The enemies of change within

BY OBILO KOBILO

A tiger does not change its spots. This captures well the political activities unfolding within the campus. Two occurrences went without much media glamour sometimes towards the end of last week and early this week.

First the campus embraced the Kenyan political phenomenon with much swag and hullabaloo: A committee was formed to look into the issue of price exploitation-the same mess which was created by The 25^th SGC sending the prices of basic consumer goods on a mountain climbing spree since they own the shops overcharging us. Then followed the resignations of two commissioners of the CRC who are part of the brains behind the constitution review process. Dikembe Disembe and Steve Macharia aka Ras resigned.

The amorphous committee, to me, was formed to slow down the pace with which the signature collection had already gained. Among the people who gave the committee a green light to carry out the task were The 25th SGC MUSO Chairman Mwamburi Mwang’ombe, the controversial MUSO Sec Gen Okeri Orina, MUSO Vice-Chair Judy Waweru who should be more concerned with this issue since she is the custodian of the students’ welfare but has decided to take backstage in confronting this issue, the Academics Director Mr. Silas Ong’aro who is alleged to be one of the shop owners in collaboration with the Vice-Chair and the Security and Accommodation Director-Mr. David Orlando whose willingness led to the reduction of price of fries from sh.60 to sh.50.

The meeting, which I was part of, unanimously agreed that the tendering process is impractical impossible to re-do and settled for the price control measures since the students body (MUSO) is mainly concerned with the prices and not the owners of the shop. In the process of determining the committee, Mr. Silas Ong’aro-the Academics Director- was overwhelmingly proposed by nearly all members present to join the committee. For reasons better known to him and the ignoble circumstances surrounding him which he hopes the students will never get to know or hear about, the Master of Academics persistently opposed his inclusion in this committee and at some time threatened to walk out. The Vice-Chair on her part opted to pull a Public Relations stand by half-heartedly joining the committee and going underground to the extent of avoiding the Committee’s Chairman call when she was needed for a deliberation on the procedure to be adopted in carrying out the given tasks.

What followed was a price list pasted on the notice boards around the campus with price variation of between 50 cents and 1 bob from the previous prices! Now, tell me if two directors who are alleged to be among the owners of these shops decided to snub this process, then whom am I not to ‘claim’ that they were behind this controversial list?

Don’t tell me it was the Dean’s initiative since the timing of its release could not have come at a better time when we were busy deliberating on the same! Furthermore, the Dean was not in by then and the memo is claimed to have been signed by one of the staffs in his office whose association with these directors is in question. It is high time these directors should be reminded that they will never leave this compound with those shops and the legacy of impoverishing even the already poor lot will always stick on their backs.

Now to the Constitution Review Process (CRC). I want to assure you that the process will never pass the argument stage not until we stop mistaking hoax for change, pretenders for reformers and wolves for sheep. A power clique that always promises change of status quo but draws inspiration from some of the previous regimes and the current one has already stolen the drawing board. The custodian of the current rotten state of affairs in The 25^th SGC and the various offices, which always pledge their support to you during the day and laugh at you when you squabble with the current directors, will never let you go far!

They support your initiatives in your presences and scoff at the same when they meet the SGC! Some of those who resist change in the status quo are your fellow commissioners who are well known for double speak and for being watermelons! Now that the Sec Gen whose Office has performed worse than any was to present his proposal before you… Lets wait and see.