Monday, October 09, 2006

KBW Member No More! part 1




Latest reports are that as of October 5th Acolyte was no longer a member of the Kenyaunlimited Web Ring.
CNN decided to sent their top ranking reporter on African issues, Jeff Koinange to interview Acolyte and find out what led to this state of affairs.
PS: The interview may be fake but the sentiments, comments and information in it are very very real!

Jeff Koinange: Good evening Acolyte, welcome to the show!
Acolyte: A good evening to you to and thank you.

Jeff Koinange: I can see that after more than one year of membership in the KenyaunlimitedWebring, your membership has been revoked.
Acolyte: Yes it's now official, I am no longer part of Kenyan Bloggers' Webring ( KBW ). It was decided that I was causing too much conflict and disharmony with my posts.

Jeff Koinange: Is that the only reason?
Acolyte: There is also the fact that (turns on mac powerbook and reads), in an earlier correspondence the Administration, or in my opinion one major figure of the Administration who sent me an e-mail, where he used the various words;
"As you seem to have a problem with us as a team and with our vision for KBW as signified in your constant attacks, we ask you to clarify your position as a KBW member."

Jeff Koinange: Are those accusations true?
Acolyte: Of course not! I have no problem with the vision of KBW and other than 2 individual in the KBW administration team who seem to have a had a problem with me, I have a cordial relationship with the rest of them.

Jeff Koinange: So how many times did you attack the Administration since your attacks were characterised as constant?
Acolyte: First of all the attacks were not only reffered to as constant, they were also characterised as "unwarranted, unprovoked, destructive " and directed at the vision of KBW. All I did was voice my misgivings as regards certain matters some members of the Administration team were involved in. I have no problems whatsoever with KBW as an organisation.

Jeff Koinange: The KBW homepage says their vision is,
In response to the continued growth of the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW) KenyaUnlimited set out to create an online meeting place for the diverse Kenyan visions, minds and voices that inhabit cyberspace. Although we exist primarily online at this stage we intend for this site to act as a launching pad for projects in the real world.
So how were you a threat to that vision?

Acolyte: That is one thing I am wondering about myself, because at no one stage did I
1. Inhibit any KBW members from meeting
2. Interfere with any KBW project from launching.
Also I don't know why the author of that e-mail gets off calling my attacks constant.
According to the dictionary the word constant means, "continually recurring or continuing without interruption"
In fact this was part of the text of the e-mail;
We write this email in regard to various comments you have made regarding the administration team of the Kenyan Blogs Webring. The latest examples being the post on your blog at this link: http://mywordsonly.blogspot .com/2006/06/answers-part-i .html and another example being the comments you have made on nmjoe.blogspot.com.
If that was the case why did the author of the e-mail give only this post and allude to comments made at the blog http://nmjoe.blogspot.com. I have over 500 posts on my blog. If that is the only example the author of this email could come up with, it is clear someone had other motives they were setting in action. Furthermore in the average day I make an average of 30 - 50 comments per week, that gives you over 2500 comments per year to choose from and this was the best they could do?!
Jeff, it is obvious that someone here was clutching at straws.

Jeff Koinange: So what was the straw that broke the camel's back?
Acolyte: It was a strongly worded post I wrote about the Tanzanian President committing a diplomatic gaffe by discussing Kenya's political situation with President Bush.

Jeff Koinange: So what was wrong with that because I am sure you are not the only one who wrote about the issue.
Acolyte: I think it must have been the fact that I referred to President Kiwete as a "dumb bitch", added the fact that he should have been more concerned with Tanzania's problems and reffered to the negative reception and xenophobia many Kenyans experience from Tanzanians culminating with me mentioning the deportation of nationmedia staff.

Jeff Koinange: Did you get any negative responses due to that post?
Acolyte: Initially no? Most of my readers know that my posts are mostly tongue in cheek and satirical, plus most Kenyans could relate with my sentiments and shared their relatives and friends experiences with Tanzanians.Other than that only one anonymous commentor went out of their way to debate me on the issue.

Jeff Koinange: So what went wrong?
Acolyte: A Tanzanian member of KBW who also does bilingual online projects and enjoys a close relationship with the one of the KBW admin members blogged about it and that's when the shit hit the fan.

Jeff Koinange: So exactly what happened.
Acolyte: Well he wrote a long convoluted post about it and singled me out for criticism and complaint and said that he would continue to blog about the issue.

Jeff Koinange: What did you do in return?
Acolyte: I wrote a post where I reffered to the issue and admitted that my use of such strong language to refer to a leader was in bad taste but that I stood by sentiments but not the words and by now I had taken down the post.I also said that if anyone had a problem with the post they should have emailed me, we would have discussed the issue amicably.

Jeff Koinange: Was this explanation accepted?
Acolyte: No it was not, instead the comments section of the blog turned into a seething pool of insults directed at me and Kenyans in general.One Tanzanian even likened Kenyans to dogs.

Jeff Koinange: Did you at this time think that your membership in KBW would be in jeopardy?
Acolyte: Well when I read a comment by a KBW administrator about my blog, I knew that things were not peachy because I had a run in with that individual sometime back; one she has never forgotten nor forgiven that.
What was shocking is that this person tells the blog author not to bother communicating with me about the issue when the KBW homepage says;
If the content or material found on a member site concerns you, please contact the operator/owner of the website in question directly.

Jeff Koinange: So what happened from there?
Acolyte: Well the author of this blog went on to write 3 more posts about the issue singling me out and despite my protestations that I was not the only one who blogged about the issue ( I gave one example about one blog that had a post that was similar and even reffered to the state of the Tanzanian economy) but to no avail.
I commented on their second post and made a request to start on a new slate and it seemed like my offer had been accepted following their comment on my blog.At that point I thought that we had reached some sort of consensus.
But I was wrong because a 4 whole posts have been written about the issue with my name and post being one the focal points of the issue at hand. I have received an e-mail making movements towards peace, so I am waiting to see how long this holds.

Jeff Koinange: Have you commented on all the posts?
Acolyte: No I have only commented on two of them and in both tried to make moves towards peace. After all however sharp I think I am, I can't stand up against the wrath of a whole nation!

Jeff Koinange: Do you have anything against Tanzanians?
Acolyte: No not at all!In fact I have been there twice, but I don't think I'll risk a third time at this rate! They may seem to be a bit laid back than Kenyans but I do admire their unity and dedication to their national language, Swahili; I think Kenyans could learn a thing or two from them in that regard. But I do think we have different perceptions on certain issues that could use some ironing out.

Jeff Koinange: Even after being expelled from KBW you have tried to make peace with the Tanzanian blogger?
Acolyte: Yes, my attempts at peace have nothing to do with my membership status but are just an attempt to make peace. Contrary to what they would have you believe, I am not an e-war monger!As of the e-mail I received there seems to be a lull in the storm.

Jeff Koinange: But didn't the adminstration say you were out to sow seeds of discord.
Acolyte: Well the exact words were;
While we accept that you can write what you want on your blog, we do not have to accept insults, destructiveness and negativity on KenyaUnlimited and thus have it reflected on to KBW.
and,
As you appear to be keen to encourage discord with your posts contrary to the aims of KBW, we are removing your blog from the KBW aggregator forthwith.
I guess my posts just didn't encourage the spirit of peace, love and unity.

Jeff Koinange: I know you had pointed out the fact that other than one earlier post and this post there are no other posts that can be seen as written with the main aim of causing in discord. Do you think the methodology of KBW of dealing with the issue is clear and transparent?
Acolyte: Of course not! It is obvious that a post is only termed as insulting and destructive only if it reaches the right ears.
It is a well known fact that many KBW fashion their blogs as defacto watchdogs and members of the fifth estate. This is all well and good but other then balanced sites ie mzalendo, many other these blogs make statements about the "kleptocratic" and "corrupt" nature of the ruling government that would amount to libel as they have very little evidence behind them even if they are an open accepted opinion. Some bloggers have even used their blogs as political platforms to promote certain factions above others, while the President has at times been referred to as a senile geriatric.

Jeff Koinange: Has anything ever been done about those posts?
Acolyte: Well since no complaints have been raised about them nothing has been done. It seems that you can write anything but as long as it goes with the collective view of those in power, you are in the clear.
I recall during the raid of the East African Standard by the Kenyan Police, the collective reaction was outrage. But one blogger went out of his way to go comment on blogs saying that even though the action was extreme the government were well in their means to act the way that they did.
Needless to say he was insulted on blogs all over and I am not sure if he is still a KBW member.
Ironic that you can insult your own government and there isn't much of a reaction but insult another country's leader and you're in hot water. That's freedom of expression for you!(winks!)

Jeff Koinange: So what you are saying is that it is't content that is the issue but the reaction to what you write by certain people?
Acolyte: Oh yes! There are other blogs where people have posted matters of an explicitly sexual nature that would make a prostitute blush but since people seemed to enjoy reading about these trysts nothing was done. As long as no one complains, you can post whatever you want!It is obvious this is a classic case of shifting goal posts!

Next: How things became the way they were!

46 comments:

walk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walk said...

First and foremost let me say you seem to have more millage than we all thought

http://www.mwananchi.co.tz/mwananchisite/Mwananchi/Siasa/Siasa1.asp

it seems the tanzanian press caught wind of the story and the ministry of foreign affairs was notified about your story.

On the issue of your comments on my blog i think we both know the real issue here including the fact that i was indeed the blogger who said that the government was within its rights to raid the standard newspapers.(and that i am no longer a member of kbw).

i think what you need to expain to readers is how "POIGATE" ties into all this and how a friendly blog relationship with myself and my claims of a covert agenda to tarnish the image of the kenyan government and the promotion of gay rights played into this.

i also agree that differences with an individual member of kbw administration are often blown out of propotion to mean differences with the whole adminstrative team .

Acolyte said...

@ joe
It seems Ndesanjo has decided to milk as much mileage as he can from the whole issue.4 posts and a newspaper article?What's next?An appearance on Yaliyotokea TZ version?
The Press only got wind of this because he went out of his way to send them the story!
I am most definitely going to touch on Poigate!All I did during the whole issue was give her the benefit of the doubt but it seemed that I shunned my collective responsibility to KBW.How can we claim to be purveyors of democracy in an organisation that is run in anway but that!
As our TZ peeps would say
Itaendelea!

egm said...

I also saw the press release. Aco, soon we'll be clamouring for your autograph at this rate! You are quickly becoming an international sensation!

Enyewe, freedom of expression shouldn't be based on what only sounds pleasing to your ears. Them shifting goal posts make for a very interesting existence.

I will keep it locked on here to read of the Aco Intrigues.

Gathara said...

Since the internet is the epitome of laissez faire commentary, it seems odd, to say the least, that one would encounter censorship there especially by an organisation that sets out "to create an online meeting place for the diverse Kenyan visions, minds and voices."
Hope that doesn't get me in trouble (wink, wink)!

Anonymous said...

So you were kicked out of KBW? Hmm...coz admin claims otherwise.

Half 'n' half said...

The Jikomboe dude has really milked this thing.... Is KBW a dictatorship? and isnt it actually called KBW and NOT TBW- But me thinks they have their own issues.. you cant give two reasons to kick out a member who is soo widely read (or is that the reason?)
Well member or not I for one still enjoy your posts..

Anonymous said...

How does Anonymous know what admin says .Is he annonymously the kbw adm team or his he just trying to harrass acolyte.

you know the funny thing about this whole issue is that back then it was joe,now it is acolyte next it will be YOU!. and if people think it will never affect them think again.

ps:And what was it on thinkers room this week that joe said and posted including links about mentalacrobatics that forced thinker to block out!

Unknown said...

Awesome interview...let hope somehting positive comes out of all this "discord"

Wacha now I go tafuta the press release.

Hang in there dude (cue black panther salute )

Archer said...

@amina "a victim": sorry that was me posting as anonymous. Was having shidaz posting the comment initially. As I was saying, admin says that they didn't expel Aco, neither have they ever kicked out any other KBW member. Let's see how they will respond to this post, and on that note let me shut up before I become the FIRST!

Archer said...

Just curious, Amina, you are a victim of what? If I may politely enquire.

Anonymous said...

Quargmire of sorts I see here. Dude seems to have taken this thing far! Spent a good portion of my morning following up on proceedings on one site. (Swa is a little difficult to read)

You aplologized, they seem to have accepted. They should move on! Freedom of expression? - Let me think about that.

Great post man! Keep them coming!

Anonymous said...

AND YET SOME WONDER WHY AS AFRICAN HATUNA MAENDELEO....

I subscribed and I shall continue to be a fan.

Aco....watasema mpaka watachoka!!!

Let me go and read the post again plus links....I shall be back!

Princess said...

Keep your head up Aco!!

Msanii_XL said...

It BS...thats what it is. The playing field should be equal..

Wow at that story about tz president...a mountain out of mole hill.

Stay up man!

am mdkims said...

flawlessly convincing argument ... surprisingly the whole boola boola has earned you more readers ... kind of bittersweet, don't you think? beautiful things begin that way ... i believe ... aluta continua!

walk said...

its not about the tz president hiyo ni cover wait untill you hear POIGATE details.

Acolyte you jua i am going to instigating this thing to the end .lol


So people do you know why a number of prominent women bloggers dont blog anymore. and why a certain individual is now in kenya unable to go back to mannchester ?stay tuned (get some pop corn if you can

Acolyte said...

@ Joe
Ebu holla at me kando!Give me the dl on this!It's only going to get hotter up in here!

Anonymous said...

clearly a case of double standards and i think it arises as a result of personal conflicts rather than professional.
If this is whats running KBW then i will not be surprised if it slowly self destructs

Aco u were a victim of dictatorship..if they dont like you out you go!

walk said...

Acolyte so that we dont mix the two .wacha we see what the official kbw version is.

You know that guy! his official official defence has always been joe is behind it. From the election list for kaybees thats was licked to me,to "POIGATE" his defense has always been that i was involved somehow.Even in your case you can see he is refering to my blog again which by the way has nothing to do with your beef but this cat somehow thinks it does. so You tulia at the right time i will swing you all the amo you need to bury this cat.

Unknown said...

@ JOE....I have my gunia of popcorn and a ndoo of soda...waiting to hear the story.....

Quintessence said...

whatever transpired doesn't change the fact that i for one will continue to read your views...i guess freedom of speech/expression is contingent on the rules of awarders (self-proclaimed) of such freedom...

Anonymous said...

if this kubaff prezo said that about kenya, then y should it slide? i guess its more like looking a t speck in your brothers eye when u have the whole forest in yours.

Atakama walikutoa, were u getting mbesha every month from them enuf to make u retire and live like a mdosi? this is nonsense and yes i said KUBAFF PREZO of TZ

CiikuMrsBabes said...

This is just tooo interesting... Too interesting.

Apart from the aggregator, nothing else about KBW interests me..... and even then, I only visit a set number of blogs.... because I am well aware of the double standards at the helm of KBW

Anonymous said...

Aco, I sometimes totally disagree with your views, but where else would I vicariously live the US gradschool life? I am glad you have the right and the cojones to post your sometimes crazy-ass and sometimes deeply insightful views.

Si you bust that move and start your own blog ring? You know the whole drill about monopolies and compe making them better. If you do, please don't become a dictatorship, we done had enough of that as a nation for at least 3 centuries to come.

I'll keep it locked right here.

Anonymous said...

And yes, yes, I haven't heard the other side of the story, so I'm just going by Aco's view of it.

stackofstiffys said...

Eh! I didn't know there were such double standards at KBW, against people who stand up for their country against idle publicity seekers from the South.

Ndesanjo's letter on Mwananchi is just lame (who reads that paper anyways?, last time I was in Dar Nation and Standard are on sale all over the streets!). He's enjoying his fame as he awaits a govt appointment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(ostensibly to deal with wayward Kenyan bloggers), now wonder he can't let go two weeks and many apologies and attempts at peace down the road.

I had bookmarked your blog, now I've subscribed as well just to be sure. Na bado....

Anonymous said...

it seems kbw cares more about tanzanians than kenyans. we nneed a new webring this one seems to be acting like telkom kenya. we need "a better option" monopolies always misbehave and provide poor service i second the motion for another web ring and a mass defection from kbw

Anonymous said...

Aco, on the Kikwete question, I remember that I went for JK himself in my short protest note. My national pride had been wounded and I said as much. I believe the same came through your post, albeit a little too strongly (for which you expressed remorse later, if my memory stil serves me right). So how that has come to become all this else is quite unexpected. I knew you to be a maverick dare-devil at campus, but I also knew you to have some sense of proportion and a respect for genuine public sensibilities even while you were at it. We never clashed then even when we disagreed strongly and I'm still waiting to find a good reason for that to ever happen. Probably I need some further education to understand why you have suddenly become a danger - as you suggest in your post - to national and regional stability. We had a quote in the student newsroom...by Albert Camus I think...that "facts are sacred; opinion is free." Time isn't on my side so I haven't read much else (apart from your post) before commenting, and probably won't read much after this either, but you know how to get to me if need be.

Anonymous said...

things are heating up

http://dialecticreason.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

By pulling you out of KBW, aren't they going against the whole idea of blogging, where i beieve everyone is entitled to their opinions, therefore facilitating the exchange of ideas.
Basically, blogosphere is not some small kijiji in the middle of Kenya where a few people think they can have ultimate control on content.
Keep on blogging!!

AK said...

Was catching up on aggregater and wondering why you are so quiet. Ended up here via a link on Nick's latest post. Nobody told me KBW kicked your butt out.

Censorship tena?

Anyway, you are bookmarked! Ride on!

Anonymous said...

Aluta Continua Aco, you are bookmarked irrespective of KANU like expulsions. Ironically that expulsion only increased your currency.

Anonymous said...

Dayum, dayum, dayum,

Well what Kiwkete said was dumb and it won't change,no matter what any chest thumping Tzdian or KBW can say or do.

Keep it strong brutha.

Girl next door said...

I'm getting here a little late. I don't have much to add to the views that have been expressed already. All this talk of freedom & free speech makes me wonder if it's all an illusion (i.e. freedom) and how we all handle conflicts & opposing views online and in the 'real' world.

Anonymous said...

"Secondly why is it that any little negative rumour, innuendo, allegation about the actions of the Admin Team is treated as gospel by a small minority of our members? Why are you so quick to believe any lie propagated about us? Where is the pause for reflection"

LMAO!
LMAO!
LMAO!

Nakeel said...

Ok and the drama continue to unfold. Hang in there Aco the good thing is you are on the blogsphere.
Are we going to let an outsider divide us?
D.O throw those popcorns around

walk said...

who is this outsider who is dividing people eeeh who is he/she

bomseh said...

About you according to you:
Life is War.To master the art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving.

I know Desanjo's/Jikomboe's face from some Utube video. why don't you give me a KYM job and end this feud.
Like i said before in one of my comments on his blog, methinks you and him blog on a daily basis and since eng is easier to read you have a wider audience hence the kimngatho. ako na kiwaru and wants u out of the way.

ever heard of the revised version of ile methali about fools? no longer "never argue....pple...notice the difference."
the new one goes, "never argue with a @#*%$, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience." let me go back to Utube and farmiliarize myself with the face again in the video interview with some jungu. i wonder what they discussed backstage, kenyan politics? or aco's blog audience!

Girl in the Meadow said...

I have two versions. Do i hang in the fence?

mloyi said...

I read your interview, you tried to prove your innocence, but you showed your wanking behavior again!
Among sentences in it that raised my attention is this... "I knew things were not peachy because I had run in with that individual( is it someone who stands for his/her own with his/her own thoughts?) sometime back; one SHE (ndesanjo) has never forgotten nor forgiven that;.
Is the same thing that made you call Ndugu Kikwete a "Dumb Bitch)?
Uhuru na Umoja!

Archer said...

Talk about missing the bus by a mile! Kuingilia ugali bila kuosha mikono!

Anonymous said...

Haven't been this entertained since indaba.

I remember the Kikwte post, light and political satirish, uncharacteristic of a typical Aco but fresh and straight to the point.

It is a pity the KBW admin not only did not read this post but all Aco post in general but felt qualified to make a fateful judgment.

Of all KBW bloggers, in my opinion, only Archer exceeds Aco in TRUE tales of masaibu ya nga'mbo (tribulation of being abroad). [keep sticking it to the man]

I know KBW can still work something out. The sparks mean you guys have chemistry. So Make love not war.

Archer said...

@Alexcia: funny. har de har!

I just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think my guardian angel is on hiatus!

But let me not distract anyone from the main issue here.

alexcia said...

Aco,
Pretty soon Jeff K will issue you with a CEASE AND DESIST.
Ha such freedom!!!

alexcia said...

@ Archer,
Someone is trying to drown a fish here. Aco can outblog us all combined. His blog itself is an aggregator.
One things' for sure, this will free up alot of bandwidth, faster refreshes and all.
Cant we all just get along?
This sounds alot the the NARC wranglings