Bashir’s contempt of South African court sets bad precedence for African strongmen who ride on diplomatic immunity to escape with impunity

Bashir’s contempt of South African court sets bad precedence for African strongmen who ride on diplomatic immunity to escape with impunity

T

here are grave ramifications of arresting a sitting Head of State. One, the country that arrests the indicted Head of State is likely to be embroiled in a diplomatic spat. Sudan could not have taken kindly the actions of South Africa arresting their president yet the latter enjoys diplomatic immunity. But it is high time we rethink if the diplomatic immunity extends to protecting someone suspected of war crimes and genocide.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

That Sudanese president Omar al Bashir chose to fly out of South Africa despite a Pretoria High Court issuing a warrant of arrest against him makes a mockery of justice system and is a gross violation of not only the South African constitution but also the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The way Bashir sneaked out of South Africa is likely to embolden other rulers in Africa who would rather support impunity which is the lifeline of their dictatorial streaks. Bashir comes off as a coward who is unable to face justice if indeed he believes he is innocent. After all doesn’t the law presume one innocent until proven guilty?

The Rome Statute needs to be amended to make it compulsory for ICC member states to effect the warrants of arrests should those indicted step on their soil. The fact that member states choose voluntarily to comply or not in itself undermines justice since they are not held accountable for the failure to apprehend a suspect yet they subscribe to the ideals of ICC.

Of course there are grave ramifications of arresting a sitting Head of State. One, the country that arrests the indicted Head of State is likely to be embroiled in a diplomatic spat. Sudan could not have taken kindly the actions of South Africa arresting their president yet the latter enjoys diplomatic immunity. But it is high time we rethink if the diplomatic immunity extends to protecting someone suspected of war crimes and genocide.

Toothless Dog

The ICC has been exposed as a toothless dog that only barks but doesn’t bite. The Rome Statute should be amended to widen the jurisdiction of the ICC. Thus the ICC will transcend geopolitical borders and will be more efficient in bringing the ICC suspects to book wherever they are regardless of their status is in the society.

The UN estimates that over 300,000 Sudanese were killed in Darfur while about 2.5 million were rendered Internally Displaced Persons in their own country. These people still cry for justice which hasn’t been forthcoming since 2003 when the Darfur conflict erupted.

ICC should also be seen to shake off the tag that it was created for Africa. This notion is gotten from the fact that since the creation of ICC in 2002 it has handled 22 cases all from Africa yet there have been conflicts elsewhere such as in the Arab World and no one has been brought to justice. Does the ICC overlook the alleged war crimes committed by USA and UK in Iraq but is obsessed with chasing African dictators? Why is it silent on Syria?

For ICC to work effectively, it must act independently and fairly. Any bias on its part will only serve to erode confidence and credibility it once enjoyed in the eyes of citizens who find themselves under iron fist rule and looked up to the ICC to save them from their dictatorial regimes. Once more, South Africa should’ve arrested Bashir and handed him over to the ICC even if it’d have resulted to economic sanctions by Sudan against South Africa. Justice has a cost too.

Tharaka Nithi nurses strike point to failed health devolution

Tharaka Nithi nurses strike point to failed health devolution

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

T

hat health workers have stayed put and vowed to continue with their strike at the expense of patients points to a failed take off of transfer of the health function from the national government to the county governments.

The nurses refused to return to work after their May salaries were paid in full. They raised other issues like calling on the governor Samuel Ragwa to sack the Health executive Magdalene Njeru who accused the nurses of stealing medicine from the hospitals in Chuka General Hospital.

The nurses are obliged by their professional code of conduct to prioritize the plight of the patients at all times. The Hippocratic Oath holds and any professional doctor should be compassionate to the plight of the patients, majority of whom are poor to seek medical attention to private health facilities.

Graft Claims

As a result, the patients from Tharaka Nithi County have transferred to Meru and Embu teaching and referral hospitals. The claims of health workers stealing public medicine from public hospitals should be investigated and culpable nurses be prosecuted. It is alleged that the nurses have opened private clinics in town where they stuff the siphoned drugs which they recommend to their patients who are told that the drugs have ran out of supply. Medical dishonesty is a serious crime at a time when negligence among the medical fraternity have hit the local headlines.

Rightly, governor Ragwa maintains that the nurses must return to work since their dues have been paid. Any continued standoff will only lead to more needless suffering and at worse loss of lives.

IFMIS

There is also an urgent need for the national government to streamline the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) which is blamed for the delays in paying publics` servants including nurses and other professionals. It will also help for the county governments to partner with banks to ensure that nurses get their salary within the shortest time. Above all, patience and dialogue should prevail for the nurses who are educated enough to know the consequences of their strike on the ordinary citizens.

Mr. Ragwa has welcomed consultations with the nurses in a move expected to stem suffering among the patients. No amount of grandstanding will help the nurses. They should eat a humble pie and know that regardless of their duties they owe service delivery to Kenyans and must serve them selflessly and steer clear of politics and sideshows.

Tourists attracted by Machakos’ anti-gravity force of nature

Tourists attracted by Machakos’ anti-gravity force of nature

T

he puzzle of the myth is that storytellers do not explain who sired Kamau. Is it Mwilu or Kyalo? I guess it is Kyalo since the mother had a soft spot for him.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

Kyamwilu defies gravity. Photo/Google Images

Ukambani is changing for the better. With a top-notch governor like Alfred Mutua the Lower Eastern region is no more synonymous with hunger and relief aid. True, the region is sandy and not the best place to grow crops unless under irrigation but we in Ukambani have a phenomena that defies forces of nature and baffles scientists since it was “discovered” by the colonialists in the 19^th century. I say discover in quotes because historians would want to erroneously make us believe that Africans who lived in Kyamwilu village had not lived with the phenomenon where water climbs uphill for years until the Whites arrived. How racist? That aside, welcome to Machakos County the home to Kyamwilu hill where water does not follow conventional laws of nature. Located along Machakos- Kangundo road, the Kyamwilu hill is a gem.

The origin of the name Kyamwilu is interwoven in rich Akamba myths which have been passed from generation to another by the word of mouth. A story is told about a woman who was married to two brothers. With time the polyandry hit the rocks as the siblings grew jealous against one another. The marriage went on and on until the woman became pregnant with one of the men and gave birth to a baby boy named Kamau.

The wife never accorded both brothers equal affection since she visited Kyalo more often than Mwilu. As a result their siblings’ rivalry escalated as the woman of the house preferred to visit Kyalo who lived on the lower side of the hill than Mwilu who lived on the upper part of the hill. As a consequence, Kyalo enjoyed more frequent conjugal rights compared to his brother Mwilu.

The wife eventually passed away and the son survived her although he refused to stay at the disputed matrimonial homestead preferring to migrate to an unknown place. The Kamba folk lore seem to hold glaring double standards since it permits polygamy where a man marries many wives but in this story the woman who married just two brothers was doomed. Even Mother Nature seems to reprimand the woman for having her cake and eating it, literally.

Rebellious Hill

The abnormal scenery makes climbing the hill easier than descending it given the force of gravity acts contrary to the way it is supposed to do; make ascending easier. If your car breaks down on the road at Kyamwilu you will have to hire people to push it downhill where more force is required to work that going uphill. It is also a nice place for fitness as you enjoy climbing upwards more than downhill.

A simple experiment is usually administered by guests who carry water in bottles and pour it on the road and eureka, the water flows upstream not the expected downhill! The spot that spans about 100 meters is named in honor of Mwilu, the husband who never got to enjoy conjugal rights from the matriarch of the house who instead preferred his brother Kyalo. The puzzle of the myth is that storytellers do not explain who sired Kamau. Is it Mwilu or Kyalo? I guess it is Kyalo since the mother had a soft spot for him.

Unfortunately, the marvelous wonder of the world reinforces stereotype that says Kambas love sex and fans superstition which the community is revered for the “kamuti” culture. Their neighbours from Kitui excel better in this. Just look at the next street post and it will be written “Dakitari Kutoka Kitui”.

Which story? To sell or to tell?

 Which story? To sell or to tell?

W

hen deadlines arrive without having a byline know your headline has no lifeline.

By MUSYOKA NGUI

Field can be a very interesting and challenging arena at the same time. Doors are opened and slammed in equal measures. Sources can be generous yet mean. Open and secretive.

Actually, field reporting is not something you learn in college because they do not teach it in the first place.

No one teaches you how to steal evidence. Yet the editor doesn’t want stories he wants page ones. When deadlines arrive without having a byline know your headline has no lifeline.

Dispatches from field must arrive fast and furious yet factual. Pressure of delivery is midwived by the pleasure of technology which is a game changer.

Dilemmas are abound. Which story do we report? The one that is easy or the hard one? Whose interests should we prioritize? The reader or the advertiser?

After college I realize that some theories were a waste of time. We were taught you should not write a headline as a question. But the Nairobian is asking readers questions and it is claimed to sell more copies over the weekend than the two leading local dailies.

In the streets I see people clutching the Nairobian and shunning “serious” papers. Who is a journalist to decide what is appropriate and what is chatter? Is he a moralist?

I understand there is need for editing a paper for the family but when an editor assumes that the adults are minors who need to be protected it leaves many questions unanswered.

I bet the safe way to present editorial material is to give every side of story as humanely possible and leave the audience to judge and crucify the content. You cannot go wrong that way. Self-censorship is a culprit in silencing the truth and making reporters accomplices in covering up sleaze, moral decadence and basically it is what happens when strange bedfellows go to bed without editorial foreplay as some panelist put it in NTV’s Presspass, a media watchdog show.

While opinion is like an a** and everyone has one, I believe any journalist who kills a story must have power to resurrect bland one from a clueless reporter who hasn’t mastered the art of tying the loose ends and encourage her to do better.

“I got published” is one of the rarest expressions from struggling journalists who still are pushing envelopes without headway.

The public interest overrides all the ethical codes and it should be the compass that guides editorial judgment. At the end of the day, tell the story in public interest not in vested interest.