Monday 18 February 2008

Jeff and Oprah Winfrey

Before going into the subject 'Jeff and Oprah Winfrey', I want you to read part of an article Jeff wrote regarding Oprah's involvement in South Africa ......

When reading his article carefully, you will also note that here is a man 'looking down' on Africa - a man who seems to have 'outgrown' or at least who tries to forget his personal background and roots.....

Just listen to this:

I've been covering this continent for a dozen years. There's very little about Africa that I haven't seen, heard, smelled or felt.

As a reporter, I've been in parts of Africa that can only be described as Godforsaken, covering stories as varied as famines in Niger, civil wars in devastated regions like Darfur and the victims of civil wars in Uganda and Sierra Leone and mass rapes in the Congo.

I've been up close and personal with the most bizarre characters in war-ravaged places like Libera, people who preferred to go into combat dressed in ways more fitting for a circus than a battle zone and rubbed shoulders with child soldiers barely old enough or tall enough to be carrying weapons of war.

And in Nation after Nation, one recurring image will always haunt me - the faces of those children scarred by war, famine, disease, children forced to become adults in the blink of an eye, children who never be able to just be kids again.

These are the times that I - as an African and as a reporter - ask myself, "How much worse can things get for my people?"

But there are rays of hope. We saw one last week. Oprah Winfrey's decision to spend tens of millions of dollars of her own money to help educate children she's never known in a land so far away from her own....................................................

After having seens his Report on Oprah's School (he had told me about the life-coverage before), I wrote on Tuesday, January 9, at 4:13 am !!!!!

A sleepless night worth it !!!!!!!!

I am impressed - Oprah and Anderson Cooper will for sure be proud of you - this was one of your best 'shows' I have seen up to now.

And his instant reply via his Blackberry:

I am glad you stayed up to watch it ......

One of the PROUDEST moment of my life .......

And I poured my heart out like I've never done before !!!!!!!!!

Thanks for watching !!!!!!!!!

JK

I wrote back (still in the middle of the night at 5:24 am):

I have realized that - it ws very moving and not just a 'show' ,,,,,,

This was you with all your heart !!!!!!!!!!

And Jeff:

...... She's an AMAZING woman ..... and what a presence ...... just being there with her ....... and she 'trusting' me and my reporting (because as you'd expect she's very protective of her reputation and didn't know where I was going with the whole interviewing thing) -

But she was simply AMAZING ..... and she's done what NO other woman has been able to do .........

That makes her even more AMAZING !!!!!!!!

And you are right - I've never been so touched ..... or even so moved by one person's actions ..... and so genuine, so practical, so down-to-earth despite her WEALTH and STATUS !!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A WOMAN !!!!!!!!!!

JK

After having 'digested' his mail, I replied:

You're probably right - she is amazing and she has remained what she most probably always was - a 'human being' ......

Though having read about her in the Internet, I agree with you that she must have been also sometimes been very hurt by all the funny stories about her private life.

But then - of course - she trusted you because you are like her and she must have realized that immediately.

She is very intelligent - and still a woman with a very soft side and very strong feelings for others. And that's what I admire most in her.

And again, he repeated what he had said already before:

You're right ........ I've never been so touched ....... or even so moved ......

What a WOMAN !!!!!!!!!!!

JK

To this I replied:

When I saw the Report again, something struck me:

I realized that it was Oprah who has brought out the best in you ..... it was obviously her influence, her personality and her enchanting way that has let you 'loose your control' .......

Am I right ?????????????

Oprah was a bit defensive in the beginning as she usually is - but then something happened after she spoke to you for a while:

There was a bond - a trust between her and you - almost love !!!!!!!!

Especially when she started touching your hand and you hers and then putting her arms around you - and so did you .......

And suddenly there were two people talking and feeling the same ..... forgetting (at least that's the impression I got) that there was a camera catching this 'special moment' between two people - two people sharing the same feelings .........

I am glad for you because I have never seen you so happy before !!!!!!!!!!

And Jeff:

I am glad you saw that .......... AMAZING isn't it ??????????????

After this he even felt like calling - still all excited - repeating again and again how 'amazing' Oprah was and how happy he felt for being able to spend some time with her..............

--------------------

-------------- to be continued ----------

Sunday 17 February 2008

Jeff: Please don't give up on me .....

After I had sent the letter to the CNN Bosses informing them not only about London but also about all the correspondence Jeff and I had exchanged regarding the Nigerian MEND Report, Jeff called several times asking me to send another letter to his Bosses informing them that we were trying to find a solution to our 'problems' and also to tell them that he had apologized for what he did to me in London.

He wrote:

Please don't doubt me now ..... you have shaken me to my SENSES ....

And never ever give up on me ............

And like a 'release' of being able to leave the subject of what had happened in London aside, he then finally also wrote about his wife and their child:

I feel like I'm about to be RE-BORN ..... whatever it is (boy or girl) .... I'm hoping it will make my mother FINALLY talk to my WIFE .... they haven't spoken in years ......

Maybe that's why I'm so NERVOUS .... I always wanted this and always thought this would UNITE our family..

And IF it doesn't .... then I don't know what I'll do .....

My sisters have both a son and a daughter each and my brother has a whole bunch of Boys ..

But my mother (in true Kikuyu fashion) has never been 're-named' .... so maybe IF it's a girl, then she can finally be 'reborn!!!!!!!!!! If it's a boy, well and good !!!!!

Does any of this make sense ?????????

JK

Considering fulfilling Jeff's plea to write another letter to his Bosses, I had an idea how to make him realize what a woman feels after having been raped and how much effort it takes to overcome this trauma.

CNN Inside Africa had shown a report about a woman in Johannesburg taking care besides of orphans also of young woman who had endured the same situation I had.

So when Jeff called the next time asking again to write this second letter to CNN, I told him to get into contact with the home and to take over the 'patronage' of three of these young women...... i.e. paying for their living costs, medical care etc.

I explained that it would help him to better understand how women feel after such an ordeal - so my proposal also included spending time with them and not just paying .....

Much to my surprise he immediately accepted my condition and promised to go to see Gail the following Saturday when he was coming back from Ghana.

He then passed Gail's email-address to me enabling me to have direct contacts with her. I wrote to her immediately and announced that Jeff would get into contact with her and for which reason without telling her the background of all this.

It was then Jeff's idea to also include the interview regarding my book in this 'deal'.

Although I did not feel very comfortable about this point since it could give the wrong impression that this was the only thing I was ever interested in. He insisted that he would talk with the people of Inside-Africa whereas the patronage of the girls would kept as his private matter.

You will agree that I tried my best to reach out to him - inspite of the fact that I was still undergoing medical treatment for the injuries sustained in London - I was still having pain and was sometimes bleeding and had to take strong medication to avoid an infection ..... I also had decided to make an HIV-test and another one for Herpes .....

As I mentioned before, Jeff had to go to Ghana to make a report for CNN on their Independence Anniversary.

When I did not hear from him anything for some days, I spoke with my daughter what to do and this is her comment which I then also forwarded to Jeff:

Mami - Jeff is just trying to save his ass ..... don't ever trust him again ... promise !!!!!! He has proved not to be a man any woman should ever trust ...... you should never forgive him ..... he only tries to exploit your - maybe - still existing feelings for him for his own selfish reasons ...... he gives a 'shit' about you - that's the reality and please accept this ..... if not, you are only hurting yourself !!!!!

This damming message from my daughter finally made him react and he also gave the reasons for his silence:

Your Blog is causing all kinds of ripple-effects around the world and I'm starting to get phone calls from all over the place asking about the Date Rape .....

I know you've responded but the damage has been done.

I don't know what to say.

Let's talk when you get a chance. I'm back in Joburg now.

JK

You will realize that he never ever denied anything - nor did he ever comment the letter I had written to all the CNN Officials.

Only once he referred to it when he told me that he understood why I had to do it .....

But he never said that the content of the letter was not true - and this referred also to the details about the Nigeria Report.

On March 8th he then wrote to me:

I have been 'reprimanded' by CNN from emailing anything other than the 'basics' ....... it's causing them great concern.

A few days later we had a long and serious discussion on the phone and agreed at the end on the text of a letter I proposed to send to the same CNN Officials to whom I had sent the first one - including also Anderson Cooper and Oprah Winfrey - which read as follows:

Dear Mr. Walton,

I herewith wish to confirm that I have accepted Mr. Koinange's explanation and apologies regarding the London 'incident'.

Mr. Koinange is an excellent journalist and I think CNN (and the world) need somebody like him.

Sincerely,
Marianne Briner

As I said before, Jeff and I agreed on the text before - and you will have realized that he did not ask me to correct or take back anything I had said in my first letter to CNN. He only wanted them to know that he had apologized to me and that we were trying to come to an agreement.

----------------

------- to be continued ---------



Saturday 16 February 2008

Jeff Koinange - the 'loving' husband and father-to-be ....

How I finally got to know that his wife was pregnant (14th week - so for quite a while already) ..... just read the following:

After having gone back to Joburg, Jeff wrote on Monday, February 26th, early in the morning:

Robbery !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the 'silence' .... I got involved in an armed robbery incident after I landed in Johannesburg, Saturday.

If you don't believe me, you can GOOGLE it.

I'm trying to get my life back in order .... credit cards, passport, drivers licence, id's, etc. etc.

I'll talk to you when I can.

JK

I did as he had suggested and found the article talking about this. It said

... that the award-winning CNN Africa Correspondent Jeff Koinange and his pregnant wife were robbed at gunpoint ....

I had to read this minimum 10 times to really believe what it meant !!!!!!

Why had he hidden this from me and instead continued talking about having a relationship (and child) with my daughter?

And even now in his mail talking about the robbery, just mention himself 'I got involved .... I'm trying to get my life back in order ....'

I... !!!!!!!!!! I ... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not once the word 'we' including his wife in this !!!!!!!!

It took me two days to 'cool down' - and then on Wednesday, February 28th, I wrote:

I still canot believe this !!!!!!!

You should have been the happiest man in the world knowing that - finally - your wife is pregnant.

And you should have told me - since as you said many times before, this was the only 'gap' in your life to really make you a happy man.

So why did you not say anything to me and instead continued talking about needing a 'heir' and wanting my daughter??????

How does your wife feel about all this ????? Does she know that you planned to have a child with another woman - just in case ??????

It makes me really sad just to think about it .... and it makes me furious at the same time .... I do not think you should get away with all this so easily.

Life has given you a lesson with that robbery - but maybe you need a little more than that to realize that you cannot play with the feelings of other people.

I wonder if and what you will reply to this - or if you prefer to go 'underground' because you do not know what to say for your defense ....

MB

If I had expected a compassionate reply of a loving husband and father-to-be, Jeff proved me once again wrong.

Instead of giving a decent explanation, he choose to attack and threaten me when he wrote on March 1st:

Two can 'play' the game ......

To BLACKMAIL me will NOT work, Marianne .... and besides, it's the LAST thing you want to do because you stand to LOOSE as much as I do ......

For one, I have a 'lovely' NAKED photo of you on a beach which about a DOZEN newspapers (from Kenya to New York) would be more than interested in getting their hands on ......

Especially if the CAPTION under it reads, 'Moi's former Mistress' .... and underneath that 'Moi shared her with others like Harry Bellafonte, Julio Iglesias, Sal Davis and many more ......

And think of the EMBARRASSMENT it would bring to your family .... unless of course you don't give a DAMN about them .....

And don't forget, I have the addresses you gave me to send copies of my book .... and the one you wrote on the FEDEX invoice .....

I wonder if a certain Mr. NICK BOIT (Nicholas Biwott) would be interested in that ?????????

Are you prepared to 'MOVE' again ??????????

The BOTTOM LINE, don't even think of Blackmailing me ...... it won't work .......

If you want to 'behave' like an adult and continue talking, I am prepared to do so ......

Let's 'settle' this like reasonable Human Beings .....

I was very upset by his mail - it was the last I had expected him to write after what he did to me London.

But deciding 'to play it cool' I replied:

I was not blackmailing you - I was just putting things right - but you have decided not only to blackmail but also to threaten me - exactly in the way John Troon had warned me you would ....

I did not want to believe him .... but now I have to.

But like in the past - I am not scared - not by you and not by Biwott or anybody else.

You should know this by now !!!!!!

But then I decided I had to 'fight back' and wrote the letter to the CNN President Jim Walton with copies to Chris Cramer, Jim Clansy, Jonathan Mann, Femi Oke and Oprah Winfrey..........

But I did not stop here. Since I had the impression that Jeff needed more than that, I also passed the information of the whole sad story to the Kenyan Blogger Kumekucha.

And on March 5th, they published everything under the title

' Top Kenyan Journalist in Date Rape Incident' .........

..... and that was the beginning of the end of Jeff Koinange's award-winning career with CNN ..........

---------

----- to be continued later today --------

London - the truth ......

When I was just about boarding the plane on February 22, my cell phone rang. Jeff knew my flight schedule and therefore must have felt 'safe' to call knowing that I was about to leave London.

I decided not to take his call - he rang three times more - and again as soon as my plane landed in Malaga 3 hours later.

And then in the comfort of my apartment, I finally had the courage to call my daughter and tell her everything.

The following day, February 23rd, I then wrote to Jeff:

I was really tired and very exhausted - so I decided not to take your yesterday's phone calls.

My only worry now is my health status and then how to carry on trying to forget the whole 'episode' Jeff Koinange.

One way would be to publish all our correspondence from day one as well as the details about what has happened in London in the Internet - title: "Jeff Koinange - the real man behind the scenes - a warning to all my Sisters out there!!!!!"

To this he replied immediately via his Blackberry:

I'm asking you as a friend and as a confidante, please do not do that !!!!!!!!

PLEASE !!!!!!!!

You will ruin both you and me forever ..... think about it and let's talk when I'm back in Joburg ..... I'm leaving now !!!!!!!!

A few minutes later he added:

I wish you knew what I went through the last two days .......

As for your health, I can assure you that you are ALRIGHT .... in fact, I can PROMISE you that .... as you know I would NEVER put you in any danger .... I told you that once before .... and I am a man of my word.

As for publishing my mails, if you, Marianne, want to be the woman who will DESTROY the reputation I've worked so hard to build, to DESTROY the trust I put in you to write from the heart, that will really break my heart.

Take care and please don't worry about your health .... you're a strong and very healthy woman.

JK

Do you realize that there is no word of regret, no explanation nor apology in this mail ...... he is just afraid about his reputation and what it could do to him when and if I talk.

So I replied:

From next week onwards you can read about you and me on my blog - and I will send it to all TV- and Newspaper-outlets including some friends in Africa.

I am sorry - but you and your behaviour with me - and I am sure with other women and also with men - has forced me to do this.

You have damaged not only my body, but also my pride and I am not willing to accept this.

And again his immediate reply via his Blackberry:

If that's how you feel, then all I can say is SORRY from the bottom of my heart and I hope you can find it in your compassionate heart to forgive me and give me ONE more chance to make it up to you ......

I at least deserve that ..... one more chance ...... if I FUCK-UP again, then you can do whatever you want !!!!!

To this I replied:

Which chance? What do you think you can correct?

Being a lover as you promised to be? Being a man who cares as you said you do? Being somebody I could trust completely as you begged me I should?

Who is the real Jeff Koinange?

In my memory it is the man who forced himself on me and then left me there in that hotel room - having seen and realized that he had injured me and that I was bleeding - who left without looking back.

Only now - when you fear I could talk - you come out of hiding and beg me to forgive you.

So give me one reason why I should. You have and you never had any feelings for me - all these sweet words were just empty promises given under false presumptions.

So again my question: how do you think you could ever make up to this? And how and why should I ever trust you again?

He then also called - already being at the Airport to board the plane to Johannesburg.

When I answered his call, I immediately realized that this had been a mistake because the only reason why he called was to ask me NOT to tell my daughter anything ......

After this I had another sleepless night and the following day, I then wrote to him:

The image of a face .......

After you had left me alone in the hotel and after having taken a long shower trying to 'clean' myself, I tried to sleep - but one face appeared again and again in front of me:

The sad face of the beautiful girl of your Congo Report on the Raped Women. The empty and sad expression on her face - and this is haunting me since then.

It is exactly how I felt during these days when you left me alone after what you had done to me ..... and not even tried to call to find out how I felt.

And to think that you received your honors and awards exactly for these reports on mistreated women - what a joke .... and how sad just to think about this. How these women believed in you - trusting you with their sad stories - and the world seeing in you a sensitive and compassionate journalist ....

How wrong we all have been because the reality and my experience with you has proved all this false.

But as you wrote to me once: "This is all just a show - this is not the real me."

I did not understand then what this meant. Now I know.

And then the biggest 'joke' of all: Even in this moment you still think you could have a relationship with my daughter and asking me not to tell her anything what has happened in London because you are still interested in getting to know her (and having a child with her ....)

You must be really crazy just to think that I would ever introduce my daughter to you.

And now you even ask me to 'forgive' you - to allow you a second chance - that you deserve this at least .....

You had all the chances in the world - but you have lost each one of them.

And I am also of the opinion that you have not only lost your humanity, but tou must have sold your soul to the devil (maybe to a devil like Biwott?????).

You will for sure have realized that I never mentioned the fact that his wife Shaila was expecting their first child ........

The reason for this is quite simple: Jeff did not mention this with one word - neither in London nor during the days after.

On the contrary - also during our conversation in the Lobby - he still asked a lot about my daughter and was a bit disappointed that she had not joined me.

How I finally got to know that his wife was pregnant ...... just read the following mails .......

----------------

will be continued tomorrow ...........

London - Part 3

And now we come to another part of the whole sad saga:

As I said, he had a 'pass' to my room and I discovered after he had left that he had taken the pass with him.

So I always feared that he could come back even in the middle of the night...... so I informed the Hotel that I had lost my pass and was then given a new one. Like this, the one Jeff had was not valid any more.

And as it turned out, my precautions had been right: He really tried to sneek into the Hotel the second night, at 4.20 am......

How I found out about this?

After I had already sent the letter to the CNN President, Jeff started calling me again. He first asked me not to tell my daughter anything since he was still interested to get to know her - and then he asked if my daughter liked the DVD's he had left in my Hotel for her ........

I first did not even know what he was talking about. He then said that he had come to my Hotel but since the pass did not work, he went to the Night Concierge but because he was not a registered guest, he could not come to my room as he had planned - so he had left an envelop for me with these 3 DVD's (one about Darfur, one about Somalia and the third one about Oprah's School).

I first could not believe that he had really have the guts to still think he could come to me in the night like that - so I called the Hotel and I got the confirmation.

The Manager apologized for not having given me the envelop when I checked out that morning - so they sent it to me by DHL.

Besides the DVD's the envelop contained also a handwritten note by Jeff telling me that he tried to come to my hotel at 4:20 am after having had a 'life' for Anderson Cooper 360 .... and then also the pass to my room was attached .....

I have everything here right now - for anybody to see that I am telling the truth.

--------to be continued tomorrow --------

Friday 15 February 2008

London, February 20, 2007 - part 2

As I said before, he was dressed quite casual. I felt therefore a bit 'overdressed' and proposed to go to my room to change into something less fancy.

He agreed and asked if he could come up also since he needed to call his people before going out for dinner. I told him to give me 15 minutes so I could change before.

And then I made a big mistake: I had two passes for my room and I gave him one .... still feeling to be in total control of him.

I was still in the bathroom when he entered my room - not after 15 minutes as I had asked him, but after less than 5 minutes.....

Without any warning he opened the sliding doors of my bathroom - pulled me out telling me "Don't feel shy with me....."

And then the big shock: he was already naked .... he then pushed me on the bed and in seconds tried to enter me..... I struggled and asked him several times to stop - but he forced himself into me that's when he must have hurt me.

He held my arms down and started kissing me in a very brutal way - maybe he wanted to stop me from screaming.

He realized the pain in my face since he even made the remark, "Did I hurt you ? "

I started crying and begged him several times to stop. But he only said, "I can't - so just let me finish.." and continued.

Every move he made was like a knife cutting deeper and deeper into me ....... it was horrible.

When he finished - and yes, he even had an orgasm - he turned around and for a few minutes he was lying on his stomach next to me without saying one word.

He then got up and - still naked - he even made the phone calls he originally had come for. I heard him talking and even laughing to somebody for abt. 10 minutes.

I later checked the numbers he had called (the Hotel gave me the bills when I checked out). The first one was the London Office of CNN and the second - the call which lasted 10 minutes - was the private cell phone ( 020 - 76931670 ) of Alphonso van Marsh, CNN London.

After having finished his phone conversation and without even having used the bathroom to clean himself, he got dressed.

I then noticed that he did not even wear any pants - not even socks - just these black trousers, a sweater and a sort of black soft-leather boots.

He then turned around to me saying "I am sorry, but I have to go" - and just touching my cheeks - still wet from my tears - with his fingertips, he left......

After he had left, I then saw the blood on my body and on the bed sheets - and I had only one thought: to wash away this 'dirt' ....

Like if I was cleaning my body, I could also clean my mind and maybe even wash away the memory of what had just happened to me.

So in spite of still having pain, I took a shower and stayed under the running hot water for more than half an hour .......

--------------

--- will be continued tomorrow -------

Rape - February 20, 2007

I arrived in London on February 20th around midday. When I checked in at the Holiday Inn-Forum Plaza, I had expected to find at least a welcoming message from Jeff - or some flowers and maybe even a bottle of Champagne as he had announced before in some of his mails .......

But there was nothing at all - and that should have been a first strong warning what to expect ...... since this was so much in contrast to what he had promised to me before in all his 'romantic and loving mails' ..... 'but talk is cheap' as I should soon learn .....

I still decided to give him a 'chance' and left a message in his Hotel (Kempinski-Court) as well as on his cell phone....

Finally, Jeff called me back more than 3 hours later around 4 pm announcing that he would be at my Hotel around 6:30 pm.

He proposed that we should meet in in the Lobby, take a drink first, go out for dinner after - and then spend the night together 'to do all the things we have always dreamed of, my Love".......

Since he had mentioned that we should have Dinner at the Langham, I dressed up for such an exclusive place - but he came just wearing black trousers and a black sweater (a little bit like the MEND people in his Nigeria Report).

I made a remark to this asking if he was really seriously planning to have dinner with me at the Langham since as you may know, the London Top Restaurants have a quite strict dress-code for the evening.

But he assured me that his outfit was o.k. - 'why - what's wrong with what I wear? ..'

We then talked for about an hour, sitting in the Lobby, sipping a glass of wine ..........

Although I should have been warned: In the middle of our conversation - mainly about the Nigeria Report, his problems with the CNN Lawyers which were still going on also in London - people we both knew in- and outside Kenya etc. - he all of the sudden stopped and said, "I want to make love to you ...... right now !!!!!!"

I started laughing and trying to tease him, I said, "You are crazy. Have you forgotten, we have a date for dinner ..... that's it - at least for now."

But he insisted, "But I am ready .... so let's do it ...... now ........ or don't you want me anymore?"

He must then have realized that I felt quite embarrassed especially after this last remark, so he quickly returned to our former conversation - and I felt 'safe' again ...........

Especially since something quite strange had happened - at least for me:

If you have read our former correspondence well, you will have realized that we spoke a lot about a certain 'chemistry' between us - an almost sexual attraction.

But when I saw him there in London and after having spoken with him for some minutes, I realized that - at least for me - this feeling had totally disappeared like it had never even existed.

...... Yes, he was an intelligent man ...... nice talking to ........ but nothing else.

I saw him as a quite unsecure young man craving for attention ...... not at all the man I had seen on TV and definitely not the man who had written to me all those lover letters.

To me he was like an 'empty shell' ........

Based on this impression, I felt 'superior' and in control like I had always been in my life when it came to having a relationship:

It was me who decided with whom and when and how - not only at the beginning but mainly when and how to finish it.

But how wrong Jeff should prove me to be in his case ..............

--------- to be continued ------------

Thursday 7 February 2008

Jeff Koinange: Obviously not learning anything

I never thought this possible, but it seems that Jeff continues on the same track as before: .....taking cocain and raping women ......

As I was told, many people around Nairobi have started asking themselves :

"What will be happening next?"

Is it just because Jeff is frustrated with his unimportant job at this new K24 Channel - or because it's the fact that he had to return to Kenya after having 'tasted' the big exciting world?

Nobody knows the answer - except Jeff himself.

But many people have written to me - all asking the same question:

What's next ????????

Will Jeff finally get his act together and take over the responsibility not only for his own life but also for the people around him who are still willing to trust him ??????

IF and WHEN does Jeff learn to admit the real truth about himself ????????? And this includes not only the real reasons why he left CNN - or better said, had to leave because he was asked to.

I don't know the answer to all these questions - but I am sure about one thing:

Jeff has to learn to live with himself and not continue distinguishing between his 'private' and his 'professional face behind the scenes'.

As he described this disturbing fact in many emails:

"The man you and others see on TV is not me - the REAL me is somebody totally different - but I have learned to hide that private part of me from the public - so I am putting on a SHOW because that's what the people want to see. But believe me, that's only SHOW. That's not ME".

I found this very sad and realized that it was creating a deep confusion in him - a confusion which has led him to do things he would never have done otherwise.

- So I beg you, Jeff Koinange, don't hide anymore.

- Don't be afraid to show us your real face because only then we will learn again to trust you - learn to believe that your intentions are honest.

- Don't continue showing us 'a faking face' like a friend of mine has desribed it when seeing you on K24.

- Because we finally want to see the 'real' Jeff and not some 'artificial product' of the American TV ....... you are back in Kenya now. You are 'safe' amongst your own people to come out with your true self. Learn to trust yourself - and mainly trust the people who still love you ..........

-------------------

---- to be continued ------




Monday 4 February 2008

JEFF KOINANGE: A PAID RAPIST ?

Today I received the most shocking news - although I must admit that it was something many people have already told me in the past, but I always had refused it to be true - but now the following information has finally convinced me:

A friend of mine who knows practically the whole Koinange family, has told me that a cousin of Jeff has confirmed to him that it was indeed Nicholas Biwott who 'inspired' and even paid Jeff to give me 'a lesson'.... and Jeff accepted to become Biwott's willing 'servant' for his own selfish reasons.......

Jeff knew when coming to London last February that CNN was about to fire him because of the Nigerian story .... the Government lawyers and CNN were in a clinch and the Nigerians demanded Jeff's dismissal .....

Furthermore something else was added - something I also had heard already in the past from people who knew Jeff very well: He is since years a cocain-addict and could therefore easily be manipulated and would do anything for the next 'fix'.

I still could not believe this to be true but then I remembered that he met Biwott again before coming to London (as he said in one of his mails to me ' we were embracing each other as usual'....) and it seems that it was here where the 'deal' was agreed:

'You give that woman a lesson and I help you to get another job .... and also a certain amount of money to bridge some months without working in order to let the whole story get out of the public eye .....'

What none of them expected, was the fact that I informed the President of CNN about this .... they had expected me to be too ashamed and therefore keep quiet.

And my letter then gave CNN the perfect possibility to fire him without having to expose the real reason.

But I dare ask you the following: who is more to blame - Biwott for having used Jeff or is it not Jeff himself who is the real guilty one?

I know that many people in Kenya like to watch him on this new channel K24.

As Chris from the Kumekucha-Blog wrote to me today:

" I see Jeff on TV almost every day. My wife loves to watch him, probably fascinated at the fact that he was a rapist in secret but she always asks me what I feel about destroying him. I always answer the same, that if what I reported was a lie, I would now be in court answering to a case.

I sincerely do not understand why this animal seems to get so much sympathy from Kenyan women, some of whom have been raped and know how terrible a crime this is. His good looks? The fact that he is a Kikuyu? I will probably never know. "


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------- to be continued --------

Jeff: I am touched by your love for Kenya

In the evening Jeff called and we started talking about his family, his Grandfather and his own political future ........

Much to my surprise, he then added in writing:

Thanks for your comments .... and for your 'candid' advice about my 'future' ......

I hope, you will 'play' a part in it ....... just like I owe it to my Grandfather, you too 'owe' it to Kenya .....

We could strike an agreement ....... I'll give you back your 'house' .... and your life in Kenya ..... and MUCH MUCH MORE .......

Thanks for being my friend, Marianne ..... I don't have too many friends. But now I can count on one more ..... friend, LOVER, advisor, guru, LOVER ..... and on and on and on .......

Lots of LOVE,
JK
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After this he called again and I told him how much I missed Kenya - its people - the friends I had made - just everything and that I almost felt like being 'homeless' since I had to leave ........

Jeff must have realized how sad I was, because the then wrote:

....... Promise !!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be too disheartened ...... I'm touched by your LOVE for Kenya and your wish to return to 'your' home .......

I PROMISE you, I will do all I can to make that DREAM come true for you .....

I truly sympathize with you that no matter how GREAT your environment is, how wonderful your Golf Estate is and how beautiful the sunsets etc. - they'll never compare to the KENYA you fell in love with all those years ago ......

I have a lot to do for Kenya ..... and a lot to fulfill to my Grandfather's dreams ..... but GOD willing if everything turns out ok (2012 and then 2017), I shall make sure you get back to Kenya and live there for as long as you want ..... this I PROMISE you TODAY ..... and you can HOLD me to it !!!!!!!!!

In the meantime, the interview with PRONK went wonderful well ..... he was very candid and very 'strong' against the Sudanese Government (very UN-diplomatic) which we REALLY liked .... look out for it sometimes next week .........

Tomorrow we hope to get BASHIR .... and that should be a coup !!!!!!!!!

By the way, on our way to the interview I looked up to the sky and there in front of us getting ready to land was - guess what - LUFTHANSA ..... I smiled to myself and kind of wished you were on that plane ........

I'll be calling you shortly ......

Stay SWEET, my SWEET !!!!!!!!!

JK
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----- to be continued -----------

Sunday 3 February 2008

Khartoum - The craziness continues

I must admit, I had started to enjoy Jeff's letters. He was a very intelligent man with a thorough grasp of many issues.

So picking his mind became almost an obsession. When I got back home, I went to my study and turned on the computer. Had Jeff written? - Yes, he had:

Hey there BEAUTIFUL ...... landed a short while ago and wanted to check in with you before getting some rest .....

You will NEVER be a PASSING CLOUD to me .... only ONE MAN holds that title ..... and it NEVER really happened that way in the end anyway !!!!!!!!!

Sleep well, my SWEET.

JK
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And later the same day he added:

It's been another loooooooooooooooooooong day ...... getting our journalist accreditation as well as travel permits to be able to go to DARFUR ..... so much bureaucracy here !!!!!!!!!!! They really are 'scared' of journalists ..... but hopefully we'll be ok and plan to 'fly out' by the weekend ..... and then begin broadcasting by Monday night (5 am our time ..... 10 pm Atlanta ....). The stories will then hopefully be replayed all day the next day and the same thing all week .....

Anderon Cooper in Congo, Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Chad and yours truly in Sudan ...... and guess what, all three of us were involved in the EMMY award the other day ..... what a team !!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I again 'felt' something late last night ...... I didn't want to think of it too much but it kept coming back ........

You and I are 'LINKED' .... whether we like it or not !!!!!!!!!

Missing you like CRAZY ...... and YES, please write me ANY and EVERY time you can ..... even if I don't get to reply as often as I'd want to.

Kisses all over your BODY !!!!!!!!!!!

JK
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To complete the picture, he then sent me later the text of an article which he had done for the Anderson-Cooper-Blog-360 - which is good read indeed - so I am including it here:

Mission Darfur, job one: part the red tape .........

We almost failed to make our flight out of Johannesburg, on our way to Darfur as '360' focuses next week on the humanitarian crisis in Africa.

The booking was fine for the first sector to Nairobi, Kenya, but it was the continuing sector to Sudan that was 'choc-a-bloc'. We did the only thing journalists do in that kind of situation, we begged and begged and begged the airline officials like our lives depended on this 'mission'. They must have seen our sincerity (or is it desperation?) that finally they checked us all the way, complete with 18 pieces of baggage, digital new gathering gear, laptops, satellite phones, bottles of water, clothes, everything we would need for about a week in what's been described as THE world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Both sectors of the flight were uneventful and we finally landed in Sudan later that night. Clearing immigration proved easier than expected and our luggage made it, believe it or not. We were ecstatic as we wheeled our FIVE carts towards the customs officials and the first of what was going to be a lesson in patience and tolerance.

We showed our paperwork to one of the officials who barely glanced at it before handling it over to his colleague and on it went until the fifth customs officer took a quick look and yelled something back in Arabic to our fixer who'd met us at the airport. "He has to call his superior," Akram told us. "OK", we replied. Five minutes, ten, twenty, half-an-hour. "What's the delay?" we asked. "It's Ramadan," was the answer, "the fasting just ended for the day and no'one's available." This was understandable given the timing of the flight and the Muslim Holy month. "How long do we have to wait?" we asked, "He'll soon come," the official responded.

Two hours later, we'd finally gotten the necessary paperwork sorted we were walking out of the now deserted airport, humbled but happy to have all our gear with us. We eventually got to the hotel, checked-in and crashed for the night.

The next morning, we were up early. Copies of passports were made, photographs taken, ID at the ready. First we had to register with the authorities, let them know we're in town. Then to the Ministry of External Affairs to get accredited and receive permission to film, then to the Internal Ministry to get permission to fly to Darfur, then to the police to make sure they know we can film in the streets of the capital.

In a word, Sudan is a bureaucrat's dream - paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork.

Two days later, we have just about everything in hand, except the all-important permission to fly to Darfur. That's been promised by Saturday and we plan to be 'wheels-up' Sunday to a place called El Fasher in Northern Darfur, a region as large as Texas or France. From there it's a helicopter ride to a camp that was the recent scene of bloody clashes. Fingers crossed until we actually set foot in one of the world's most wretched locations.

Before going to sleep that evening, he called just to say 'good night' - he obviously was very exhausted and tired.

His voice was very soft, almost vulnerable and somehow he sounded very sad and lonely .......

I thought about this when I woke up the following morning and then decided to write:

.... when you read this, it will be already morning. I hope, you slept well.

You should know that these early morning hours with the light just cropping in have always been my 'special' hours when I liked to make love most.

Sp, please, kepp your eyes closed for a while longer, just feel my hands and my mouth on you - let me carry you away and make you happy.

And then take this feeling through the following day until the next morning when during the hours of dawn I will be with you again .... making love to you in your dream - until you tell me to stop ......

Are you smiling now ??????????

Marianne
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And Jeff's answer - also still very early in the morning:

.... not only am I smiling, I'm as 'STIFF AS A POLE' right now and will have to quickly take a cold shower to 'cool things off' !!!!!!!!!!

My GOODNESS, Marianne, I'm really IMPRESSED ..... I can't wait for ALL THIS to happen .... for us to be in each other's arms, lips locked together, hands exploting each other, finding those places we both long to be .... in a word, I can't wait to be INSIDE YOU .... first with my tongue ..... and then ......

I am glad, I helped awaken the 'Tiger' in you ..... somehow, like you said, you were waiting for the right man to come along ..... and I'm honored to not only come along, but CUM and CUM and CUM !!!!!!!!

And like you, I LOVE early morning LOVE-MAKING ..... Goodness, I'd better stop or I'm going to go CRAZY just thinking of that .........

We're still waiting for our Darfur permission ....... hopefully we'll get it later today or tomorrow ...... we also might get an interview with the President here ..... but that's a BIG maybe .......

In the meantime, stay ready for the time of your life (which is very arrogant of me knowing who you've been with in the past) .........

I may be arrogant ......... but GOODNESS, am I CONFIDENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

JK
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When I read his mail, I had to smile - and then I wrote:

.... I am glad, I did excite you ...... I am proud I did ...... I only hope, you are not driving or in a meeting - otherwise I am afraid, you will either crash or blush now .......

I know, you will be a good lover - would I have 'chosen' you otherwise ??????????? Or did you 'chose me' ???????????

Marianne
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And Jeff's immediate answer:

No, I wasn't driving or in an interview ...... I'm getting ready for an interview we have in two hours with Jan Pronk, the United Nation's top man in Sudan ....

In the meantime, I'm smiling and smiling ....... and getting HARDER and HARDER and HARDER again thinking of what we're GOING to do with each other .........

JK

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------- to be continued --------------