Palaver - 14.04.11 - The Standard

Palaver

Much as Palaver wishes to leave the Prayer Rally story alone, it is not easy to ignore the on-camera antics of three leaders. Okay, Mr Missile Launcher Stanley Livondo can be forgiven for being a well-known ‘Activist’, while Simon Mbugua is best known as a Jogoo Road sprinter. Now, much as Wakoli Bifwoli and Kalembe Ndile might feel vindicated for saying assistant ministers are under-utilised, what are the voters of Mheshimiwa wa Emba expected to say when confronted with their Citizen No.1 taking aim in Stone Henge era-style precision combat? Psst! The less said about this sorry episode the better, else we corrupt the morals of today’s teeming youth.

Kenya is an amazing nation indeed. Is this the only country that can — in peacetime — find a crowd of several thousand, readily available to lend you an ear on a Monday morning, literally walk your car for over 10km, heckle any detractor of your choice, break into a kiosk here and there along the way, cheer every so often, and keep you company for the better part of the day? Don’t you just love this working nation, Kenya-style?

The picture of a dishevelled Mama Simone standing by her husband Laurent Gbagbo was at once a show of defiance, as well as testimony to the ‘For better and for worse’ pledge many couples intone on their big day. It may also have been unethical and demeaning for she did not run for elective office in Ivory Coast and should have been spared the wild-eyed look that left many sorry for her situation’. Not so former hairdresser Leila Trabelsi, recently First Lady of Tunisia. Leila read the signs of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s 23-year end-of-reign, reportedly drove an SUV to their Central Bank and drove out with a few tonnes of gold bullion to pay for their sunset years in a Saudi exile. Wow!

And finally...

The cliche, ‘Long arm of the law’ readly comes to mind when someone gets their comeuppance or just punishment. Palaver learnt that Mau Mau survivor Wambugu We Nyingi hopes to finger British colonial administration retiree Terrence Gavaghan for torture in 1957. With declassification of the colonial records, the empire that was so vast that the sun did not set is set to confront some rather rather unsavoury truths in a British High Court.