A Weapon Seen as Too Horrible, Even in War

Germany is recognized as the first to use chemical weapons on a mass scale, on April 22, 1915, at Ypres, Belgium, where 6,000 British and French troops succumbed.

Chemical weapons, rarely used since that war, have once

Dear Twins – An Open Love Letter to my Boobs

I wrote this inspirational letter to my boobies that I like to call “The Twins” after a cancer scare. My prayer is that it inspires all of us to “fight back” and find a cure. Many Hugs to all of you fighting to the good fight.

Dear Twins,

This an open letter to declare to the world my utter love and adoration for you! YES YOU! my perfect 40 DD’s that hang on my chest! Oh how marvelous… how wonderful… how perfect you are! Yes. You…! You know I am talking to you! My boobs… my perfect, larger than life round boobs! You have endured and taken on many names – ‘bangers, bazooms, hooters, tits and knockers’ but to me… I just choose to call you “the twins” Yes! Yes! Yes! Come here you two…! All cute and bouncy! Yes you are! Momma is proud of you! Yes she is! You are my best asset – my twins.

I remember when you first decided to pop out and announce your presence – I was only 12 years old and you did not care – there you were… hard.. Pointy and supple! Mom was so tickled by them and now that I have realized it – very uncomfortable by your presence! – But no… – you were not deterred… there you were… ready to face the world whether I liked it or not! And yes! You continued to grow whether I liked it not! Oooh.. How I hated you!
My love affair with you has been turmoil filled! Don’t pretend not to realize it! You know what we have been through! Let me break it down for you girls! There I was… taking up all kinds of sports and making table tennis captain of the high school team – jumping, sweating… and there you were… swaying and bouncing – never missing a beat. In college – walking down the corridors of my university… trying to get an education… you followed me… getting bigger and bigger! And helping me face those sticky campus corridors! When I had my first kiss – yes him? Remember him? The weirdo that kissed like a tarantula in heat? You persevered girls! You were there for me! – You my loves have been unwavering in your support! You have seen me through job interviews, good and bad relationships, severe weather conditions and never once have you left my side – and for that – I thank you!

But help me out here girls? What’s with all the pain and soreness each and every time Mother Nature pays me a visit? You girl need to know that it hurts? Why do you do this to me?? I have a hard enough finding a bra that fits to support you gorgeous two some! Can you cut me slack here? BUT! I must give you props to you where props are due!

It is easier to get a drink at a bar when we are out and about.. – it’s easier to get off with a warning if we are having a “pedal to the metal” day out in the city – but above all else… we look great in halter tops! Ah! Yes… ladies… you do me good… yes you do! – Now… if only we can work out some deal on staying put when I have a size too small then… you girls may just earn an Oscar in my books for ” best performance by a bountiful two-some”.

Now! Let’s get to some important matters at hand – you girls have taken me down a scary path in the past 7 years getting all lumpy and having me go under to determine if the evil that is cancer had gotten a hold of you! I don’t want to ever go through that again! You know? It was scary, I was frightened, and I …Yes… I that is a strong and solid woman was brought to my knees. For the first time I felt completely out of control! So how about we make a deal uh? You stay perched up and perfect on my chest and I will take good care of you. I hate to eat right… but I will – I hate to exercise – but I will above all else – I promise to be a great ambassador for you girls and all the billions of great cup A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z’s out there single and double digits! Heck! I will take the triples too! – Just don’t take down that road again!
I am not sure that you know this but cancer has taken many mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, and friends – I have faith that we will beat this ugly “thing” that threatens to make you girls less than perfect, but in the meantime – I thought I would let you know that….

I am proud of you
I am honored that you chose to blossom on me
I will feel you up every month just to make sure that you don’t have any crazy lumps in there

But above all else…..

I am determined to fight for the cure …. I will walk, I will speak, I will write, and I may cry – but I will not give up until you girls and countless of billions are safe and sound.

All of my love,
Your momma

Sarah
P.S. Promise Momma that you will stay nice and perky even after momma is old and grey… sitting out on the porch guzzling some whiskey and remembering the good ol’ times ok?

This article was published on Oprah.com

Free Kenya. A look at our past and present, and our neighbours.

As Kenya turns 50 this year, there’s no denying that ours has been a long sinuous journey to get us where we are today. True, we may not be as far much ahead as one would expect a 50-year old nation to be, as in fact our economy trails those of many countries with whom we were at par in the mid 80’s to early 90’s.
That notwithstanding, we have a lot to celebrate this jubilee year, and am not talking politics when I say jubilee. To a large extent, we enjoy a great range of social freedoms not quite common in many African countries. With an increased intake in our schools comes an increase in the average literacy levels in the country. A literate public translates into a people who are well aware of their fundamental rights and freedoms, obligations and responsibilities, are ready to freely and wilfully submit to the rule of law and who continuously take their leaders to account over their actions or inactions. This is not a fete we have achieved easily. It has been largely as a result of endless sacrifices, commitment and sustained resistance to oppression, despotism and dictatorship.
I was conversing recently with a Sierra Leone national who has been in Kenya for about 2 months now. He has toured various West African countries and is now here for a 1-year tour of duty. He has been observing the goings-on in our country, more so the recently concluded Supreme Court hearings on the presidential petition, with a sense of awe and surprise. He confessed to me that going by what he has seen and heard so far, Kenya is way ahead of her West and Central African counterparts. This being in terms of liberties enjoyed by citizens and the respect to the rule of law by senior public officers.
He cites a few examples: how is it possible that people in Kenya discuss politics and senior politicians so freely with absolutely no fear of reprisal? How is it possible that someone as ‘high and mighty’ as a deputy chief justice can lose her job over something as ‘minor’ as pinching the nose of a security guard? How does ‘a whole’ attorney general call judges of the supreme court “my lords”. Is he not their senior? How do you make caricatures and cartoons of the president and publish them nationally? (He was referring to the weekly xyz show on NTV).

Believe it or not, these are freedoms that you would only dream of in many West African countries. But thanks to sacrifices made in the past by our true nationalists, we now take these liberties for granted. The Kenyan constitution 2010 in chapter 4 casts in stone and steel those freedoms that shall be guaranteed to all citizens. Going by the current and expected literacy/awareness levels in the country today, it would be foolhardy for any future regime to attempt to roll back the numerous gains made in our country, which in effect set a sound foundation for economic development and prosperity.
We therefore must jealously guard these freedoms and liberties that have been so much fought for. We also must open our eyes and notice the good things that have come our way in the last fifty years, even as we condemn the bad ones. We must, as Kenyans, do all that is within our individual and collective capabilities to overcome those attributes amongst ourselves that undermine the common good of the Republic and wash down the ideals that we stand for as a nation. Negative ethnicity, corruption, nepotism, cronyism and other ills will take us no further than we were fifty years ago. We must stand to be seen as Kenyans, not as members of our ethnic groups, if our country is to enjoy the gains made and fully realize the fruits of the new-found liberties.
Happy early 50th birthday to our beloved motherland.

His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki during the promulgation ceremony of the new constitution in August 2010. The constitution is one of the most progressive globally.

Presidential Petition 2013. A closer look.

After the bungled elections in 2007 and the dark violent days that followed, Kenya embarked on a path to self-redemption and creation of public institutions whose holders were appointed through a public vetting process in order to ensure transparency. Key among these institutions was the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which would henceforth be charged with the responsibility of delivering free, fair, credible and transparent elections to Kenyans in a manner that was acceptable to the majority, if not all.
When the IEBC conducted the March 4, 2013 general elections and eventually announced Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta as the winning presidential candidate, the then Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, who was the closest contestant to the winner, launched a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge the results. He alleged massive irregularities during the tallying process and intimated that the failure of the electronic system set up by the IEBC to relay the results to the national tallying centre was part of a wider scheme to rig the poll in favour of Mr Kenyatta. But in its ruling on the 30th March 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition and upheld the victory of Mr Kenyatta.

In the six days that the Supreme Court was in the public eye, right from the pre-trial conference (25th and 26th March), through the hearing proper (27th, 28th and 29th March), to the delivery of the ruling on 30th March, the Kenyan public was treated to a rare occurrence in the country’s history. This was the first time the court was handling a case of much gravity and public significance. Many treated it as a true test of the level of reform and independence in the Kenyan judiciary. The president of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, directed that the entire proceedings be aired live on national television. This by itself showed Kenyans and the world at large the level of openness to public scrutiny that the court was prepared for. In a departure from the old days where cases of such importance to the public were heard and determined behind closed doors, this was a first whereby anyone was able to follow the entire proceedings from their homes.

But apart from the political content of the petition hearings, there was much to be observed from the whole process. All litigants in the petition were represented by the best legal personalities they could find. The public was treated to a show casing of Kenya’s best of the best in the legal fraternity. They engaged each other in healthy arguments as each tried to show the court why his/her client must win the petition. The counsel conducted themselves professionally and in a manner that met public expectations of lawyers of their calibre.
Despite the strict timelines imposed upon the court by the constitution, the court managed to issue a ruling on the matter after giving each party a fair chance to be heard. The constitution requires the court to issue a ruling on any presidential petition in 14 days from the date of filing of such petition. Despite the huge volumes of evidence provided by all parties to the petition, the six judges of the Supreme Court were able to peruse all the relevant information presented to them and make a ruling within the legal time frame.
The eventual address by the main petitioner, Mr Odinga, to the public after the ruling dismissing his petition was a sign of the level of commitment to the rule of law and constitutionalism he subscribes to. In his address, the outgoing Prime Minister said that although he was not fully contented with the ruling, he would respect it. This is a sign of the statesman that Mr Raila has been, and by extension, a sign of how fast our democracy is maturing.
In essence, the outcome of the court process, not just the ruling itself, but also the many other positive attributes that played out during and after the hearings, are a reflection of the virtues that our society has chosen to live by.

Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia for Mr Uhuru Kenyatta

Senior Counsel George Oraro for Mr Raila Odinga.

Right idea, right time.

The devolved system of governance is one that has come at a good time, when Kenyans are setting up institutions and offices whose benchmark is transparency and accountability. My take is, had this system been in existence during the ‘dark days’, it would be so much ridden with corruption and mismanagement that it would not stand the test of probity in the eyes of the general public. We would by now be calling for its disbandment and replacement with another system, I don’t know which one. Now that we have it, we all hope that it will do for this country what the outgoing system didn’t for fifty years.
What do you think?

Supreme court: Uhuru won fairly

The Supreme Court of Kenya has declared that despite the challenges faced by the IEBC in conducting the March 4 general elections, President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta won fair and square, throwing out a petition challenging the result by his main challenger, Raila Odinga. Are you satisfied with this decision?

Did we really get rid of the vultures?

When the current obsession with the supreme court fizzles out, we are surely going to be pre-occupied with the issue of the reduced MPs’ salaries. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission, mandated by the constitution to set the pay and allowances of state officers, recently reduced salaries payable to legislators from Ksh 831,000 to Ksh 535,000. Members of the new Parliament are already crying foul over the issue, even before they begin working. Is this fair? Are they seeking a salary that will compensate the expensive campaigns they conducted? The civil society recently called upon those dissatisfied with the new pay to resign and seek alternative better paying jobs. What do you think?

share your march 4 experience

Waking up as early as 1am, not waking up (coz u didnt sleep), long hours of queueing all day, malfunctioning kits, kurukwa line etc are just but a few of the many experiences you went through on march 4 2013 as Kenya went to a general election to choose new leaders. With an election petition at the supreme court, the possibility of a repeat of these experiences looms. Please share your experiences of the election day here.

election petition

What’s your take regarding the election petition, considering the various outcomes possible?