Who'd have thought it possible ..........

Zimbabwe's Mugabe 'under house arrest' after army takeover.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41997982

Its been a long time coming; I'll watch with great interest, as I have friends in Harare.  

Christmas puddings by Air Mail !

I decided as a present I would send a little individual Christmas pud each to two of the retired Dutch Mill Hill Fathers (now resident in Holland).  I used to take them one when I visited Kisumu each year.  They love English Christmas pudding .... and very suitable as a treat for Sinterklaas on December 6th.

(Father Hans tucking in !)

But a small pudding wrapped up looks a bit like a hand grenade, which is NOT allowed in the post, so I made enquiries at our local post office.   The enquiry was treated with some amusement, but 'hakuna matata' !!  No problem !   Its perfectly legal to send Christmas puddings through the post to Europe !!

Live and learn .......

"I am an African ..."

I am an African

Not because I was born there

But because my heart beats with Africa's.

I am an African

Not because my skin is black

But because my mind is engaged by Africa.

I am an African

Not because I live on its soil

But because my soul is at home in Africa.

I have been trying to find the source of the quote I used the other day (25th October) .... "I weep for Africa ... "   ... and Google helped, Amazon provided the book in record time, and now I have found another poem I've heard before .... "I am an African ..."   

Isn't the internet wonderful !!

Is a divided Kenya the answer?

Well, no !    But there is talk of perhaps talking about the possibility at some point in the future.   The recent re-election was a shambles; President Kenyatta was re-elected by, some say, about 90% of the votes.   BUT .... large parts of western Kenya and some of the northern areas didn't have a re-election at all, so to say the winner got 90% of the votes should really say that he got 90% of the total votes cast, but that 30 or more per cent of the population didn't have the opportunity to vote, and others boycotted the vote anyway, because of fear ?.  They were denied their democratic right due to the violence, killings, threats and lack of polling stations and officials, and just plain fear of being seen to vote.  And as well there was the call from the opposition leader to boycott the election, which the courts had suggested wasn't democratic or as set out in the constitution.   

So is secession likely ?   It clearly hasn't worked in South Sudan, which is in the grips of a violent civil war, with people starving and homeless.   Would it work in Spain, with Catalonia wanting to break away ?  There has been a referendum on Kurdish independence in Iraq, and there is growing support for self-determination in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.  And isn't the British desire for 'Brexit' a similar movement ?   The phrase "United we stand, divided we fall" comes to mind.   Division would be a disaster for Kenya and could even mean dividing the country into four or five separate countries, split along tribal lines.  Crazy !!