Waibara's 'pants' come haunting.

Hon.Waibara has something to scratch about....

I attended my primary and secondary schools in rural central Kenya.In our days there were many people who would drop out of school mid-stream.I am refering to those who started primary or secondary school but did not wait for the end of course examination.

At the end of the primary school course,the Kenya National Examination Council administers the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education,K.C.P.E.The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, K.C.S.E. is administered at the secondary school level.

When the deserters,who most of the time were boys,left the cohort,they had a common saying, "githomo ti thuruari",which means that education is not as important as the pants you are sitting on!

Hon.Waibara dropped out of  school at Form 3 from Makuyu Secondary School.He went on to become a freelance photographer at Gatundu town.He did well in business and was popular with the people.


Give credit where it is due,this guy looks extraordinary in a sense. I will surely dig for more information about him.


In 2007,he was elected the MP for the lush Gatundu North constituency.

The youthful leader however did not anticipate what was to follow. A voter, Mr.Bernard Chege, went to court challenging the MP's ability to represent the people of Gatundu North in parliament owing to his inability to communicate in either English or Swahili,the national language.

The defunct Electoral Commission Of Kenya used to test all aspirants for proficiency in the two languages before issuing the candidates with the necessary nomination certificates.The court has been told that a friend of Mr.Waibara,a Mr Martin Ndungu sat for the mandatory language test on behalf of the legislator.

The MP, who is yet to make his first speech in Parliament, has admitted in court that he dropped out of school while in Form Three.There was a spectacle in court when the MP was given a copy of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results slip by Mr Thiankolu,the petitioner's lawyer and asked to read them aloud.

Mr Waibara refused, compelling the judge to threaten jailing him for contempt of court.

“If you decline to read the results, then remember I will hold you in contempt and you know the consequences,” Mr Justice Fred Ochieng warned.

 The MP lifted the results slip and started reading with eyes squinted. In one of the subjects, the MP read out that he had scored a “D-star” instead of a “D-plus” causing laughter in court.How I wish grade "D star" meant a distinction score!

He caused further laughter when he said he had wanted to become a priest when he was at Kiserian seminary secondary school.

At the last hearing Mr Waibara was handed a copy of a text taken from a book titled The Art of Seduction by Robert Green and a copy of Taifa Leo to read aloud in court.

The move by Mr Thiankolu was again vehemently opposed by Mr Waibara’s lawyer,Mr Ondieki.

Mr Ondieki told the judge that the aim of the petitioner was to “ridicule, humiliate and embarrass the Honourable Member of Parliament”.

The MP read the two texts with difficulty, but he caused laughter when he pronounced the number 56 in English instead of saying hamsini na sita in Kiswahili.

As he read the English text with difficulty, the judge interjected: “Mr Thiankolu, do you need to have the MP read further?” The MP then stopped reading and stared at the crowd blankly.

It doesn't end there.Mr.Waibara got in to deeper trouble when he admitted to the petitioner's lawyer that he had never made the maiden speech since he was elected in 2008.

“Have you made your maiden speech since 2008?”

“No I have not,” he replied.

“Do you know what a maiden speech is?” Mr Thiankolu asked the MP.

“Yes I do,” he replied.

But the defence lawyer ,Mr Ondieki said the MP has been participating in parliamentary proceedings and “that he had produced copies of the Hansard to prove he has been contributing to Parliamentary proceedings’’.

He said the Hansard was dated November 13, 2009, which fell on a Friday, a day that Parliament does not sit.

Mr Ochieng has summoned Parliament’s Hansard Editor to appear before him on June 8, 2011 to clear the air on the authenticity of the disputed report.

It is difficult to continue writing beyond this point without acting subjudiciuosly.We have to await the judgement of the court on that electoral petition.

Mr.Waibara also faces another case for allegedly conspiring to murder a party in his election petition.He was accused of conspiring to murder Bernard Chege Mburu, who replaced the original petitioner in the case challenging his election.

Just hope the man has enough ingenuity to make a way out of the thick he is in right now.True,it is embarrasing but there must be a way out,hon.member.

Baba Ramdev:The Yoga Guru turned Activist.

The 'New York Times' calls him the “Indian who built Yoga Empire”. His camps are thronged by thousands of people.

Some call him a PT instructor and controversies cling to him all the time. But the man remains unruffled.

Much to the discomfort of his critics, the renowned Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has attained “cult” status during the last few years. Not only does he teach Yoga, he's also very articulate about almost all the social issues in the country and is ready to take up a cause whenever required. His comments and actions create a stir but the dust settles down soon. And there goes Baba Ramdev marching in again.

Last year when he announced plans to float a political party and field candidates for all 543 Lok Sabha seats, few took him seriously. But a series of rallies organised by him during the last few months are giving nightmares to the politicos around the country. The rallies attracted scores of supporters and served as a “show of strength” for the Godman.

Baba Ramdev has never been known for just the 'asanas' he endorses. The 'sadhu' is profoundly into worldly affairs and has an opinion about everything under the sky. The Baba has the verve, exudes confidence, scorns at his critics, breaks into a smile out of nowhere, laughs as if he is roaring and has claimed to cure people of AIDS and 'homosexuality'.

Many are wondering how “His Holiness” managed to build an empire worth a nail-biting Rs 1,000 plus crore and still claim that all he owns is a saffron robe and clogs. Baba Ramdev indeed has a captivating style which never fails to enamour people, including his critics. He is known to travel in a convoy of cars and fly frequently. He has a team of professional media and business managers managing his enterprises.

So if tomorrow Baba actually forms a political party will his grandeur actually attract voters? His camps may be swarmed by thousands but is his aura good enough to reward him with electoral gains? His fairy-tale transformation from a common recluse to the most-celebrated Yoga guru in the world and his hystericalfan-following suggests that he is quite likely to give other political parties a run for their money should he decide to launch his own party. However, at the same time politics and Yoga are two different arenas and the underlying forces vary tremendously.

Whatever may be the answers to these questions, the political parties in the country are feeling the heat generated by Baba's activities. Not too long ago, Swami Ramdev audaciously pointed fingers at the Nehru-Gandhi family, accusing them of having illegal wealth stashed in bank accounts outside the country. Also, in a country plagued by scams, corruption and family politics, Baba may offer an alternative. It remains to be seen how reliable the alternative would be.

Beating them at their game....Holds discussion with Anna Hazare.

Come Saturday, Baba will be sitting on a hunger strike in the iconic Ramlila Ground in New Delhi which will mark the commencement of his protest against corruption. He has claimed the support of millions of people and even Anna Hazare has pledged his solidarity with him. This has already left the politicians gasping for breath as they are worried that he may steal all the thunder for fighting graft and corruption and his agitation might even bring some of them under the scanner. Prime Minister  and his colleagues are brainstorming to stop Baba's storm. They tried the appeasement policy but Baba refuses to budge an inch.

The man continues to be an awe-inspiring, iconic figure in India and has been able to make his presence felt in the international circuit. His Yoga has come to the rescue of the sick; thousands would stand as living testimony for that. The maverick Yoga Guru is now a trendsetter in India and enjoys following which is normally reserved for Bollywood stars or cricketers. One clarion call by Baba and people would willingly throw away their quilts during the dawn of a chilly December morning to attend his camp - be it Yoga or an agaitation against Social ills. 

(Story taken from MensXP.com)

Can Prayer and Fasting save a Nation? America turns to God.

A DAY OF FASTING & HUMILIATION:A PROCLAMATION
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES –JOHN ADAMS IN 1798.

As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him, but a duty whose natural influence is favorable to the promotion of that morality and piety without which social happiness can not exist nor the blessings of a free government be enjoyed; and as this duty, at all times incumbent, is so especially in seasons of difficulty or of danger, when existing or threatening calamities, the just judgments of God against prevalent iniquity, are a loud call to repentance and reformation; and as the United States of America are at present placed in a hazardous and afflictive situation by the unfriendly disposition, conduct, and demands of a foreign power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of reconciliation and peace, by depredations on our commerce, and the infliction of injuries on very many of our fellow-citizens while engaged in their lawful business on the seas – under these considerations it has appeared to me that the duty of imploring the mercy and benediction of Heaven on our country demands at this time a special attention from its inhabitants.

I have therefore thought fit to recommend, and I do hereby recommend, that Wednesday, the 9th day of May next, be observed throughout the United States as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens of these States, abstaining on that day from their customary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses to the Father of Mercies agreeably to those forms or methods which they have severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming; that all religious congregations do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge before God the manifold sins and transgressions with which we are justly chargeable as individuals and as a nation, beseeching Him at the same time, of His infinite grace, through the Redeemer of the World, freely to remit all our offenses, and to incline us by His Holy Spirit to that sincere repentance and reformation which may afford us reason to hope for his inestimable favor and heavenly benediction; that it be made the subject of particular and earnest supplication that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it; that our civil and religious privileges may be preserved inviolate and perpetuated to the latest generations; that our public councils and magistrates may be especially enlightened and directed at this critical period; that the American people may be united in those bonds of amity and mutual confidence and inspired with that vigor and fortitude by which they have in times past been so highly distinguished and by which they have obtained such invaluable advantages; that the health of the inhabitants of our land may be preserved, and their agriculture, commerce, fisheries, arts, and manufactures be blessed and prospered; that the principles of genuine piety and sound morality may influence the minds and govern the lives of every description of our citizens and that the blessings of peace, freedom, and pure religion may be speedily extended to all the nations of the earth.

And finally, I recommend that on the said day the duties of humiliation and prayer be accompanied by fervent thanksgiving to the Bestower of Every Good Gift, not only for His having hitherto protected and preserved the people of these United States in the independent enjoyment of their religious and civil freedom, but also for having prospered them in a wonderful progress of population, and for conferring on them many and great favors conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a nation.
Given under my hand the seal of the United States of America, at Philadelphia, this 23d day of March, A.D. 1798, and of the Independence of the said States the twenty-second.

By the President : JOHN ADAMS.

A DAY OF FASTING & HUMILIATION 1799: A PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – JOHN ADAMS.

As no truth is more clearly taught in the Volume of Inspiration, nor any more fully demonstrated by the experience of all ages, than that a deep sense and a due acknowledgment of the governing providence of a Supreme Being and of the accountableness of men to Him as the searcher of hearts and righteous distributer of rewards and punishments are conducive equally to the happiness and rectitude of individuals and to the well-being of communities; as it is also most reasonable in itself that men who are made capable of social acts and relations, who owe their improvements to the social state, and who derive their enjoyments from it, should, as a society, make their acknowledgments of dependence and obligation to Him who hath endowed them with these capacities and elevated them in the scale of existence by these distinctions; as it is likewise a plain dictate of duty and a strong sentiment of nature that in circumstances of great urgency and seasons of imminent danger earnest and particular supplications should be made to Him who is able to defend or to destroy; as, moreover, the most precious interests of the people of the United States are still held in jeopardy by the hostile designs and insidious acts of a foreign nation, as well as by the dissemination among them of those principles, subversive of the foundations of all religious, moral, and social obligations, that have produced incalculable mischief and misery in other countries; and as, in fine, the observance of special seasons for public religious solemnities is happily calculated to aver the evils which we ought to deprecate and to excite to the performance of the duties which we ought to discharge by calling and fixing the attention of the people at large to the momentous truths already recited, by affording opportunity to teach and inculcate them by animating devotion and giving to it the character of a national act :
For these reasons I have thought proper to recommend, and I do hereby recommend accordingly, that Thursday, the 25th day of April next, be observed throughout the United States of America as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens on that day abstain as far as may be from their secular occupations, devote the time to the sacred duties of religion in public and in private; that they call to mind our numerous offenses against the Most High God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore His pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgressions, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to His righteous requisitions in time to come; that He would interpose to arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in principle and practice so offensive to Himself and so ruinous to mankind; that He would make us deeply sensible that "righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people"; that He would turn us from our transgressions and turn His displeasure from us; that He would withhold us from unreasonable discontent, from disunion, faction, sedition, and insurrection; that He would preserve our country from the desolating sword; that He would save our cities and towns from a repetition of those awful pestilential visitations under which they have lately suffered so severely, and that the health of our inhabitants generally may be precious in His sight; that He would favor us with fruitful seasons and so bless the labors of the husbandman as that there may be food in abundance for man and beast; that He would prosper our commerce, manufactures, and fisheries, and give success to the people in all their lawful industry and enterprise; that He would smile on our colleges, academies, schools, and seminaries of learning, and make them nurseries of sound science, morals, and religion; that He would bless all magistrates, from the highest to the lowest, give them the true spirit of their station, make them a terror to evil doers and a praise to them that do well; that He would preside over the councils of the nation at this critical period, enlighten them to a just discernment of the public interest, and save them from mistake, division, and discord; that He would make succeed our preparations for defense and bless our armaments by land and by sea; that He would put an end to the effusion of human blood and the accumulation of human misery among the contending nations of the earth by disposing them to justice, to equity, to benevolence, and to peace; and that he would extend the blessings of knowledge, of true liberty, and of pure and undefiled religion throughout the world.

And I do also recommend that with these acts of humiliation, penitence, and prayer, fervent thanksgiving to the Author of All Good be united for the countless favors which He is still continuing to the people of the United States, and which render their condition as a nation eminently happy when compared with the lot of others.
Given, etc.

JOHN ADAMS

A DAY OF FASTING & HUMILIATION  1861
by JEFFERSON DAVIS, PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES.

WHEREAS, it hath pleased almighty God, the Sovereign Disposer of events, to protect and defend us hitherto in our conflicts with our enemies as to be unto them a shield.
And whereas, with grateful thanks we recognize His hand and acknowledge that not unto us, butr unto Him, belongeth the victory, and in humble dependence upon His almighty strength, and trusting in the justness of our purpose, we appeal to Him that He may set at naught the efforts of our enemies, and humble them to confusion and shame.

Now therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, in view of impending conflict, do hereby set apart Friday, the 15th day of November, as a day of national humiliation and prayer, and do hereby invite the reverend clergy and the people of these Confederate States to repair on that day to their homes and usual places of public worship, and to implore blessing of almighty God upon our people, that he may give us victory over our enemies, preserve our homes and altars from pollution, and secure to us the restoration of peace and prosperity.

Given under hand and seal of the Confederate States at Richmond, this the 31stday of October, year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty one.

By the President, Jefferson Davis.

Anna Hazare:The True Gandhian.

He calls himself a fakir, a man who has no family, no property and no bank balance. He lives in a 10ft x 10ft spartan room attached to the Yadavbaba temple in Ahmednagar's Ralegan Siddhi village, 110km from Pune and wears only khadi.

But when 71-year-old Kisan Baburao Hazare alias Anna starts an agitation, every leader from Mumbai to Delhi sits up and takes notice. Even his detractors and politicians who hate his guts, grudgingly accept he is the only person who has the power to mobilize common people across the country and shake up a government. His small frail body has taken several blows from the countless agitations, tours and hunger strikes he has undertaken since he came in public life in 1975.

·    "I am not scared of death. I have no family to cry over me and if I die while doing something for the country I would be happy. We need to start a second freedom movement to get rid of corruption, red tapism, delays in government offices, frequent transfers of honest officials and lack of transparency," he says. Anna lost his mother Laxmibai in 2002 and has two married sisters — one in Mumbai and another in Sangamner who worry everytime their "stubborn brother starts an indefinite hunger strike".

However Anna has chosen to firmly stay away from any family ties and never visits his sisters. "I do have a home in Ralegan Siddhi but I have never set foot inside it in the last four decades," he once said.

He was born on January 15, 1940 in Bhingar village of Ahmednagar district to a family of an unskilled labourer who owned five acres of cultivable land. Adverse conditions pushed their family into the grip of poverty and in 1952 Hazare moved into his ancestral home in Ralegan Siddhi. He was brought up by a childless aunt who funded his education in Mumbai but financial instability pushed him into selling flowers for a living and he had to quit studies after Class VII.

Soon after, he joined the Army and trained as a truck driver but his days were spent reading books on the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave.

That turned him to social work. Two near-fatal mishaps in the 1965 war with Pakistan changed his outlook towards life and seeking voluntary retirement from the Army, he returned to Ralegan Siddhi in 1975 which was then in the grip of drought, poverty, crimes and alcoholism.

He used his savings for developmental work of the village. "I asked them to take an oath banning liquor, excessive grazing by cattle and felling of trees. Another oath was to have small families with men undergoing vasectomy," he recalled during an interaction.

He motivated villagers into voluntary labour. Canals and bunds were built to hold rainwater which solved the water scarcity problem and also increased irrigation possibilities in the village.

His achievements have won him many awards like the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award, the Krishi Bhushana award, the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay award. Care International of the USA, Transparency International, Seoul (South Korea) also felicitated him.

SCHOOL IS SACRED

Students writing the National Secondary School examination in Kenya.

There is none other like mother,

the first teacher of life.

And when mother is no match,

to growing restless bundles,

she took you to school.

for school is sacred.

Salute to the first teacher,

who saw raw innocence in me,

and believed in me,

even when I didnt know it mattered.

When I grow old,

I want to be a.......

In school I learnt values,

that humanity is divine.

Does school make community?

Or community makes school?

If our city is unsafe,

do we go to school,

and look for answers?

Who teaches violence,

so rife in school.

When does innocence end?

Lets querry on these,

for school can make the world,

a better place to live.

For school is sacred.

THE 10 PARADOXES OF SCHOOL.

1.WE TRAIN FOR CAREERS WHOSE JOB DESCRIPTION DOES NOT EXIST AS YET.

The world is dynamic.The careers of nearly half of the world's working class did not exist a decade ago! Even the traditional careers have undergone so radical changes in the recent past that the day you get the job,you realise you are illiterate.

2. LIFE TESTS EVERYTHING ELSE APART FROM WHAT YOU LEARNT IN SCHOOL.

Makes school look either funny or stupid.More than ever before we know that success in school is no guarantee for success in life.

3.TEACHES LOVE,PATIENCE,HONESTY....ALL THE VIRTUES....BUT...

Adds a rejoider..."Don't trust too much.The world is a bad place!" The school is cornered?

4.IF THE COMMUNITY IS BAD,BLAME THE SCHOOL.IF THE SCHOOL IS GOOD,THE COMMUNITY TAKES CREDIT!

What do we say to the black sheep of the family?"What do they teach you in school?"School makes society.Society makes school sick.

5.THE PARADOX OF CONTINOUS REDUNDANCE.

Whatever invention school creates today,we shall frown upon it tomorrow and call it archaic!

6.THE IRONY OF THE MAINSTREAM.

You learn more from outside the mainstream school than from school itself.The breaktime banter turns out to be more significant in life than the calculus lessson! School just facilitates learning.As far as provision of education is concerned,school performs poorly.By teaching her clientelle,school necessiates her own demise!

7.TRADITION vs. DYNAMISM.

To maintain the traditions or to move on with the times is a hard decision for school to make.School says that a people without tradition are a people without identity.Yet we know that there is  only one constant in life:Change!

8.OBEY THE RULES.

School teaches you how to obey all the rules.Life demands that you choose the rules to obey.....

9.WHAT DO WE TEACH?

If we specialise too much,our graduates are said to be irrelevant in a new world order.If our content is too broad,they are called jerks of all trades and masters of none!

10.INVESTMENT.

We want to make a minimal investment on education,and reap maximum benefits from it.Like those who want to go to heaven but do not want to die!

The Art Of Virtue

1 Temperance. Eat not to Dullness. Drink not to Elevation.

2 Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.

3 Order. Let all your Things have their Places. Let each Part of your Business have its Time.

4 Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.

5 Frugality. Make no Expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, Waste nothing.

6 Industry. Lose no Time. Be always employed in something useful.Cut off all unnecessary actions.

7 Sincerity. Use no hurtful Deceit. Think innocently and justly; and if you speak, speak accordingly.

8 Justice. Wrong none, by doing Injuries or omitting the Benefits that are your Duty.

9 Moderation. Avoid Extremes. Forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10 Cleanliness. Tolerate no Uncleanness in Body, Clothes or Habitation.

11 Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at Trifles, or at Accidents common or unavoidable.

12 Chastity. Rarely use Venery but for Health or Offspring; never toDullness, Weakness, or the Injury of your own or another’s Peace or Reputation.

13 Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

This article is attributed to American statesman Benjamin Franklin,who, I must say,is an inspiration to the work I do. 

SAMMY FRANK.