Palaver

Palaver

Did you know that golfer Tiger Woods is one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Thai, a quarter African American, one eighth Native American, and one eighth Dutch? At an Internet site, Mr Woods refers to his ethnic make-up as ‘calabinasian’ — from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian. Here’s how: His father Earl Woods was of mixed African American, Chinese and Native American heritage. His mother Kultida Woods (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand and has Chinese and Dutch ancestry as well as Thai. And still on race manenos, Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs is not just of Welsh descent. He is also a quarter Sierra Leonean because his paternal grandfather is from Sierra Leone. Ryan Giggs describes his father as ‘black’ and himself as being of ‘mixed race.’

 

What became of the Gikuyu Embu Meru Association (Gema) and Kalenjin Council of Elders’ strategy in April of countering the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto? Recall the Gema group resolve to collect two million signatures to petition the ICC to postpone the cases until after presidential elections are held in Kenya.

 

Now that Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets are the object of a sovereign dispute between China and Japan, what became of Migingo Island in Lake Victoria? At some point, there was a weekly ritual of Ugandan police rounding up Kenyan fishermen over some fishy infraction or other. Then came President Yoweri Museveni’s declaration: “The island is in Kenya, but the water is in Uganda!” What became of Government’s mapping of the international boundary? We don’t want to start hearing chants of Migingo Si Kenya!

 

Seeing as Kenya has a serious birthday coming next year (We are turning 50 you know!), why is nobody talking about it? General elections come and go, but that birthday smack in the middle of our “national menopause” should be made to count for something. Palaver would like to know who is championing its commemoration.

 

And finally...

Here’s a gem from Joseph Addison: “There are three sides to every argument: your side, my side and the right side.” Ponder that as you listen to that politician today.

    

 editorial@standardmedia co.ke