Kenya has had four presidents, all from just two communities, since it got its independence from the British more than 50 years ago.  Forty-two other tribes still struggle to produce one.

So many reasons were outlined as to why Kenyans should reject Kenya Kwanza candidate William Ruto in this year’s election and bring the Azimio la Umoja coalition candidate – Raila Odinga to power. 

Not only Ruto should be voted out on the grounds of untamed corruption, but also to revive any chance of a non-Kikuyu and Kelenjin man or woman to ascend to the presidency.

Small communities should back Raila Odinga’s candidacy to become Kenya’s fifth president. Not only this country of 44 tribes will change like it did 20 years ago when Kenyans came together and “overthrew” KANU and the country seemed united and people became hopeful, and the economy grew and more people started to experience more freedom – Kenya’s small communities will have hopes that, they too, can produce a president. For this to be realized, they need to support Raila’s election, and build their dreams.

Kenya needs to break the Kikuyu and Kelenjin domination of presidential politics. Every person and every community in this country needs to feel that they have the same opportunity as a Kikuyu and a Kelenjin aspiring to become a president.

This election will determine if, in the future, a candidate from a small community can become a president. If President Ruto wins, any chance of a non-Kikuyu and non-Kelenjin candidate to become a president in the near future will be very minimal.

A powerful William Ruto will take over from President Kenyatta and rule for 10 years and, transfer power to a Kikuyu, and the trend will continue.

Kikuyus and Kelenjins have the right to seek the presidency, and so are the rest of Kenyans.

If what is preventing other communities from ascending to the presidency is determined by their numerical strength, it is time for them to support Mr. Odinga for us to realize you can be a president even if you are not a member of Kikuyu or Kelenjin communities.

Voters do elect a candidate from their ethnic community because they believe that the government will allocate more resources to them than other communities, and open opportunities; be it employment or doing business with the government. And, this is exactly what happens or at least what we have seen.

If the government of the day would allocate national resources equitably and open opportunities for all, without any discrimination, voters would not mind electing any candidate irrespective of his or her ethnicity. And this would have made manifestos significant. Today, party manifesto is insignificant and will not influence how people vote.

Apart from the presidency, the so-called ‘big five’ tribes dominate the national politics, both in government and the opposition. And when Mr. Odinga leaves office, whether in the 2027 or 2032, he will most likely back a candidate from a small community and say ‘Tosha.’

A young Maasai, a Pokomo, an Embu and a camel herder in northern Kenya among others will be able to say ‘I want to be a president when I grow up.’

Right now, it is important to have a president from outside Central and Rift Valley.

There are many signs that the Russian army is running out of its stock of modern weapons and ammunition.

Russia is now resorting to its Soviet-era arsenal.

“We have noticed that Russia is carrying out far fewer rocket attacks and it has used H-22 rockets; they are old 1970s Soviet rockets,” noted Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, in The Guardian on June 10, 2022. “Russian cruise missile stocks are probably running out,” confirmed the British Ministry of Defence in a statement published on 20 June 2022.

The big question now is whether China will come to Russia’s aid to help it rearm. This is a possibility for which the West must be prepared.

“While the United States is beginning to spend more and more of its stockpiles to keep Ukraine in the war, China has yet to provide significant military assistance to Russia,” recalls Alex Vershinin, a researcher at the British think tank Royal United Services Institute, in a note published on June 17, 2022. “But the West must assume that China will not allow Russia to be defeated, particularly because of a lack of ammunition”.

This war of attrition is set to last for months and months, even years.

Persia is actually not Iran’s historical name. The last 2 Shahs of Iran were cultural nationalists who wanted to restore our ancient heritage. The word Persia comes from “Persis” or “Parsa”, A Greek word meaning “land of the Persians”. Persis was also the name of an ancient province.

Iran is our historical name, coming from the word “Eran” in ancient Parsik also known as Middle Persian. The earliest usage of the word “Iran” can be found at Naqsh E Rostam, an archaeological site in Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenids. 4 great Kings of the Achaemenid empire are also buried here. It is here that we found some of the first uses of the words “Iran”, “Aryan” and “Iranian”.

Now there are words predating “Iran” specifically. Such as “Aryanam” who’s usage is recorded in the “Avesta” a collection of ancient Zoroastrian religious texts written in Avestan.

The word Persia however gradually took root and was widely used by the international community until the last century. In 1935, Reza Shah officially changed the name back to “Iran” and asked the world community to use “Iran” henceforth. Surprisingly, there was actually a lot of controversy over the move and the act was repealed. But most modern states have referred to us as Iran ever since.