Mule returns after 2-year walk in the valley of death

Mule returns after 2-year walk in the valley of death

It is difficult to find anything good to say about the Al Shabaab but, on this one, PointBlank has mouthed a muffled thank you.

That Edward Mule and Fredrick Irungu are now free after two years in the hands of the Somali militants is something to thank God profusely for. Alhamdulillahi - praise be to God.

It is a miracle that the two have walked through the valley of death and come out unscathed.  They have clearly escaped from the jaws of sure death. However, although they are said to be physically fit, there is no doubt that the psychological wounds they sustained during this long spell will be with them for a long time.

While it is unclear whether or not ransom was paid to secure their release, the communities said to have taken part in negotiations that led to their release deserve special commendation.

Importantly, we hope against hope that Al Shabaab will stop  targeting innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the war in Somalia, and that it will also release the remaining Kenyan hostages. But above all, our security agencies must keep their eyes open to detect and deter any more threats from this group.

 

Mombasa’s mountains of garbarge

Mombasa is slowly degenerating into a town of decay and filth. This is according to resident Anthony Ochare, whom we can’t doubt as it is the wearer who knows where the shoe pinches.

Improper disposal of garbage, he reports, has become the order of the day as attested to by mountains of garbage that are all over the town. From playgrounds to the central business district, garbage heaps continue to wreak havoc on the environment.

“The mountains of waste, which sometimes pile up to two metres high, aren’t just an eyesore; they pose a serious threat to the environment,” laments Ochare. Collection of garbage in the town, he adds, is very wanting.

His questions: Does the county government lack capacity to tackle this menace? Could mismanagement and corruption be contributing to improper collection of garbage? And what’s the truth about the rumour that some individuals are positioning themselves to clinch a multi-million shilling contract to collect the garbage?

Whatever the case, he wants  Governor Ali Hassan Joho to put in place proper mechanisms to sort out the ‘crisis’ once and for all.

 

Watered down water rights

Daniel Chelule has read the Constitution and he understands it well. The document, he explains (in articles 42 and 69), states that every person has the right to a healthy and clean environment. This also includes access to clean water.

But Mr Chelule cannot comprehend why he is being denied his constitutional right to clean water. At the moment he doesn’t  even mind dirty water, but the problem is he can’t find any in Kabarnet where he resides.

The town, he reports, has been without tap water for the past two weeks. The grapevine has it that the town is yet to pay its electricity bill, hence his woes. “The county government of Baringo has sponsored members of the county assembly’s trip to Uganda and Rwanda,  which will cost the county more than Sh20 million, yet the electricity bill is less than Sh3 million,” alleges Chelule.

Does your county have its priorities upside down, Governor Benjamin Cheboi?

Chelule would like Mr Cheboi  to address this problem urgently. “As the county headquarters, we should not be singing about lack of water, rather we should be thinking about how we will invite investors,” he concludes. His contact is [email protected]

 

Are Equity Bank’s systems back on their feet now? 

Mr Dennis Waweru wrote to PointBlank on July 11 and reported that he was unhappy with his bank, Equity. Some time back, he visited Equity’s Kimathi Street branch in Nairobi with his joint account partner, Meshack Waweru, but after queuing for quite a while they were informed that the systems “had gone down”. Luckily, after pleading, the branch manager agreed to pay them. Then on June 6, they went back at the same branch to withdraw some money. Again, they were greeted with the same news: The system is down. “This time, the manager said he was unable to pay and asked us to go to Kikuyu where we opened our account. Three days later, they went to Kikuyu and after queuing for an hour the system again went down. They were, however, able to withdraw after much pleading. Are your systems at these branches in good order now, Equity?

 

The Columbus conundrum

Christopher Columbus was born about 500 years before Githuku Mungai. What most of us know about Columbus is that he was a great explorer and a great man. At least, that’s what we were taught in primary school. But Mr Mungai now claims that he has done some exploration and established that the man who discovered America was not such a great man after all.

Listen to him: “At one point, Columbus was very happy with his brother when he learned that he had the tongue of a woman cut for suggesting that Columbus was of low birth.” Is this really true?

 

Sabbath isn’t about Sunday or Saturday

After reading Yabesh Onwong’a’s assertion that the correct day for Christian worship is Saturday and the responses by three correspondents (PointBlank, July 30, 2013), I find it proper to add my voice in the hope that my contribution will add value to the debate. According to Exodus 31:16-17 and Eze. 20:12, 20, Shabbat (Sabbath) was to be a “sign” between Yahweh and Israel; an everlasting covenant. The Talmud (The central text of Rabbinic Judaism) asserts that Sabbath is one of the two “signs of the covenant.”

On the covenant of Sabbath, the Bible reveals two major facts. First, it was a memorial covenant of both creation and of redemption (Gen. 2:2-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12). Second, it is a covenant of holiness. This accounted for the custom of welcoming the Sabbath with the drinking of wine and the Kiddush (holy) service.

The ethos of Sabbath is a ‘foretaste of the world to come,’ meaning it was a pointer to something yet to come. The word itself means “rest” or “cessation.”

Jesus robustly taught about Sabbath when the Pharisees condemned Him for healing on Sabbath, by recalling them to the positive aspect of “rest” (Mark 3:1-4). In the Gospel according to John, Jesus reminded them of the tradition that, for God, Sabbath has never ended. The implication is that God is enjoying a perpetual Sabbath, yet He is not engaged in the work of creation but of sustaining His creation. So, if even God is not idle on the Sabbath, who were they to condemn Jesus for “working” (John 5:17)?

Matthew, who recorded the essence of Jesus’ teaching on “rest” (Matt. 11:28-30) seems to say that the call to rest is to the weary and burdened. The call seems attractive as one to escape from life’s realities, but a closer look points to the opposite. He says: “Come and take my yoke and burden.” Jesus is again in tune with Rabbinic teaching that Sabbath rest is more than absence of toil. The rest Jesus offers is not idleness and ease but a yoke and burden. The only significance is that it is to be taken voluntarily as opposed to what the Sabbath meant for Israel.

Sabbath rest is what God’s people enjoy freely as they walk in covenant relationship with God, secure in His finished work of creation and redemption; cooperating with His on-going work of sanctification and transforming the world; trusting Him, obeying Him; being what He called us to be and doing what He wants us to do in step with Him. Sabbath, therefore, is not just a particular day issue, but an everyday endeavour.

Rev David O Oguom,

Uhuru Gradens, Nairobi

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