EAJA holds Investigative Workshop in Uganda

EAJA has held a two day workshop in Uganda. The workshop ran from August 11-12, 2014 at the Eureka Hotel, Ntinda Area of Kampala.

Participants at the EAJA-Uganda workshop

ECHOES FROM THE PAST: WALLS REGAINING EARS!

 OPINION:(This opinion was initially published by the author on his facebook page)

By Oduor Ong'wen

July 24, Nairobi · 

WALLS REGAINING EARS!

The National Intelligence Service could soon have complete access to your mobile phone messages and emails if a Bill proposing the removal of a requirement mandating them to first get court warrants before accessing any citizen's private messages sails through National Assembly.

The Bill proposes the deletion of section 36 (2) of the current act, on limitation to right to privacy as enshrined in Article 31 of the Constitution, that provides for the court's participation.

The court process was to mitigate between the need for the protection of citizens' privacy while at the same time allowing government agents monitor the activities of those that they suspect of criminal involvement in activities such as terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking and corruption.

Before gaining access to a citizen's private communication data, it was upon the spy agency to convince the courts why it was important to have the rights to privacy removed. This may not be the case soon, if the government gets its way in National Assembly.

The section targeted for amendment provides that, "the right to privacy may be limited in respect of a person suspected to have committed an offence to the extent that the privacy of a person's communications may be investigated, monitored or otherwise interfered with".

Section 42 as currently written gives NIS powers to browse your mails only after obtaining court warrant. The spy agency therefore needed to apply for the document from the High Court, in writing stating among others the type of information, material, record, document or thing proposed to be obtained.

If parliament approves the amendments, the government spies will now have powers to listen in on your phone conversations and intercept your mails without the Judiciary exercising any control.
The Bill further seeks to amend Section 36 (1) of the Act to give the spies power to infringe on the privacy of any person who is subject to investigations. Under the same Act, NIS can only monitor, listen or intercept communication of any person deemed to have committed an offence.

The right to privacy set out in Article 31 of the Constitution which states that every person has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have their person, home or property searched; their possessions seized; information relating to their family or private affairs unnecessarily required or revealed; or the privacy of their communications infringed.

Saba Saba Rally held amid heavy security, sets stage for the continued tussle with Govt

The public rally called by the Opposition Cord at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, dubbed "Saba Saba", was attended by thousands of the opposition coalition supporters amid heavy security which some people said was reminiscent of the police state under the former Kanu regime voted out in 2002.

A section of the crowd at the Cord Rally

According to the government, more than 15,000 police officers were deployed at the venue of the rally and in the city, the presence of which scared away many people. Business remained closed and the city centre and its environs remained deserted as thousands of people streamed to the rally venue while other stayed at home. Many schools were closed both in Nairobi and in other parts of the country.

Police presence at the Rally: Kenya turning into police state?

There were brief skirmishes in Kisumu in Western Kenya but the situation across the country remained largely peaceful. The Cord rally, led by the threee principals, Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula passed a serries of resolutions which they said would define their next course of action in moving the country forward.

Many Kenyans had expected to follow th rally live on TV but this did not happen, prompting many people to complain about the media 
 being compromised. There has been an attempt lately to intimidate the media in Kenya. Senior editors were recently summoned to ameeting with chief security officers who reportedluy warned them to tread carefull and to report on security matters "responsibly", a euphimism for censorship.

Below is the full text of the resolutions:


RESOLUTION BY THE PEOPLE OF KENYA DURING THE SABASABA SABA SABA RALLY WAS PEACEFUL AND SUCCESSFUL, HERE ARE RESOLUTIONS
ASSEMBLY HELD ON MONDAY 7TH JULY, 2014 AT UHURU PARK, NAIROBI

WE THE PEOPLE OF KENYA here assembled at Uhuru Park on this historic day on which we commemorate our struggle for freedom, democracy and good governance;

REMINDED of the events of the 1960s leading to the clawing of the democratic ideals in the Lancaster Constitution by the administration of the late Jomo Kenyatta and noting that the Jubilee regime has adopted a similar pattern in reversing the democratic gains in our new Constitution by curtailing media freedom through the enactment of the Media Act, Amending the National Police Service Act and the National Police Service Commission Act, introducing amendments to the land laws to remove powers from the National Land Commission to the executive, amending the Truth Justice & Reconciliation Commission Act to allow Parliament to debate, amend and mutilate the Commission’s Report on historical injustices; and, introducing legislation to curtail the Civil Society movement in the country.

RECOGNISING that Article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya vests all sovereign power in the people of Kenya;

ALARMED by the direction that our country is taking; in particular, the rising insecurity, escalating cost of living and increased negative ethnicity and exclusion from public service and national resources;

CONCERNED about the refusal by the Jubilee regime to accede to National Dialogue with the
CORD Coalition to discuss issues of national concern to the people of Kenya;

CONCERNED by endemic corruption rife within Jubilee Administration, including complicity by senior officials in Jubilee Administration including: Anglo-leasing, Standard Gauge Railway, School Laptop project, Security surveillance equipment procurement fiasco;

CONCERNED that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has failed to take responsibility for their failure to duly discharge their mandate of managing an independent, impartial electoral process, with the open connivance and protection of the Jubilee Administration;

DISTURBED by the Jubilee Government’s relentless assault on our Constitution; in particular, the curtailing of our fundamental rights and freedoms including the freedom of belief, expression and assembly; freedom of the media and press; undermining devolution by establishing parallel structures of Provincial Administration in competition with County Governments; and, flagrant failure to uphold the national values and principles of patriotism, equity and inclusivity;

AWARE that Devolution is the greatest gift in the new Constitution to the people of Kenya to promote equitable sharing of national resources and therefore deserves to be jealously guarded;

CONCERNED about systemic profiling and victimizing of sections the country based on religion and ethnicity by the Jubilee regime, leading to capital flight by for example the Eastleigh Somali business community to neighboring countries;

DISMAYED by the emasculation and abuse of Parliament by the Jubilee administration by subverting and undermining its legislative authority and mandate;

NOTING that this has already led to the assault on and reversal of democratic gains brought by the Constitution by enacting retrogressive and unconstitutional legislation;

DETERMINED to defend our hard-earned Constitution and to continue undeterred our pursuit of democracy, good governance, unity, peace, equality, inclusivity, justice and prosperity;

THEREFORE ASSERTING our sovereignty as the people of Kenya and our right to exercise the sovereign power directly; the Jubilee administration having refused to accede to our plea for national dialogue;

WE NOW RESOLVE as follows: -

1. We launch today OKOA KENYA, a people’s movement to defend our Constitution, support one another in good and bad times, protect the gains we have made in democratic governance, and rededicate ourselves to national unity and peaceful co-existence.

2. Demand that the Jubilee administration addresses the escalating cost of living by reviewing the taxation regime; failing which we will boycott the consumption of goods and services whose prices are beyond the reach of the common Mwananchi and commence commercial sanctions against companies which continue to ignore our plight.

3. Convene an all-inclusive National Referendum Committee (NRC) for the purpose of preparing the people of Kenya for a national referendum on the critical challenges facing our Nation.

4. Mandate the National Referendum Committee to ensure the maximum participation of the people of Kenya in the referendum at the County, Sub-County and Ward levels all over Kenya; in formulating the referendum question(s), collecting and collating one million signatures to initiate the referendum.

5. Having lost all confidence in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC); do now demand its immediate disbandment and the establishment of a new electoral body.

6. Demand the immediate end to corruption, wasteful spending, reckless borrowing within and by Jubilee Government. In this regard, we demand that the Jubilee administration immediately cancels the inflated security camera contract irregularly awarded to Safaricom and that Safaricom withdraws from the contracts and subjects itself to competitive bidding, failing which we will commence commercial sanctions on Safaricom and other companies abetting corruption or engaging in monopolistic practices.

7. Demand that the Jubilee administration takes immediate steps to withdraw our gallant soldiers from Somalia to join our forces in securing our nation from home.

8. Demand that the Jubilee administration takes visible, decisive action to deal with runaway insecurity, including holding the senior security officials accountable for hundreds of Kenyans who have been killed and maimed in the various attacks and conflicts across the country.

9. Reject attempts by the Executive through Parliament to bastardise the Report of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC Report) and demand the immediate implementation of the original and unadulterated Report.

10. Demand that the Jubilee administration immediately addresses the underlying land issues that are at the heart of some of the most enduring historical injustices and conflicts in our society.

11. Demand a National Audit and publication by the Public Service Commission of all appointments made in the public service by the Jubilee administration, with full details listing names, ethnic backgrounds and percentages.

12. Recognizing that the Jubilee administration has failed to apply national resources equitably across the country, we demand that 40 per centum of the projected ordinary revenue of the current fiscal year be allocated to the County Governments.

13. Demand that a National Audit on how resources at the disposal of the National Jubilee administration are applied across the country.

The Cord leaders (L-R) Moses Wetangula, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka address the rally.

GOD BLESS KENYA

UK Journalism students in Kenya for familiarization tour

A group of journalism students from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom are on a learning tour of Kenya to familiarize themselves with how the media is contributing to community transformation.

One of the students during an interview at Radio Nam Lolwe

The students, led by A Senior Lecturer in Journalism Dr. George Ogola arrived in Nairobi on July 28, and have met different groups in Nairobi and Kisumu.

The group arrived in Kisumu today July 2 and visited Radio Nam Lolwe and Radio Lake Victorie where they met the staff and journalists. They were briefed on the kind of radio content broadcast by the two radio stations which focus on governance, health, environment, gender, fishing and other economic activities.

On July 3, the students and their lecturer held a round table discussion with journalists and community leaders drawn from Kisumu and its environs to discuss the role of the media in community development. The meeting discussedd the need for the media to focus on social and economic issues of the local community as a way of transforming society. There emerged interesting views on the role of the media, and more so the radio broadcasting in local languages and the place of the ordinary citizens in setting the agenda and informing the content of the radio programs.

The UK students talk to Kenyan journalists in Kisumu

The students with their Lecturer Dr. George Ogola (second left in cap) at Osienala/Radio Lake Viictoria

Oluoch Kanindo: The End of a Colourful and Controversial Political Career

The Late Phares Oluoch Kanindo

One of the most colourful politicians in Nyanza and Kenya over the last 40 years or so has been the late Phares Oluoch Kanindo, who passed on at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu shortly after mid night on Saturday May 24/25, 2014.

He was burried on June 13, 2014 at his Komolo Rume home near Sony Sugar Factory in Awendo Constituency of Migori County. The burial ceremony attended by key political figures in Nyanza and beyond, among them the former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga.

Kanindo was a likable personality, full of humour and was an acclaimed orator who would leave the crowd in stitches, even at funerals. He was an adept Dholuo speaker who understood the nuances of the language and would always have choice words, phrases, parables and quotes befitting different occasions. 

People who knew him always looked forward to listening to his speech. He was also straddling a generation within the Luo community, between the older generation who took time to know and and value people and the younger group. Kanindo knew many people and their families intimately and could relate with them and ask about their family members whenever he met them. 

It is perhaps easy mien that made him charm his way into the hearts of voters in the then large Homabay Constituency in 1979, beating a crowded field of seasoned politicians from where he rose to become an Assistant Minister in the Kanu government of retired President Daniel Arap Moi. 

The then larger Homabay has since then been split into Rangwe, Homabay Town, Rongo and Awendo constituencies. He served as the Homabay Constituency MP from 1979-1988 when he lost at the "mlolongo" (queue -voting system)  nominations to Dalmas Otieno.

As an Assistant Minister for Education, Kanindo will be membered for helping many young people from South Nyanza access college education and teaching jobs before he was sacked by Moi after he was seen greeting the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in Nairobi. At the time, it was politically suicidal to associate with the Odingas. 

Raila Odinga

Jaramogi parted ways with the Kanu establishment following the 1966 controversial Kanu conference at Limuru during which the then ruling party created 8 Vice Presidents, and even in Nyanza , he was edged out of the pary’s leadership even though he was the country’s Vice President. 

In Nyanza, the Kanu vice Chairman became the late Lawrence Sagini from Kisii in an orchestrated party coup that marked part of what ails the country to date.  Kanu strategiss Tom Mboya was widely believed to have been ingeneered this coup at the behest of President Jomo Kenyatta, and of course Mboya himself who was Odinga's rival within the party and in Nyanza. 

Odinga was to immediately thereafter form the Kenya People’s Union (KPU), an opposition party to give space to those whofelt uncomfortable in Kanu. Although KPU brought together politicians from different communities including Bildad Kagia from Muranga, the government was to create a most restrictive and intimidating political environment ever seen at the time, coupled with propaganda, which emasculated the nascent opposition party .

But the Luo saying goes, "Ondiek chamo wendone!". The Kaimbu mafia under Kenyatta were soon scheming to get rid of Mboya, even more violently that TJ, fondly known as "Oke G'Odhiambo" could imagine, after he helped them tame Odinga.

Mboya, then the Economic Planning Minsiter and Kanu's Secretary General was cruelly assassinated in broad daylight on July 5, 1969 on Moi Avenue. Another senior Luo politician and a prominent lawyer, CMG Argwings Kodhek had also died the previous year in a suspicious car accident near the Deparment of Defence in Nairobi. 

The Luo nation was seething with rage against Kanu and the Kenyatta government. The president skipped Mboy's burial in Rusinga amid the demos in Nairobi and Kisumu. However, three months later, Kenyatta drove into Kisumu from Kakamega, to preside over the official opening of the Russia Hospital (Now Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital), which was built with aid from the Soviet Union, through Odinga's influence.

Tom MBoya: His killing enraged the Luo

 During the function, Kenyatta got into a furious argument and quarrel with Odinga leading to one of the worst massacres of unamed civilians in Kenya's history. Chaos erupted in Kisumu, with angry members of the crwod stoning Kenyatta's motorcade which literally shot its way out of the city, with Kenyatta's body guards, in the process, killing more than 100 people by various accounts, although the government put the death toll at 30. 

The government blamed the incident on the opposition party KPU and Kenyatta immediately banned it, throwing most of its leaders, including Odinga, into detention. 

From that point on, it became suicidal to associate with the Odingas if you wanted to survive in the Kanu regime or in politics generally. Odinga himself was to be kept in political Siberia for decades until the return of multi-party politics in 1992.

When Moi took over and announced he woulf "fuata Nyayo" (follow in the footsteps of Kenyatta) then all those who wanted political rehabilitation knew they had to disown Jaramogi to make it to the Kanu eating table or be in the neighbourhood to even smell the aroma, wafting from the ruling party's eatings chief's table and kitchen.

Yet Kanindo’s father Anindo Wuon Nyakachunga was Odinga’s long -time friend and one of the key elders within the Luo community and Kanindo his son and Odinga’s eldest son Oburu, went to Pe-Hill High School together and would often stay at Anindo’s Awendo home during the holidays. 

By meeting and talking to Odinga when he was an Assistant Minister, Oluoch Kanindo risked his position in the government. Such was Oluoch’s daring nature which Oburu told mourners at his burial on June 13, adding that the late Kanindo could take risks for the sake of friends.

Kanindo often took very controversial positions in Luo politics but he was never vilified as much as other politicians who went that route. This was because he was skillful in his political operations and was “sungura mjanja” so to speak, retaining a leg and friendship in the opposition with the rest of the Luo over the years even as he benefitted from the Kanu largesse.

“An achalo muok. Kweya ni edhoga. Lewani ema achiemogo!” (Literally, he meant that it was his power of speech (residing in his mouth and tongue!) that kept him going and made him reap benefits from the political establishment, helping him survive between the opposing political forces). And survive he did!

Part of the crown at Kanindo's Burial

Following the introduction of multi-party politics in 1991, Kanindo quickly joined the original Ford and later followed Jaramogi and the rest of his Luo community to Ford Kenya when the original Ford split up, with Kenneth Matiba and the late Martin Shikuku taking away one part of it, which they named Ford Asili. 

But Kanindo was to take an about-turn in late 1992 after he lost the at the Ford Kenya nominations for the Rongo seat. He was beaten by the late Linus Aluoch polo who went on to become the MP for two terms. Kanindo issued a strong statement denouncing Jaramogi and Ford Kenya, a statement which the state radio and Kanu propaganda machine then, KBC, aired prominently for nearly one week.

The Luo community was appalled by the statement and Kanindo became, at least for a while, a pariah, feeling the heat from every quarter. The Luo community viewed him as a sell-out, betraying his father’s longtime friend, Jaramogi.  

Unfortunately for him, he could not get the Kanu ticket as the current Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno had wedged himself firmly as the then ruling party’s favourite candidate at the time, having been propped up by the then powerful Internal Security Permanent Secretary the late Hezekiah Oyugi in the 1988 “mlolongo” elections.

Dalmas Otieno (r) with President Uhuru Kenyatta

After Polo became the MP, Kanindo sought rehabilitation within Ford Kenya unsuccessfully. But he never held grudges and would attend political forums, meeting his rivals and using his oratory skills to endear himself to the people even as he poked fun at them and his rivals. 

“Eeh wuod gi Nyuando! Polo wuod gi Nyuando!” (Nyuando was Polo’s cousin so Kanindo would praise him as a "Nyuando's brother!"), he would fondly call out to the Rongo Ford Kenya MP whenever they met at public places and funeral, sometimes as he welcomed him to address a gathering. 

Kanindo was never re-elected as MP for Homabay or for the Rongo seat which was split from the larger Homabay, but he maintained relative political relevance and proved quite a thorn in the flesh to his rivals. 

In the 1990s he would often team up with Otieno Dalmas, campaigning for Kanu, first in 1993 for Charles Owino Likowa who had that year defected from Ford Kenya to Kanu, leaving the Migori seat vacant and in 1994, for Tom Obondo in Ndhiwa who also left Ford Kenya for Kanu.

However in Migori, Owino Achola beat Likowa on Ford Kenya ticket and represented Migori for two terms while Obondo was replaced in Ndhiwa by the late Joshua Orwa Ojode. In between, there were also some civic by-elections where Kanindo joined Otieno to drum up support for Kanu candidates.

Former Migori MP Owino Likowa

In 1995, Kanindo also joined Otieno and other Kanu luminaries in Nyanza to campaign for Ochola Ogur who had also defected from Ford Kenya to Kanu. However Ogur was beaten by the late Tom Akuoro Onyango who went in on Ford Kenya ticket.

At some point, between 1995-1996,  Kanindo got tired of playing second fiddle to Otieno Dalmas in Kanu. He waged a determined effort to dislodge Dalmas as the Migori Branch Kanu Chairman. 

Kanindo teamed up at the time with John Dache Pesa, who had just retired from being the Migori Teachers Training College Principal, in an unsuccessful attempt to take over the Migori Kanu Branch Chairmanship from Otieno and his team. Pesa later joined ODM, in 1997, to become the MP for Migori from from later that year to 2013 when he was dislodged by Junet Mohamed.

During the struggle to replace Otieno, Kanindo and Pesa at one point mobilized truckloads of supporters including cane cutters from Awendo in an attempt to take over the Kanu Branch Office in Migori town located at Pand Pieri near the Juakali sheds. 

Dalmas, then a powerful cabinet minister got support from the provincial administration and the police, which sent the Kanindo-Pesa axis fleeing from Migori town. But a section of the crowd later gathered at Girango Hotel, which was then being run by Pesa, for a meal which had been prepared in anticipation of victory. 

Such was the drama that characterized Kanindo –Otieno relationship but they remained politically tolerant of each other with bouts of love-hate relationship. 

Kanindo somehow maintained his own direct access to Moi even though Otieno was the only Luo cabinet minister through whom most delegations would go to Moi. Kanindo would always find his own way to Kabarak, to see Moi, who twice appointed him the Chairman of Sony Sugar Company.

He was a very clever political operative and could sometimes make his opponents most uncomfortable at public places and even use some of his own supporters to painfully prick both Dalmas and Polo. 

Oburu Odinga (in yellow shirt) with Raila at kanindo's burial

In one instance, he mobilized an anti –Otieno wave in Rongo, using Ford Kenya councilors, led by the late Omolo Miguna and Were Ogango. The group issued statements which called on Otieno to discourage delegations to his Kangeso home saying this divided the people of Rongo, and made Dalmas compare with President Moi who was also receiving delegations to his Kabarak home!

The statement appeared in the media at a time when President Moi was visiting Nyanza and at a time when Otieno, as a cabinet minister was under surveillance to gauge his loyalty to Kanu.

The Moi regime was still smarting from the after effects of the grisly murder of the then Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Robert John Ouko, whose body, with gorged out eyes, was found at the foot of Got Alila in Muhoroni, Kisumu County. So the Kanu loyalty barometer was on Otieno.

The late former powerful PS and Otieno’s mentor, Hezekiah Oyugi Ogango (Kalambe duong!” – the one with a big pen!”) had died abroad under suspicious circumstances after he was arrested and later sacked as he prepared to to and give evidence at the Ouko Commssion of Inquiry then sitting at Kisumu.

Oyugi was arrested together with the then Moi confidant and powerful Minister Nicholas Biwott. But the Kerio Valley MP was quickly freed and later re-appointed to the Cabinet.  

Kanindo’s activities caused quite some unease for Otieno who reportedly got a tongue lashing from Moi. Biwott,o was back in the Cabinet, with increased influence in the Moi government remained deeply paranoid of all Luo politicians after he was blamed for Ouko’s killing.

Characteristically, Kanindo often emerged unscathed after fomenting trouble for his political rivals. He had his way of explaining himself out of tight situations and even though Otieno blamed him for undercutting him as the only Luo Cabinet Minister, a sizeable chunk of Rongo and Luo people sided with Kanindo. 

In one case in 2002 before the General Elections which saw Moi beaten by the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), Kanindo, who was angling for the Rongo seat within Narc had to explain his reported presence at President Moi’s Kabarak home. 

At a funeral at Ranjira near Awendo, Kanindo disarmed the agitated crowd who were unhappy that he had been spotted at Kabarak when he claimed he was in Narc and the Liberal Democratic Party led by Raila Odinga at the time thus:

“Achiedh nade mamiyo dhiang’ kaw lewe mochiemogo to kendo ochako onang’ogo olunde ema nyocha omiyo adhi neno Moi Wuod Odongo!. Nyocha ung’eyo ni ne awito migoka dalaka koro nadhi ni Jaduong Moi mondoo yuora e chandruok, to kane awuok to aromo kod jothurwa moa Migori ka e rangach! To kanyo ema picha mar television omenya kamoso yawago! Koso ne kik amos jothurwa mabende ne odhi dwaro mogo ir Moi? An ne ok an kodgi! 

The point he was making in very persuasive Dholuo was that his being seen (on TV) at Moi’s Kabarak home was out of a tough choice he had to make becuase he had lost his daughter and because he was in dire need of assistance and had visited Moi's at Kabarak. He dismissed claims that he was part of a Kanu delegation from Migori at Kabarak at the time, saying he was captured on TV as he greeted members of the delegation, which he could not avoid since they were from his district! 

Dalmas had led the delegation to Kabarak, along with remnants of the Kanu supporters, apparently to pledge loyalty at a time the Narc wave was beginning to sweep across the country and the whole Kanu brigade was treated with utmost disdain by most members of the Luo community.

Kanindo’s last stab in elective politics was in 2013 when he unsuccessfully vied for the Migori Senate seat as an independent candidate.  He lost to Dr Wilfred Machage who stood on an ODM ticket. However, he never faded from view and was before his death concerned at the apparent bad blood between Raila and Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.

"Uneno kaka jomoko tiyo gi jo gaset thuwo joluo?(Do you see how some people are using them media to create bad blood between Luo leaders?", he told mouners at the burial of the wife of the late former Maranattha Mission of Kenya Director James Nyambuoro at Agongo Village in Sakwa, Awendo early this year.

Kanindo’s demise leaves a yawning social, economic and political gap. In politics and sense of humour and power of speech, he was one of a kind in his generation, ranking alongside former Alego Usonga MP Peter Catro Oloo Aringo, former Nyatike MP Ochola Ogur and former Muhoroni MP Onyango Midika and the late former Bondo MP William Odongo Omamo “Kaliech”.

Kanindo's wives at the burial

The older generation of Luos who valued the power of speech, humor and parables, and less of the more irritating casual approach and name calling that is so rampant now, will miss Kanindo dearly. He was also a committed supporter of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in which he was nurtured by his parents and was by all standards, a committed Christian.

Kanindo also loved to dress smartly and often picked choice Italian suits at the Sir Henry's in nairobi or other such expensive shops in the city or abroad whenever he traveled. He had a nack for winning over ladies. No wonder he married many wives. 

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's wife, Ida made a joke of this at his burial on June 13, narrating how the sweet- talking Kanindo eloped with her school mate who was to be his first wife, from Ogande Girls Secondary School near Homabay. Kanindo hid the lady in Tanzania for  a while before it became known that he had actually married her. 

"Kanindo ni ne mkora malich. Nobiro momayowa nyar skundwa Oganda Girls,  e jaode maduong ma koro uneno kanyono. Nokwale modhi opande mana Tanzania!"  joked Ida at the burial, in reference to the eloping episode.

 Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, Raila and Ida at  the burial

Although many people were critical of his tenure aas Sony Sugar Company Chairman, nobody could doubt his commitment to supportin and advocating for sugarcane farmers within the Awendo Sugarbelt. 

Kanindo was born on November 29, 1942, in the present Awendo Constituency in Migori County to the late Andrea Anindo and Masella Ojowi Anindo. He attended Manyatta, Lwala, and Komolo-Rume primary schools. He then joined Koderobara and Pe-Hill Intermediate School.

Kanindo later got a scholarship to Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) where he did a diploma in Radio and Wireless Electronics between 1961 and 1963.

After Kenya’s independence in 1963, Kanindo returned to the country where he later joined the Kenya News Agency (KNA) as a technician in radio and wireless devices, where he worked with among others, former Nyatike MP Ochola Ogur.

Kanindo later joined the music production industry through Electric & Musical Industries Ltd (EMI) where he served as the CEO in Kenya, under a proprietor, Graham Shepherd of EMI London, the son of the then speaker of the House of Lords in London. 

 It was during his stint at EMI that he helped many budding musicians including his brother in- law the late Collela Mazee to produce some of the most outstanding songs that rule the benga world to date. Most of the records in the 1970 through to the 1980 bore the famous tag  "Produced by Phares Oluoch Kanindo (POK)".

Nind gi kwe "Galamoro'!

CORD's Big Day in Migori -Thousands attend epic rally

Cord Leader Raila Odinga, with Suna East MP Junet Mohamed arrive at Migori Stadium

Cord Leader Raila Odinga and Co-Principal Moses Wetangula consult at Migori Stadium during the Coalition's rally.

Siaya Senator James Orengo consults with Cord leader Raila Odinga at the Migori Rally. The leaders insisted that they would go on with their countrywide rallies to pressurize the Jubilee government into acceeding to their demands for a national dialogue to discuss the country's problems.

A section of the crowd that attended the Cord rally at Migori Stadium. The rally was attended by several senators, MPs and party officials from different parts of the country. They said the planned Saba Saba (July 7, 2014) would define the future of Kenya as citizens will make a decision about the next course of action if the Jubileee government declines to accept to dialogue with them and other stakeholders on the problems facing the country.

It was a "boda boda" (motorbikes) galore as thousannds of Cord supporters poure in from different parts of the county and neighbouring counties to attend the rally. The police guarded them and non was reported stolen at the end of the rally.

TEN KILLED, 80 INJURED IN NAIROBI TERROR BLAST AS FOREIGN TOURISTS LEAVE KENYA OVER SECURITY FEARS

At least 10 people were today afternoon killed and more than 80 others injured when two blasts went off in the crowd Gikomba Market in down town Nairobi.

Scene of the terror attack: Some of the passengers died

Suspected terorists lobbed two bombs made from improvised devices, almost simulteneously, one into a public service vehicle locally known as "matatu" and another at a group of second hand dealers.


At lease two suspects were arrested at the scene, one by members of the public who spotted him fleeing and another, by the police as he hid into a garage nearby. Among those reported dead was pregnant woman who was at the market and at least four passengers in the public service vehicle.

Traders selling clothes fell victims

Some of the victims died at the various hosptials where they were rushed by the Kenya Red Cross Society among other rescue agencies.The blasts caused panic in Nairobi leading to heavy traffic jams which the police cleared after a while.

The terror attack in Nairobi, which took place around 2.30 pm, local time came shortly after more than 900 foreign tourists from Europe and America began leaving Kenya's tourist resourt city of Mombasa following travel advisories issues by  the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, among other Western countries.

The Kenya government had earlier issued a statement dismissing the the issuance of the travel advisories as ill advised, saying there was no danger from terrorists.

Players in the tourism industry who said they had incurred losses from canclled bookings amounting to millions of dollars  and would lay off workers, urged the government to step up security.

Kenya has been hit by a spate of terror attacks since last year, the most devastating being the attack on the upmarket Westgate Shopping Mall in Weestland which left 67 people dead and more than 200 others injured.

The terror attacks have been witnessed more in Nairobi and Mombasa, which has seen the government laubching a security operation which has targeed Eastliegh Area of Nirobi occupied by members of the Somali community.

The area is believed to harbour terror cells and sympathisers of the Somalia based terror group, Al-Shabaab. The group has in the past vowed to hit the country following the decison, three years ago, to send a contingent of the Kenya Defense Forces into Somalia to pursue the militantt grup and help stabilize Somalia.