kenyanentrepreneur: Is Stella pigheaded or is she just naive?

I’d go for pig-headed. Sending out a bullying email saying that she’s going to come down hard on whistleblowers? Totally the wrong approach, topsy-turvy priorities and indicative that she either misread her job description or has something to hide.

You see the rich people in Kenya are the one’s that own large tracts of land in and around urban areas especially in Nairobi and Mombasa. Other rich people are the one’s who bought buildings and land when they went for cheap at the cbd in the 70′s and 80′s and held them till now.

All these other people you hear in the media are just regular middle people. To answer you question

“who in kenya is independently wealthy enough to deliver real reform ?”

The only way for Kenyans in Diaspora to change the situation is If they come together and form one block and start investing in Kenya as a block. People like Uhuru Kenyatta are possible mentions on this list among other Large Tract owners in and around the city. If you don’t have their support they’ll buy out your supporters. Its just that simple. Or ask them if they need a better job or a better place to stay at cheaper rate than the normal price. They’ll buy them out.

“what about Harun Mwau ?”

i don’t know much about Harun Mwau- But I know there are Kikuyu’s who will make him look like a little baby. In terms of the money and ownership the have. You see you can’t call yourself a tycoon in Nairobi if you don’t own any buildings in the cbd or if you don’t have liquid large tracts of Land.

You see the people in money in Kenya don’t care if they’re is reform or not. They like having their way in everything(Impunity). They know If reforms come they’ll get exposed and they’ll lose their swagger and underhand tactics. They are not going to let that happen.That’s the way they like things and that’s the way they’ll keep them..

If you wanna know more ask the Kikuyu’s around you especially the ones close or around Nairobi e.g Kiambu, Thika, Limuru etc. They know who’s who and who’s not. Ask them, who is known to have the largest tracts of land in their region, and what do they own.

so, who in kenya is independently wealthy enough to deliver real reform? what about Harun Mwau ? this is xtremely xtremely wealthy, though the source of his wealth is questionable

i really don’t hate her or anything she has or has done. what am giving is just positive criticism.

i still believe she does not have much foresight. foresight is a character trait that smart women have. i did not say men are exception.

i agree with KE, about the risks. what he is basically saying is this-

“unless you have more wealth through ownership in kenya than the owners of the local firms that control the way business is run. then you have minimal chance of ever bringing reforms or any reforms going through.”

I once had a case against a Nairobi business tycoon(Macharia). who owns a lot of buildings he inherited from his dad.

these guys are not people to joke with. i learn it the hard way. they buy everybody from the judge to the the watchman in the courthouse. people are desperate for money in kenya and will do anything for the rich.

mzeiya: BUT KE, What would you advise someone who wants to havearole to play in improving kenya ? coz that person will have to have some do gooder in them to even attempt ?

You have to be independently wealthy, otherwise, it’s just too risky.

The brokers and investment bankers have all the power because they own those companies. Without ownership, you just become a regular joe schmoe employee.

If the country had laws, then the brokers would have less power because the government would presumably have the ability to put them in jail, but absent that, none of those employee’s have any power.

The key to power is ownership not becoming an employee.

You could always support a charity with your own private money and just stay away from government if it’s something you really want to do.

What would you advise someone who wants to have arole to play in improving kenya ? coz that person will have to have some do gooder in them to even attempt ?

It’s very true, people really underestimate the “:system” in kenya. It is inherently corrupt, which reflects the kenyan society.

I still applaud her for trying, unlike most pple here who do nothing but criticize yet they havn’t done a thing to try and help kenya. actually even having a blog like this is good where pple com and air their views.

Even that NSE Chairman, the one whose niece i think married raila’s son, I think the guy was a college professor here in the U.S. , He also went back home but the weight of the system crushed him slowly

mzeiya: You could be a do gooder with clear inetentions but the system won’t let you.

Isn’t this the naivety we are talking about? she underestimated how corrupt the system was and she should have known better.

I’ve always said that one should never become a do-gooder unless they are already independently wealthy. It’s just not worth it.

You guys seem a chauvinistic with ur assertions about her looks on her face and her suppossed loneliness, furthermore shooting star your” this is what happens to a WOMAN who alcks foesight “…I mean honestly, is it honestly is it only “women” who lack foresight who end like this, or do “men” who lack foresight also end up like this.

You guys are just hatin. Stella is a remarkable woman who came and did her studies in the U.S. and completed them, she then went back home to try and improve things but eventually that did not work out. I applaud her for trying to curb the menace that was the NSE , and she did a agood job especially looking at her formr Boss, that useless no spine ntalami clown, actually Stella has more balls than that guy!!!!!

As I keep re-stating kenya needs instituitional changes, not personality changes. You have to undestand that the laws and rules in kenya are geared to benefit those who power and are incentivized that way.

You could be a do gooder with clear inetentions but the system won’t let you.
until the institutions / systems are changed is when we’ll have some nomalcy in the way our business, gvt schools, stc are run and work

Give stella a break, she did her part, what did the most of you here do to improve kenya and make a dent ?