Guidelines on safe anal sex for homosexuals

I don't publish comments of readers in my blog, I suppose I get so busy in my day job to find time to moderate them. Now, when I recently published here that Kenyan is a nation of hypocrites and educated idiots, I had a lot of private messages criticizing me and other people who write in this blog in my name.

I want to repeat this; Kenya is a nation of really odd people; or as it were, hypocrites. This blog is not interested in championing the rights of homosexuals, but we insist here that gayism and lesbianism is no longer an issue of morality, at all.

Let me explain. Last week, I was speaking to four people who campaign for homosexuals in Kenya, and who are gays themselves. You’d like to hear what they said.

In between all that, this past weekend, Raila Odinga, the prime minister, said homosexuals should be arrested. This is nonsense. Odinga represents backward thinking devoid of any reasoning that goes beyond politics.

There are no numbers about homosexuals in Kenya. Maybe the last census should have included a column on sexual orientation! The gay rights activists, who are gay themselves, told me that almost all of them are in marriages, or have girlfriends or generally female partners - and this is when reawakening should start.

With HIV/AIDS problem that is such a massive challenge for the health care delivery system, you start seeing a picture of a nation that is living in shadows. What this means is, anal sex between gays is the most dangerous of any sexual relationships.

To say, these men involved in sexual relationships with other men partners, are quickly spreading HIV to a huge ignorant population. Many of the men who have sex with other men do not have access to health, information of safe anal sex… thanks to comments by people like Raila Odinga and company.

So, it is time the Kenyan nation realizes that homosexuality is not an issue of morality anymore. It is about the health of the nation.

We should see fliers and media ads on ‘‘guidelines on safe anal sex for homosexuals’’. This cannot be as bad, maybe it will just come close to the ongoing government campaigns to reach teenagers with contraceptives - yes serious ones like the coil, pills...

Storm at Nation Center over Churchil Live

A recent edition of Churchil Live that Nation television (NTV) airs every Thursday night has stirred a storm and almost cost the jobs of some TV programmes controllers at the Nation Centre.

It happened that Churchil invited reporter Mohamed Ali of KTN's infamous Jicho Pevu seriess to share podium with his former colleague John Allan-Namu who is now working with NTV. Apparently, Churchil's producers have not been consulting Nation Media managers over guests to be invited to the show that is pre-recorded.

So the Nation managers are mad that a ''star'' reporter with a rival station had been featured by NTV popular programme. I did not watch the programme in question - not that i watch anything anyway on Kenyan TV - not the news, nothing, except say Tusker Project Fame on Sunday alone, but i am told Ali and Allan-Namu were discussing how they achieve their investigative ''feat''.

So from last week, the Nation TV managers started vetting Churchil's post-produced show (on Tuesday afternoon) before it airs on Thursday!

My two cents on this. It is utter rubbish that such pettiness can still be seen in a country like Kenya with largely developed media environment. That means the media in this country is miles away from coming close to UK or European counterparts. Last week, a top French TV replayed huge section of BBC TV programme - panorama.
Also, quite regularly, TVs play footage from their rival stations, while clearly indicating that this video is from so and so - rivals. with nnewspapers, you will find reportage saying ''speaking to The Guardian, blah blah...'' when the newspaper reporting this is a serious rival like say The Sunday Times.

New Nation Media sex Video coming

I did not publish details of Citizen staffer's sex video a couple of weeks ago, for some quite personal reasons. Now, i am told there is another sex video a Daily Nation staffer will be circulating at the firm later tonight about a Nation Media person; alert us if you see it first.

I am worried for Miley Cyrus

I like Miley Cyrus so much; but I am so scared that her career may plummet before taking a steady path. And country music legend Dolly Parton agrees with me.

Ms Parton yesterday told Larry King that she is worried for Miley Cyrus - the nice girl in Hannah Montana series.

Ms Parton said Miley is putting too much pressure on herself to act in a certain way. And the issue for both Ms Patron and me is Miley's recent provocative stage performances and photo shoots, especially one for Vanity Fair a while ago. ''Hopefully she didn't get that from me because I certainly never encouraged her to do any of that... I think she's just in a cross - she's just kind of in a crosswinds,'' Ms Parton told Larry King.

She continued, "I think this day and time life is hard for young people, certainly young girls... you just can't flaunt enough. You can't just do enough. You can't just talk trashy enough or dress trashy enough. It seems to be like if you don't do that you're not in the in crowd.''

Miley Cyrus turned 18 last week - and she realized she needed an identity, reinvention. She is among American teens who are being forced by television and computer screens to grow up pretty fast.

Even before she turned 18, her public display of sexuality has raised concerns that her music career may be dogged by the Hollywood-like infamy - the same route as Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears...

To me, this young woman is painfully trying to shake off the good girl image in Disney's Hannah Montana series, while racing far too fast into adulthood; leaving behind her teen fans. Maybe it is because her parents recently filed for divorce!

I liked her in Hanna Montana, and also in Last Song, the fist serious movie that depicts her in more mature role. Somehow I feel this girl is detesting playing Hannah Montana in the Disney musical drama.

But I am starting to have second thought about liking here after watching some of her perfomances, more and more revealing outfits and her recent video for Who Owns My Heart (seen here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coqbx4C8z0o )

Raila Odinga's star rising, pride in tow

Buoyed by a recent article in the top world opinion magazine, The Economist, that suggested that he will be Kenya's next president, Raila Odinga has sought to build an image of a modest politician, shrug off perception of being an arrogant man, while painfully waiting to become president.

Helping him cultivate this image is his failing health; he has been told to reduce on activities he does daily and go slow on combative manoeuvres - several months since he had his skull drilled to ease pressure build up in his head. And in between all that, his star is rising, with a bulging sense of pride.

I don't know if it has anything to the fact that I once worked for him, but I am still convinced that this man has changed. 

A Nairobi Star newspaper reporter who covers Odinga regularly told me that maybe actually, the aides are the people who have made him change. He has surrounded himself with a number of loyal hot-headed friends, while aggressively building a network of favoritism and nepotism in government.

Somehow Odinga is convinced that he will become the next leader of Kenya, and he sees now reason why he needs to maintain his affable personality.

Honestly, it is not as straightforward to get the presidency as Odinga's aides have been telling him. In light of all that, he defends his friends with rage and privately faults foes with the same intensity of rage.
Look at What The Economist magazine wrote of few weeks ago about Raila Odinga. Such portrayal is emboldening him so much.
 

''Kenya's future could be bright if the next election, expected in August 2012, can pass off peacefully, perhaps with a clear-cut transition to a President Raila Odinga, who was almost certainly cheated out of the top job by last-minute electoral fiddles last time round.
In the next election, ''three factors should help him. First, though President Kibaki, soon to turn 79 and due to retire in 2012, also campaigned for the new constitution, its endorsement was seen as an achievement for Odinga.
''Second, he has made progress towards stopping and even reversing land grabs in the Rift Valley, including the Mau Forest area.
''Third, Mr Odinga has promised, albeit with wobbles, to send leading politicians alleged to have stirred up post-election ethnic violence in 2008 to the International Criminal Court at The Hague''.

When he chaired a cabinet meeting 23 November, for the first time, in absence of President Kibaki, Odinga had a feel of ''how it will be'', and even his gait has changed. Good luck!

KWS's Kipngetich lobbying for police job

The overbearingly proud man in charge of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Julius Kangogo Kipngetich, is desperately lobbying for two positions - that of the to be renamed/restructured Inspector General of Police, and that of the permanent secretary in the office of the president (and also the head of civil service and secretary to the cabinet).

Some people in Prime Minister Raila's Office have told him that he will get one of the positions. In the past, he lobbied for the latter's position, still being held by Francis Muthaura, some while ago, but  painfully failed. Now, it is understood that Muthaura is leaving soon, and his position is up for replacement.

Kipngetich is convinced that he will get either of the positions. When I was in Kericho last week, I met a friend who works with President Kibaki's office in Nairobi. He told me of the story but I was not keen on hearing the details. Now this weekend, I heard similar details.

Kipngetich has many fiends in government. When he took over the running of KWS, he told his friends that he will ensure that meritocracy will define his tenure. Now, he is bored with what he has been doing and has said he wants new challenge.

It may be difficult for President Kibaki to name his as Muthaura's replacement. Reason, at the height of the 2005 referendum on proposed new constitution, he publicly opposed President Kibaki's decision to hand over Amboseli National Park to Kajiado County Council.

Thrusting the issue to the limelight, on 11 October, a court reversed the president's order to downgrade the Amboseli National Park to a game reserve. In light of this, the president will unlikely hire such an independent minded-person.

That means, Kipngetich will have to contend with fight for the position of Inspector General of Police, which can be taken by a civilian, courtesy of the new constitution. Since Kibaki will still be around until 2012, and since the police were implicated in the 2008 violence, giving out this position to a non-police career person may be a hard one for politicians to gamble with, when ICC is on Kenya case.

Kipngetich's pride comes from seeing his rise to major positions without political godfathers, like others, but know, he has realized how politics underpin appointments to political positions.

Singer Avril's fans defend homosexuality

Fans of the Kenyan R&B musician who is fighting serious controversy over publication of supposed pictures of her in what appears a lesbian act, Avril Nyambura, have created a Facebook page to seek to justify that it is her personal life if she is lesbian or bisexual.

The fans in the newly created page are saying that it is ok to be lesbian, after all, Kenya a free country. It is not clear if the creator of the page knows something about Avril's sexual orientation.

The page ''Leave Avril Nyambura Alone if she is a lesbian Its her life'', (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leave-Avril-Nyambura-Alone-if-she-is-a-lesbian-Its-her-life/175198452490700) was created hours after Facebook administrators deleted a mysterious profile belonging to person/s calling themselves ''Avrils Nipols'' in which Avril's pictures were posted earlier this week.

Even though Facebook took down the Avrils Nipols profile, the pictures had already been picked and circulated by e-mail and largely in blogs. The face on the pictures are indeed those of Avril. In one of the pictures, she is seen being held by her breast by a woman with kinky hair (we have published a cropped version of the px).

One of the pxs being circulated

 

Some blogs have said the pictures are real and not product of doctoring. This blog does not have an idea at all about the authenticity of the pictures, maybe they are real.

Now, the creator of the new Facebook page; ''Leave Avril Nyambura Alone if she is a lesbian Its her life'' says: 

''All lesbian chics are hot good girl Avril. Its her life so get a life and leave her alone after all she was not sleeping with your mother was she?''. Maybe Facebook will take down this page as well.

Avril is signed up to Ogopa Dejays recording label. She is an average musician, not good. She recently released her new single "mama " in which she reflects on day to issues of a young girl in love but her parents not approving of it. The song had been seen 24,000 times on You Tube on 13 November.

To me, this story is not really as much about the pictures, or people's sexual orientation - it is more about how the intternet has placed unparalled power on individuals to create or destroy carreers etc.

Daily Nation's skewed journalism

Daily Nation, Kenya’s biggest newspaper, both in terms of readership and circulation, has grudgingly published the story of witnesses to the 2007/8 chaos saying they were coached to implicate William Ruto in the violence.

This is a story that Daily Nation would really not wish to publish. This is because it appears positive towards Ruto because the story seeks to weaken the case against Ruto regarding the 2008 violence.

Over the past several weeks, maybe since Joseph Odindo was appointed the overall editor of the Daily Nation, and the Nation Media Group, has editorialized news stories, often criticizing William Ruto, while clearly supporting Premier Raila Odinga.

It is not clear if Linus Kaikai, person who oversees NTV television news has used personal differences they have had with Ruto over a girl, to twist stories that seek to portray Ruto in positive light.

But of course there is no disputing the fact that NTV has often portrayed Ruto in a bad light. If they are not giving him bad coverage, they are giving blackout to the man when he does anything seemingly positive. But anyway, who watches NTV.

Let us go back to the Daily Nation newspaper.

When Ruto returned from the ICC, Daily Nation banner headline said that he did not after all meet ICC chief prosecutor, Moreno-Ocampo. The story sought to overplay that element, while the rest of the media did not see as much in that, since Ruto met other prosecutors for many hours.

A day later, on 10 November, Daily Nation said ‘Ocampo still on track despite Ruto’s mission’. This front page story said ‘ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s spokesman said Mr Ruto’s visit to The Hague had not changed anything and investigations were on schedule’. Basically this story sought to show that Ruto’s visit to the ICC was nothing at all.

And now with the story of two people saying that they were paid by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to implicate Eldoret North MP William Ruto in the 2008 post-election violence, they must have been in pains to publish this on their website. Be assured though that it will not likely be a front page story; unless they would like to hoodwink audiences that this newspaper is fair.

Since Joseph Odindo was appointed the overall editor of the Nation, he has sought to give Raila Odinga better coverage on various issues. Odindo and other top writers are Odinga’s consultants.

Sample this, when a story critical of Odinga gets to Daily Nation at around 6pm, or even 8pm (Daily Nation goes to bed quite late), the editors reach Odinga (James Orengo, etc) by telephone to give a reaction. For example if the story was ‘’13 MPs criticize Raila’s anti-graft record’, the story will become, ‘Raila dismisses 13 MPs who questioned his anti-graft fight’’.

It is such a pity that the country’s most influential newspaper can exercise such skewed journalism.

Witnesses retract statements against Ruto

Six supposed witnesses of Kenya’s 2008 violence living in Tanzania are ready to come back to Kenya and say they were coached and promised better life to implicate William Ruto in the chaos.

Before Ruto went to the ICC to meet prosecutors there, two of the witnesses sought to ask for his forgiveness for lying about the violence in Rift Valley Province at the time, and the role Ruto played.

And now, three witnesses in Rift Valley have agreed to speak to the media to say they were more or less paid to speak in a way to implicate Ruto.

This blog is not a sycophant of anyone’s politics. But I have reasons to believe that Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Commission (read Hassan Omar) coached witnesses to implicate Ruto in the violence.

A staffer with a foreign news agency (at CVS plaza, the same building housing KNCHR) said that Omar has been distraught since Ruto spoke about the issue. The commission chair, Florence Jaoko, has asked Omar not to make any press statement without consulting the commission on the matter.

Two people, Kipkemboi Rono and Ken Wekesa spoke out on 10 November, saying KNHCR paid them to implicate Ruto. One other person has a signed affidavit showing that KNHCR promised him better life if he implicated Ruto. (Daily Nation has refused to pick the story so far: see upcoming story next)

They two took a contributor to this blog to Nairobi’s Kilimani estate which they claimed were rented for them by the KNCHR which also allegedly paid them monthly allowances.

The other ‘‘witnesses’’ living in Tanzania, (not sure it KNHCR pays fro their stay there) have been calling relatives and friends in Eldoret saying they’d like to come back and confess their lies.

Now, William Ruto has gone to record a statement with the police seeking for the arrest of Hassan Omar and other commissioners. He will tell police that KNHCR bribed supposed witnesses to implicate him over the 2007/8 violence.

For the record, this blog has in the past said the case against Ruto at the ICC is quite difficult to prove. There are no minutes of him giving money to buy anything, like machetes etc. Unlike Mungiki State House meeting, Ruto’s links to the violence is really difficult to prove.

 

A contributor to this blog has said that two other ''human rights'' people are in panic over the issue - they are Ken Wafula, based in Eldoret, and Ndungu Wainaina. The two are some of the beneficiaries of investigations into the violence.