Thursday, 28 February 2013

Photo show ends on Monday, the day Kenyans go for the General Election




Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia (left) and Presidential Press Service boss Isaiya Kabira tour the photo exhibition, The Kibaki Years, which Mr Kimemia officially opened at KICC on February 4. It ends on March 4. Photo/FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP
The story of President Kibaki and his political journey has been told for the whole month on the walls of an expansive room.

The room at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, has a collection of his memorable pictures on display.

Kenyans who’ve been at the photo collection have left glowing messages for their President, and many more were streaming in to view the photo collection, with just four days left to the election date.

The photo exhibition too will close on March 4 — next Monday — when Kenyans go to the ballot to pick Mr Kibaki’s successor.

There are those like Charles Kinyua who viewed the exhibition as “a great idea”, and others like Philip Masese who viewed it as a “remarkable exhibition” according to comments left in the visitors’ book at the KICC.

There’s a video with his clips at different functions, like the one where he’s telling all parents to take their children to primary school, and another clip where he’s warning all those businessmen who dodge taxes that tax evasion will not be tolerated.

There are sections at the exhibition showing Kibaki as a family man, his life in Parliament, his contribution to the economy, his days with Kenyatta, and then there’s the First Lady Lucy Kibaki.

There is one where the President is all smiles between Olympic athletics champions David Rudisha and Ezekiel Kemboi. Interestingly, the one that he took with Jamaica’s athlete Usain Bolt is not there.

There’s also a picture of President Kibaki with former US president Bill Clinton and two pictures showing Mr Kibaki with the current US President Barack Obama, when he visited Kenya as a senator, and one taken at the White House with Michelle Obama, after Mr Obama was elected for his first term. There is also a photo of the President with great African icon Nelson Mandela.

A section shows how Mr Kibaki was instrumental in ensuring regional stability, and he is right there with Dr John Garang, the then leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, which was fighting for secession. Dr Garang died in 2005, but the Comprehensive Peace Agreement brokered by Kenya ensured that in the end, the South became independent in 2011.

And just for the record, Mr Kibaki met former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and was also given a replica shirt of the Brazilian football team, with number 10 at the back.

If the exhibition was meant to show President Kibaki as the man who rebuilt Kenya — the roads, the schools, the hospitals and the sports — it achieved exactly that.

“A great journey enviable by anyone. Great job!” Daniel Ng’etich noted in his comments on the visitors’ book.

Ms Michelle Muthoni wrote in past tense: “He was a great and inspirational leader. Fantastic job!”

Others like Edward Wafula saw all the pictures and simply wrote: “Enjoy your retirement”. Lyne Kayugira added: “History made to be remembered”.

“This is a wonderful journey. Great achievements. I am very proud of you,” noted Njeri Kiragu.

There’s also another picture of President Kibaki pushing a wheelbarrow full of wet concrete when he launched a road construction in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The only thing that might make one sad is that some of the pictures have no captions, and still others with captions, do not have dates or places where they were taken.
Then there’s the promise that more pictures can be viewed and downloaded on the website (http://www.kibakipresidency.go.ke) but when the Nation visited the website, using multiple browsers, there was no photo gallery or even information. It is still a skeleton.

Trained curators, who spoke to the Nation, off-the-record complained that the photos are not chronologically arranged, but they hope that if President Kibaki sets up a gallery in future the pictures will have to be arranged in a way that tell a story to people who do not know the history of Kenya.

The hope is that the photo gallery and the video might all be uploaded on the website for those Kenyans who would want to know their President a bit more, but did not get the chance to visit the KICC for the exhibition.

“This is a great step. It keeps us in touch with the outgoing President. God bless him and (Jomo) Kenyatta,” noted Linah Kimani.

Ann Ayodi added: “Old man, may the almighty God bless you for the rest of your life”.

Harambee Cash from the poor must have hurt Kibaki

There are two pictures at the exhibition that might inform why President Kibaki banned harambees (public fundraisings involving government officers) when he got into office.

Of course the official version was that the President wanted to keep public servants away from temptation of extorting people or stealing public resources, to get money for harambees..

But those two pictures show President Kibaki receiving donations from poor people, back in the days when he was Finance minister.

“A one-shilling donation may not be very much, but when it is all you’ve got, it means a great deal,” reads a caption of a photo showing Mr Kibaki in a suit getting the one shilling from a shy boy in small short, and an ill-fitting shirt in Isiolo. The money was for Merti Primary School and Sh21,000 was raised in 1972.

Another undated photo shows a mother lifting her four-year-old daughter so that the daughter hands over a Sh20-donation for building Kwale Primary School. Mr Kibaki then Vice President .

No wonder he quickly agreed with Mr Muriuki Karue, a former ol Kalou MP, when he proposed the Constituency Development Fund.
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