Reaction to the raids
Friday, March 3rd, 2006 at 5:36 PM
This is a look at how the non traditional media in general and bloggers in particular reacted to yesterday’s shocking raid on the East African Standard newspaper and the Kenya Television Network television station. This is not a blog round up. I leave that to the professionals 
It is a collection of thoughts from various blogs!
The raid stirred Kenyans to raise their voices in protest in the streets of Nairobi. The same reaction was seen from Kenyans online as Kenyan bloggers decided to speak out. A large part of the online protest was based around Keguro‘s appeal that we all post a letter to the president on our blogs. As Adrian said in the comments we felt it was the least we can do since we can’t be out on the streets of Nairobi demonstrating. At the time of this post the following bloggers had posted the letter, with slight variations, on their blogs; MsK, Mshairi, Adrian, Afromusing, Wangari, Guessaurus, Mutumia, Kipepeo, Irena, Milonare, Uaridi, Thinker, Ciiku, Magaidi, Spicebear, Kikuyumoja, Msanii_XL, Virtual Insanity, the shipwright returns, Girl next door, Mentalacrobatics, Rombo, MamaJunkYard, MadKenyanWoman, Nakeel, Sammie.
Many bloggers in addition to joining the online letter blogging protest wrote extensively about the raids. Here are a collection of thoughts
Afromusing Wrote:
It is imperative that the govt not forget who they work for, and acts such as these cannot be tolerated.
Kenyan Pundit’s thoughts:
I think the problem with Kibaki’s advisers is that these guys suck even at being politicians, because anyone with a single political bone in their body would not pull such a move … The one silver lining has been the reaction of the Kenyan people; their voice is strengthening day by day and to me that is what Kenya needs the most - a non-complacent citizenry.
AfroFeminista address the president:
I did not vote for YOU to make such poor judgements of what amounts to a breach of national security. I know what a security breach is - it is for example when your own former Internal Security Minister revealed that there were threats of a terrorist attack on Kenya, leading to the issuing of various economically damaging travel advisories from the equally misguided fools in the West.
KikuyuMoja highlights the role of the non traditional media
The positive side effect to note down after yesterday’s raid on a newspaper and a tv station in Kenya is that all these informal networks like the (Kenyan) blogosphere and even multimedia websites like Kenyamoto (as pictured above) kept on supplying the world with the required information the so-called leaders try to hide from the public. And who knows what was shared through short messages (SMS) on mobile phone networks and e-mails…
All these networks can not be switched off by intimidating the media; and it makes me realize that people ARE connected - both at home and abroad. What a great potential!
Shiroh reminds us to stay on our toes:
Kiraitu, Saitoti, Murungaru, Raila, Kalonzo are no longer in Government, do you see them driving 1200 c.c. pickups like you do?
Resigning for the Kenyan powerful is not a punishment. It is just a peace of mind for them, away from pressure. I am saying this because people think that the only way to show the Government that you are annoyed is by not voting for them 2007. You didn’t vote for Moi in 2002; look at what faces you now! Wake up kenyans and act, change your reasoning.
Rombo’s take on Michuki’s snake analogy:
John Michuki says, rightly, that when you rattle a snake, you must prepare to be bitten by it.
He is right.
But I fear it is the government that has rattled the snake that is a usually docile public.
KenyaCricket took a break from covering the series against Zimbabwe to offer his thoughts:
Such actions does Kenya’s image huge damage in the eyes of the International community. It is time that Kenya and our administrators started to show a better face to the rest of the World.
KikuyuMoja sees censorship at play
When I came across the shameful news of the raid on The Standard & KTN in Kenya last night (thx 4 sharing, IW), the first thing that came to my mind was 1933 and the infamous Book burning that destroyed a lot of intellectual property. While some of you might consider this an overreaction to yesterday’s events, to me this just isn’t a government harassing the press and trying to cover up unpleasant stories, but a direct insult of telling people - the people - what to think.
We, the citizens of this world, are still intelligent enough to figure out what’s relevant and what’s not.
Kenya is NOT a country for a few to plunder and reign over like some private property.
The world is not going to treat us like human beings - with respect and dignity - unless we start acting and treating each other like human beings worthy and deserving of the same.
Simple common sense!And why aren’t the MPs condemning this atrocious miscarriage of justice?
I am amazed at the resources deployed to ‘safeguard state security’ via burning of newspapers, pilferage of computers and a flurry of kicks to journalists’ guts yet people are left to die during clashes, people are left to die from famine, robbers of the state’s economic security (read corruption) are left to roam freely.
Since we can safely assume that no one will be held accountable for the government’s actions, and that we will keep on walking and smiling knowing full well that an armed policeman, on ‘orders from above’ can and probably will stop, search and arrest you once in your lifetime, we hold our judiciary system just as accountable for these failures as we do the executive.
Contrary to Michuki’s sully comments there is no pride in govt sanctioned violence hence his arrogant comments speak volumes of just exactly where the Kenya gorvernment stands when it comes to the rights of the Kenyan citizen.
MsK strikes back for the Kenyan Media
And Michuki dares to threaten us? When we rattle a snake we must prepare to be bitten? Really Mr Minister? Well, which is the bigger snake: the employer - us, or the employee - you? Do tell … Which is what makes me wonder: they know this is not winning them any fans, they know its not going to help their case. So, this just means they don’t just don’t care what we think!! They don’t care at all to be accountable to the Kenyan people.
I don’t even want the government to respect press freedom. I have enough faith in our media. I stand by my view that our media is one of the best in Africa, if not the best. I am not saying it doesn’t have its flaws, but I dare any Kenyan to travel around Africa, and then tell me Kenyan media is not blazing a trail. Thus, I have no fear that our media will be cowed. Yes we will raise our voices in protest when press freedom is affronted but I know, our media will not be intimidated.
I feel really badly about this attack on KTN as they are really pioneers and form a major piece of what Kenya is all about.. Its feels like a personal attack against my family or something.
Back to the snake, thoughts from Nakeel
So today I wake up a listen to the radio and we are having this:
Snakes live alone.
If it were not for the snake we could be in the Garden of Eden with good roads and food.
What is a snake- a limbless thing that moves here and there—inayumbayumba huku na kule.How does a Snake attack?
1. It wraps itself around you then brings the mouth over your head and then (close your eyes Auntie Uaridi) it swallows you.
2. The second type opens up and points at you then shoots its poison and then bites you.How to kill the snake:
Target the head and make sure you hit hard.
Finally Thinkerand Mad Kenyan Woman urge us to take the fight beyond our blogs and contact government directly.
We need to let those not in our loop know that we are displeased and discontented …
Tell your friends, tell your family. Tell your workmates. Tell the stranger in the bus next to you. Blog about it. Write to the papers about it. Call the radio about it. Call the television stations about it.
Our rights are ours! We do not enjoy them at the benevolence of Mwai Kibaki and his government!
We can start making our voice heard
(KBW bloggers if I have missed out your post please let me know through the comments on this post or send me an email.)
The online reaction was not restricted to the Kenyan Blogosphere. Xeni of BoingBoing wrote on the story including a link to a post by US based investigative blogger Kathryn Cramer. Kathryn Cramer has given the story extensive coverage on her blog. Jewels in the Jungle has a summary with a good collection of links. Other international bloggers who have posted on this story include, The Yorkshire Ranter, Mountain Runner, Rhetorically speaking and Justinsomnia.
Moving beyond the written word KenyaMoto has extensive video coverage in its growing library and video journalist Ruud Elmendorp’s excellent coverage shows it pays to be in the right place at the right time.
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Entry Filed under: Blogs, Kenya, Politics
25 Comments Add your own
1. joe | March 3rd, 2006 at 7:06 pm
having listened and read all your concerns i feel obligated to provide the following email address even though i still disagree with you .let it not be said i tried to stand beyween you and getting your message accross.
president@statehousekenya.go.ke
DESCLAIMER: i have no resposibility for actions or events that may occur following the use of this address .asante
2. Global Voices Online &raq&hellip | March 4th, 2006 at 8:43 am
[...] For a broader picture of reactions he publishes an extensive roundup of Kenyan blogger’s comments on the raid. The raid stirred Kenyans to raise their voices in protest in the streets of Nairobi. The same reaction was seen from Kenyans online as Kenyan bloggers decided to speak out. A large part of the online protest was based around Keguro‘s appeal that we all post a letter to the president on our blogs. [...]
3. Kenyananalyst | March 4th, 2006 at 10:03 am
I find it inconceivable and foolhardy that:
1. The President hasn’t still found it fit to comment
on something supposedly touching on our national, and
by extension, his own security.
2. Hon. Michuki expects to win back public
opinion with his belated attempts to sell the new
angle to this incident. The Tuesday protests, if
allowed to proceed, could just be the turning point in
this saga (unless something gives between now and
then. I certainly expect some clergymen to counsel the
nation to be “patient” this Sunday).
Someone has sent me an e-mail concerning the current
affairs in our country, which I now take the liberty
to share with you and others:
******
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see
the farmer and his wife open a package.
“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered -
he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the
warning.
“There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a
mousetrap in the house!”
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head
and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave
concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I
cannot be bothered by it.”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is
a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the
house!”
The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry,
Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but
pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a
mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the
house!”
The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but
it’s no skin off my nose.”
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and
dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the
house — like the sound of a mousetrap catching its
prey.
The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In
the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake
whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her
to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken
soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard
for the soup’s main ingredient.
But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and
neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many
people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow
slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the
wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem
and think it doesn’t concern you…., remember
– when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We
must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra
effort to encourage one another.
4. Black River Eagle | March 4th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Really good coverage on the follow-on reactions in the blogosphere and the mainstream media, Mental. This is sort of like the “shot that was heard around the world” for modern-day Kenyan politics and national issues i.e. press freedom and freedom of speech.
I can’t emphasize enough as stated in my comment at Mshairi’s “Open Letter to President Kibaki” post that it is imperative that all protests from the people of Kenya remain non-violent. That’s my big worry that someone or some group will incite violence on the streets of Nairobi and spoil all the momentum gained by those who were brave enough to speakout online, on TV, and in the press.
If you find yourselves on the streets of Nairobi next Tuesday marching in protest against these acts and others perpetrated by the present government in Kenya, remember the words and legacy of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King and you’ll be allright.
5. Stunuh | March 4th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Kibaki seems to let he’s cabinet run willy nilly doing as they please. Apparently the freedom of press is supposedly a luxury when it comes to the truth or anything near it. I’m not saying that Mo1 was any good but at least everyone knew where they stood even if it was outside in the cold. You didn’t have the rug pulled out from under your feet! I think it’s pure If those journalists are charged that stood before the court. Then the law during Moi’s and Kibaki’s reign would still be a horse of a different colour, i.e AN ASS!
6. akinyio | March 4th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Well, I was a biut late in hearing the news since my tv was stolen and am not online at home, I only got wind of the news through the rather husky(lack of a better word!) voice of Raila on Voice of America Radio, on AM here in South Africa, other FM stations had turned a blind eye on that (at least the ones I as listening too, since Wednesday was municipal elections here in SA)
What made me tune in to AM? I ask myself…LOL! Kenyans can smell Kenyan touble a mile away….
A matter of National Security my foot!
Attacking the press is the most neathandral thing that the government could do yet…lakini bado! Lets wait and see if they’ll thumo the protestors that Raila vowed to round up on Tuesday for a protest march in the streets of Nairobi…
ai, ai, ai! Its tough being Kenyan when shit is constantly hitting the fan like this….don’t wre get a breather atleast!
7. akinyio | March 4th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
actually I think he was referring to the already staged protests as captured in pictures by the BBC at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4765728.stm
8. MountainRunner&hellip | March 4th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Media Raid in Kenya Sparks Cyber Outcry…
The response to Kenyan governmental thuggery is gaining international traction. Mentalacrobatics is tracking cyberspace. This unfortunate exercise is further evidence in the power of ICT in enabling people to stand-up…
9. Forcing silence | Antony &hellip | March 4th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
[...] Kenyan bloggers have expressed solidarity with the Standard Group. 0 comments [...]
10. Latapata » Blog Arc&hellip | March 5th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
[...] Link Collected at 7:24 pm by mahangu and placed in Governance, Rights, Journalism. « The Railroad Shot [...]
11. Kathryn Cramer | March 5th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
So what’s going on with these competing allegations of Russian mercenaries either involved in the raids or plotting against those who ordered the raids? I was trying to parse this from recent news stories and was having a hard time.
12. JKE | March 5th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=37448
bosnian mercenaries?
13. JKE | March 5th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Also, I am bit curious to see what Ali Hussein’s reaction will be - now that the Standard triggers him into this Zugzwang position to comment upon the raid.
14. afro | March 6th, 2006 at 4:01 am
over at KP’s raymond mentioned that during the raid, one of them (thugs)called the kenyans there ‘niggers’ wondering if these would also be the alleged mercenaries. Would this- ie use of the word nigger as a derogatory term…be part of the bosnian/russian lexicon? dunno.
@jke, me too…plus what he does. He has the authority and IMO the support of kenyans if he were to act swiftly by firing those within the police that did this despicable act.
15. Shiroh | March 6th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I went to church with the president yesterday and say he did say nothing. He is not going to!
16. Kathryn Cramer | March 6th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Regarding mentions of mercenaries in various news stories, I checked into the various swirling rumors of mercenaries with a corresponted in Kenya who is knowledgable about private military firms and security companies, and his take was that there were no mercenaries involved.
17. W.M | March 7th, 2006 at 1:12 am
Hey Mental…thanks. May I be impertinent enough to blog on your blog so as to provide this address provided my MMK from Bullets and Honey as a place where you can send your outraged emails:
http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/
It is a better address than the one I had provided. Thank you for this facility.
And I am now answering the phone…
18. JKE | March 7th, 2006 at 3:22 am
http://mail.statehousekenya.go.ke/cgi-bin/webmail?index=1
That’s where they check their e-mails.
ROFL!! L4m3r5
19. JKE | March 7th, 2006 at 3:29 am
=> Matters of national security?
But do I (we) say?
20. Mentalacrobatics | March 7th, 2006 at 3:48 am
@everyone - thanks for the input/updates
@Kathryn Cramer - thanks for looking into that link
@WM - i’ll do like that
@JKE - I dare you, type in prezzo@statehouse.co.ke and password “lucy”! I dare you.
21. JKE | March 7th, 2006 at 4:07 am
Well, actually I tried “Murage” as the ID + “Stan18ley” as pwd
(ati, isn’t it rrrrucy?)
22. Kinobit » Blog Arch&hellip | March 10th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
[...] Il resoconto più dettagliato via Journalism.co.za (in inglese), mentre su Mentalacrobatics un’ottima rassegna di blogger kenyoti e non che hanno scritto e reagito all’accadimento. [...]
23. Jikomboe » Utadhani&hellip | March 17th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
[...] Kisanga hiki ukikifuatilia unaweza kudhani unasoma riwaya za Elvis Musiba kama Kufa na Kupona (Jafeti (sio Japhet!), unakumbuka niliingia mtini na kitabu chako?), Njama, na Hujuma. Bonyeza hapa uone ujvamizi huu ulivyojadiliwa na wanablogu wa Kenya. [...]
24. Mentalacrobatics » &hellip | May 9th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
[...] We have a responsibility to raise the profile of illegal actions like these wherever they occur. Blogs played their part turning the raids on the East African Standard into a global story. We can do the same with this story. [...]
25. Mentalacrobatics » &hellip | May 17th, 2007 at 10:50 am
[...] routine and life? I also remember how bloggers and activists from all over the world rushed to help the Kenyan blogosphere publicize the attack on the Kenyan media by official thugs led by the so called Artur brothers. The Alan Johnson button will go up on my [...]
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