Kibaki arrived in his usual style with red carpets and a jolly long motorcade with roads blocked and traffic tailed back out into the suburbs. Even Raila arrived in a much more dignified manner in his Lexus with the goons in the Navy Mercedes way behind so no chance of them showing him up again!
There was lots of hugging, 'opposition' MP's finally sat together, and there seemed to be a lot of laughter. There was some scheming of course - but that can't be helped I'm sure (- I mean you can only be elected to parliament if you can prove you're totally two faced - I think that's a prerequistite), and of course there was some unofficial closing of the eyes and nodding of the heads as the regulars dropped off to sleep.
Kibaki's speech was all about peace and reconciliation - but the words were written by someone somewhere knowing the International Press would be watching Kibaki yesterday, as the English language used in his speech had lots of jolly big words that Kibaki stammered over (much to the amusement of the Parliament), and at the end of the day - it all sounded like an insincere load of crap actually.
But anyway, we have to hope that whatever the words said, what he meant was "We shall work as a team and put Kenya back onto its feet."
Lucy Kibaki was suspiciously missing from the grand occasion. The official press report says she is at home recovering from an unspecified illness, rumours in the press say she doesn't like Raila's wife and therefore refused to appear and share pleasantries with the women. Personally I think that after the shenanigans of the past couple of months and all the court cases that are now pending against her, I should think our dear President has had quite enough of giving out goats and has had her locked up in a padded room and thrown away the key!!
Anyway today I shall have faith in my country and its new beginnings and shall block the past from my mind ..........
for the next one hour anyway just so that I can relax and have a coffee and think happy thoughts.........
THEN, I shall be back on the warpath. (I hear there's some serious accusations on the BBC about our politicians that I must get round to reading and ripping into.)
Do have a jolly good day yourselves too thinking happy thoughts because its FURIHDAY, thoughts are free and kidding ourselves that life is perfect is a fun thing to do once in a while. It costs nothing and seems to flush out the cobwebs.
As my son told me this morning as I crawled out of my bed with a pounding headache and after no sleep at all as an alarm had been going off continuously all night right outside my bedroom window, save for the couple of minutes every few hours when the guard tried to reset the damn thing, and it stopped briefly;
"Well Mum, at least you had 120 seconds of quiet sometime in the night!"
- He's right, I should be thankful.
11 comments:
Are you talking about politics or just being a tease?
Mr Bananas - it seems my index finger got a little carried away and posted the headline to my post before I had written anything ! I am in the process of rectifying this and shall post shortly - however I am ALWAYS EXTREMELY friendly, especially to hairy apes - if that helps at all!
Hi MC
I am still in my favourite cyber cafe as the tea is better than elsewhere. Thanks for another priceless post. Now I know why I miss TV, electricity, not to mention running water, a bath, footpaths, drains that don't overflow during a shower - but I love Kisii, warts and all!
... Yes, this IS Kenya!!
DM
Tell me more about the speech... what words were causing issues?
Sorry to hear about your non-sleep... Alarms - neccesary evil.
DM - Glad to hear at least you can get a good cup of tea those sides!
Nuttycow - it was something to do with working together and I couldn't work out if he was trying to go with the word was 'synergy'or perhaps 'synchronise' - anyway what we got in Kibaki's speech was;
"Sin, sini, sin, sini,..tsk .. AIYA!"
- and then he moved onto the next sentence! (to much laughter from the house). :)
MC the word that Kibaki could not pronounce was "ethnicity". For some reason his tongue could not take the bend from th to cit.
By the by started a blog today. - Peter Ndegwa
Glad to see on the surface that all is hugs and kisses again. Did they happen to mention the number of people who lost their lives because of this?
ok, let's see what happenes to kenya from now.
MC , I just wish kibaki could speak from his heart instead of always reading those boring ass speeches. I see where Raila gets his popularity from: he's not afraid of debate or controversy.
why can't we have leaders who actuallt talk to teh people instead of reading from scripts?
Hope synergy was not the problematic word. Stumbling over that ('sin..sin..sin') could create altogether different images of working together!
Peter - Hey, excellent news that you've joined 'blog world' - Welcome to you.
Aims - Number of lives lost is trying to be kept at forefront before it is conveniently forgotten by these fellows, that's for sure.
Lone Ranger - Now you see that was where MO 1 was the man - he could talk off the top of his head - same bo**ix but at least from his head and not reading words he could not get his tongue round.
Kat - Nice to see you. You're right about the 'sin' but luckily word turned out to be 'ethnicity' (see Baba W&M comment).
Kenya honeymoon proves a roaring success
8/03/2008
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The guard appeared out of the night and blocked our path as we left the dinner table at Governors Camp, in the Masai Mara.
"Wait here," he ordered, holding his rifle in one hand and a torch in the other.
Ginny and I had been on honeymoon for three days, after ignoring Foreign Office advice not to travel to Kenya due to the post-election violence - had we made a bad decision?
"You must wait here," he smiled. "An elephant is passing through."
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In the darkness, we spotted a mudspattered grey flank .
As if on cue the elephant snorted, waded further into the lush swamp by the Mara river and dumped its enormous belly into a pool of water. "You may come now," smiled the Masai guard, who escorted us to the veranda of our luxurious tent before resuming his silent vigil by the bar.
It was our only brush with danger during five wonderful nights in Kenya, where we enjoyed a thrilling safari and a relaxing stay in Lake Victoria.
We saw no sign of the recent unrest.
In truth, the hospitality of the ordinary Kenyans we met allayed our fears within hours of landing.
Regardless of their tribal origins, they were united in disappointment at the British Foreign Office advice. Bookings were cancelled and hotels emptied - not least because the FCO statement invalidated nearly everyone's travel insurance.
When we took off from Heathrow on a Kenya Airways overnight flight, not one tourist had been attacked, let alone injured. But the flight was almost empty.
The stunning sunrise across the east African plain as we came into land, after enjoying a good night's sleep on the new flatbeds by splashing out on business class, brushed away any lingering doubts.
Kuoni's representative in Nairobi arranged a transfer to Wilson airport, from where we flew to the Masai.
Within minutes of taking off from Wilson we were enjoying the experience of soaring over hills, plains, rivers and marshes.
The hour-long flight was an appetiser for the next few days, as our pilot pointed out herds of zebra and elephant.
It was a welcome distraction as the air sickness bags were not placed on each seat for decoration.
The flight landed at an airstrip where helpful camp staff were waiting in ex-British army Land Rovers to pick us up.
As we bounced along on the dirt tracks, animals appeared out of the grass - zebra, giraffe and water bucks.
The drivers at Governors were happy to stop for photographs - as long as we didn't get out.
"All they see is a moving green block. They do not look inside," our guide Fred would later tell us.
"They do not know what it is but they know they can't eat it. So as long as they do not think we are a threat we will be fine, even very close."
"What happens if we get out?" I asked.
"Then they will see you as an individual animal... that could be more difficult," he laughed. On arrival at Little Governors Camp (the main camp was closed due to lack of tourists) the routine was explained.
"We serve you coffee, tea and biscuits of your choice in your tent before dawn, then out for game drives."
Lunch and dinner were served outdoors near the campfire or in the bar and restaurant during the occasional rains.
Camping on honeymoon doesn't sound ideal but Governors' idea of a tent is rather grander than canvas and sleeping bags. Our tent, with a veranda overlooking a swamp teeming with animals, included an ensuite bathroom with shower, piping hot water, marble sink and wetroom.
The main tent had wood floors and was the size of a large double room in a good hotel.
From the veranda, we watched elephants, water buck, giraffes and warthogs wandered in and out of view barely 30 yards away.
Of course, the best way to see the animals is on an earlymorning game drive - or a balloon safari, which we did on our first morning.
Even a few hundred feet up, you appreciate the size of the elephants and lions but nothing beats watching them closely from a few feet away in a Land Rover.
On our first morning game drive, we spotted a herd of 10 elephants and drove over to say hello. They ignored us, the only sound was the ripping of chunks of grass by their trunks.
For serious thrills, the lions are the highlight of any trip and Governors is the perfect location. Fred, who advises the BBC's Big Cat Diary team during their three-month stays near Governors, knew just where to look. "Don't worry," he assured us as we parked 10ft from three watchful kings of the jungle. "They only see the moving block..."
During our stay we saw lions every day - including one jealously guarding a halfeaten zebra as hungry vultures circled.
Fred knew about every aspect of the lions' lives - including sex. "The male must serve the female once she is fertile every 20 minutes for 24 hours. If he doesn't, she will attack him. Afterwards, many male lions are so tired they cannot hunt for food or defend themselves. That is why many die."
After three nights, we flew from the Mara to Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria. Mfangano is a tranquil beauty spot, perfect for fishing and birdwatching.
Our room was one of six at the camp, a stone hut with en-suite, at the top of a path through the lush gardens tended by Governors staff. Breakfast was on the jetty watching king- fishers dart out from the rocks, and lunch was freshly caught Nile perch. The camp has its own pool, plus boats for guests who fancy trips on to the lake where crocodiles are reputed to thrive.
Our last evening in Nairobi was spent at the luxurious Palacina Apartments. It is a boutique hotel with a fantastic restaurant which deserves its reputation as the city's best.
We spent our second week enjoying the white sands of Zanzibar, staying at the Breezes Beach Club on the Indian Ocean island. Breezes is a four-star resort with pool. It also has private access to a beautiful beach, with a shallow sea out to the coral reef.
Zanzibar is an Islamic society with an African feel to it. Alcohol is served in most bars and cafes by locals who are happy to make tourists feel at home.
Stonetown is worth a visit if only to see Freddie Mercury's birthplace - a house on a crumbling but charming quiet street.
But the real pleasure on this former spice island is simply soaking up the sun then cooling off with a refreshing dip in the gentle turquoise waves by your hotel.
GETTING THERE..
We flew with Kenya Airways (www.kenya-airways.com/0178 488 8222) from Heathrow to Nairobi (www.kuoni.co.uk/0130 674 4444).
Create your own package or book a Governors camp at www.governorscamp.com Flights from Nairobi to the Mara were booked through www.safarilink-kenya.com Breezes Beach, Zanzibar (www.breezes-zanzibar.com) and the Palacina, Nairobi(www.palacina.com) can be booked through agents or direct. For more information, visit www.magicalkenya.com
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