberculosis trait or some serious disease!
That is how we see Kenya.
I for one have skipped going to Kenya whenever I had the chance-those TV images of people being mercilessly slashed to death are blood chilling. The inherent chronic socioeconomic problems still do exist in Kenya, lying just below the surface. They only need a spark to ignite them, and Id rather not be there when this happens.
And come to think of it, has Warigi ever interviewed President Kibaki why he is holding onto power despite losing the election?
Mr. Warigi, President Kibaki lives in the same city as you do, you might probably be fair to your self to ask him why he is in power despite losing the General Election earlier in the year. Whom is he representing really!-the Kikuyu?
Tanzania can only form a firm union with another united country, not the Kikuyu tribe.
We have learnt our mistakes in Tanganyika and Zanzibar Union issue.
This blatant self centered spirit will not make EAC.
I dont have to speak on Uganda and Rwanda the situation in these countries speak for themselves-with dis enfranchised armies of renegades in their own countries creating havoc at home and abroad.
Not to say the least, Tanzania is surrounded by half cooked to hardcore dictators.
These are the guys that one would like to call neighbours, what a neighbourhood!
Kenya must realize that there must be a code of political ethics that must be adhered to by all leaders in East Africa before we indulge into anything serious.
That poor man who was slashed to death before the eyes of the whole world on TV is not enjoying the so called Kenyan economic dream. And many more have not, and will not by design, enjoy any social or economic benefits that the famous Uhuru cry was supposed to bring.
We must, however be fair to Kenya; it has probably the most developed economy in East Africa, just as the Warigi fellow bragged. Much thanks to the defunct British Empire. But is that a big deal?
For all one cares they can have their economic cake and they might as well eat it! We will take no offence really.
When Warigi touched on the land issue and indeed a burning issue in this discussion, he touched a raw nerve.
Whoever sent him to make the statement, unguided, is either dumb or an outright idiot. One wonders whether Mr. Gitau Warigi has a pinch of brain in between his ears to make sweeping statements and analogies on the Tanzania economic context.
Kenya has hardly solved their own century old land problem, now they want to export it!
Land will remain a property of Tanzanians, to explore and utilize as a resource. The little land that Kenya has has been mismanaged to an extent of creating local apartheids within Kenya.
Of course the land ownership system in Tanzania has some disadvantages to its people. The land is owned by the State, grease the right hands and all is yours. It will be naïve to pretend otherwise; on the land issue we must take reality into account.
No wonder the nyangaus are breathing hard on our doorsteps.
In Kenya the land, the whole of it, has been parceled into chunks, bits and pieces for the rich, influential and powerful, leaving out the ordinary wananchi to eat the dust and grime in the slums.
On the political front Warigis naivety is bare for all to see. There can be no comparison between our JK and other EA leaders and how they ascended into the top executive office.
His attack on our own JK was most stupid, we chose that fellow to be president and he was in his right senses to refuse advances from Kenya on some of the issues in the EAC treaty.
And mark you I call him a fellow because JK is a down to earth man, humility at its best, and we ordinary Tanzanians like him, thats why we chose him in the first place.
When JK put the EAC to referendum in Tanzania he tactically scored a far reaching goal that simple minded persons of Warigis character did not fore see.
Tanzanians did not only refuse the EAC Treaty as it was but also sounded the warning that hands off on discussion on our land.
In the meantime Ugandas President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was making a presentation lap across East Africa in the hope of becoming the first East African president-what cheap politics!
Kenyans are better advised that half cooked nitwits of Mbuguas caliber do not spoil its good name across East Africa, Tanzania in particular.
It is only those stupid characters that take Tanzanians humility for granted-and to their peril.
Mr. Gitau Warigi remembers that Kenyan gangster crime wave about a year ago terrorizing the north of Tanzania and even Dar es salaam? Well after some quick thinking somebody decided to call the bluff.
An infiltrated gang was quickly and efficiently eliminated, gangster style. And with apologies, Tanzanian style, the bodies returned to their next of kin!
People dont learn or remember,warigi will be enlightened with a refreshened memory of an episode of a similar nature which occurred some three to four years ago. A Ugandan gangster outfit gunned down three policemen who where in hot pursuit. Thats when all hell broke lose, two of the gangsters were meted with some of their own medicine in Dar es salaam while the rest finding it too hot in Dar dashed across the country to the nearest Ugandan border, over 1700 kilometers away. They were cornered in Dodoma and unfortunately summarily dealt with as they forcibly tried to resist a lawful arrest.
Thats how humane Tanzanians can be, when provoked. So watch out.
Idi Amin made the same stupid mistake. He died miserably and was buried uncelebrated in a foreign land, his only mistake was underestimating the resolve, determination and above all the humility of ordinary Tanzanians.
As to the question of the Union of East African countries I do not see this happening in the foreseeable future with Warigis state of mind reigning in Kenyas political leadership.
If Kenya has that thirty year itch for a union that they broke in 1977 they should try their northern brothers, the Somalis, at least they have something in common, with wilder nomadic dreams and all.
Tanzanians will be more than pleased to see how Kenya fares with Uganda and Rwanda and Burundi. In actual fact we wish you no ill feeling and you are blessed to go it alone. And you, Mr.Gitau Warigi , that knoweth all, will definitely get what is in store for Kenya and your likes down the mists of time.
Better still, please Mr. Warigi try convincing your sociopolitical cohorts into soliciting Mr. Obamas audience- to try make Kenya a 53rd state of America.The only problem is Obama is a Luo and Mbuguas cronies are all Kikuyu. Furthermore, it is on record, a Government of Kenya spokes person telling off Obama when he advised them on good governance and corruption when the young and youthful chap was still a Senator of Illinois. Now they love him (Obama) to the extent of the Government of Kenya declaring a two day public holiday to celebrate the occasion when he won the Presidential election in the US.
What hypocrisy, do you think Obama has forgotten?
The same short sightedness, we have not forgotten 1977.
By Lole Gwakisa
Dar Es Salaam
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