***** This posting reflects Ben Ondoro’s personal opinion and observation *******
January 29th, 2010:
There seem to be some confusion regarding the upcoming meeting slated for March 14th, 2010, with some people referring to it as a “general meeting”, others an “Annual General Meeting (AGM)” and those who have thoroughly looked at the constitution calling it a “special meeting of members”. The secretary on behalf of the current KCO Executive Board under the leadership of President Muoi Nene sent out a notice calling for a “special meeting of members”.
So, really, what kind of meeting is it? I am not speaking for anyone here but having looked at the current constitution, there are provisions for only five kinds of meetings:
(a). First & Regular meeting of the KCO Board of Directors
(b). The Annual General Meeting (A.G.M)
(c). General Meeting - (GM) as some people have called it
(d). Special Meeting
(e). Standing & Ad hoc committees’ regular meeting
Answer: Since the notice that was sent out to the general membership calls for a “special meeting of members”, it would be in everyone’s best interest to refer to it as such to make this meeting legal. I just thought it is best to get this clarified well in advance so that members get the right message. It is not in my position to clarify this but I am throwing this out there as a “food for thought”.
Some Points of Interest - Frequently Asked Questions!
1. Question: Can the March 14th 2010 meeting called by the secretary be an A.G.M or a General Meeting as some people have called it?
a. Answer: NO to this being an A.G.M as section 7.01 of the constitution states that such meetings shall be held each year between 1st day of December of that year and 15th day of January of the following year. The last A.G.M was held on December 12th, 2009.
b. Answer: NO to this being a General Meeting as section 7.04 of the constitution calls for this kind of meeting to be quarterly and only decided upon by the Executive Board.
Note: Regular voting members of KCO can ONLY request for one kind of meeting to take place at anytime and that is the “special meeting of members”. Changing to something else would be illegal and unconstitutional leaving room for a challenge in the court of law.
2. Question: Who will chair the special meeting of members on March 14th, 2010?
a. Answer: Section 7.07 of the constitution states that the President or in his/her absence a Vice President shall be the chairperson of the meetings of members, so President Muoi Nene or in his absence Madam Irene Masinde will be the chairperson of the said meeting. If both of them are unavailable within (30) minutes from the time fixed for holding the meeting then one of the other Board members going in hierarchical order.
3. Question: Can the 2009 KCO election of the Executive Board of Directors be nullified at this point or during the March 14th, 2010 special meeting?
a. Answer: NO. This would be a breach of the current constitution as there is no provision for the nullification of the elections especially after the 21 days following any election and after the electoral body has been disbanded.
Note: The current constitution gives the independent electoral body the power to have a final say on the results of the KCO elections.
4. Question: Considering the teething issue that now has culminated to a call for a special meeting, could the previous Executive Board have stayed in office without handing over until after the special meeting?
a. Answer: NO. This would have been illegal and unconstitutional as the KCO electoral body had successfully concluded their job and presented their final report declaring Muoi Nene and his team dully elected into office.
Note: After the declaration and confirmation of the new office bearers by the KCO electoral commissioners, the previous KCO Board did not have a choice but to honorably hand over the day to day running of the organization to the newly elected officials.
5. Question: Assuming that we are all going by the current constitution, what is it that I can do as a KCO member in good standing if my feeling is that I DO NOT RECOGNIZE the current KCO leadership and want all of them or just some of them out?
a. Answer: Playing the devil’s advocate, I would invoke section 9.06 of the constitution which refers to the “removal of director” – this is the same as impeaching the said Board of Director. If I want all of them out then this will have to be done one by one until all of them are removed from office. The catch is, I am required by law to be able to produce evidence and convince members to pass the resolution by a two third majority vote cast.
Note: In the spirit of keeping KCO alive while still trying our best to unite the general membership, if this section of the constitution is applied with bad intention then it may cause a long term division within the organization.
6. Question: What is your take on the current constitution of KCO?
a. Answer: I have looked at the constitution of a few other community organizations of the same size as KCO and truly speaking, some of them have the worst with Presidents who have been serving these communities for well over 6 years in the same position. Of course there are many other organizations that have up to date constitutions serving their members well. We have matured and grown as an organization with our needs changing more rapidly, so the constitution needs to be looked at more carefully to better serve the interest of the general membership. There is also another good document called “The KCO Strategic Plan” that came out of an initiative originally championed by Dr. Charles Mayenga; my thinking is that there are key elements here that can eventually be entrenched into the constitution, that is if the general membership unanimously endorses the idea of reviewing the current constitution.
Note: Constitution making is not a one day process, so my thinking is that a good mechanism agreeable to the majority if not all stakeholders involved MUST be in place to allow for a conducive atmosphere that will allow us to come up with a better document that serves the interest of members of KCO. There may be a need for wide consultations with members as well as external constitution experts and also a possibility of organizing a few focus group meetings so members can brainstorm on some elements they may want included in the constitution.
7. Question: Regarding posting on the public domains (cyber) including kco-l yahoo group, can I be sued for the content of the messages I post as an individual?
a. YES, individuals have been sued before when they write carelessly on the web unnecessarily defaming others and most of the time these people writing were not even aware that the content of what they were writing met the definition of things such as slander, libel and defamation. I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.
Note: Let us use a real example so we are clear of the consequences, and I will use myself as an example and outline just a few factual things about me:
(a) Ben Ondoro is a family man so what happens if someone was to defame him?
(b) Ben Ondoro is an employee of the Ontario Provincial government in a senior position as a Systems Management Analyst where his reputation and character is an important factor. What does it mean to his job if you were to maliciously defame him and this made its way to his place of work? Please note some of the following points pertaining to the kind of work he does!
1. He is entrusted with key government electronic information that he must safe-guard considering that he is fully in charge of running the government computer systems.
2. He leads specific government projects on the Infrastructure side and continually a key member in various teams implementing the provincial government projects so he is expected to be a team player.
3. He is a key system support person who must interact with a number of colleagues at work a cross the province.
4. He is actively involved in fundraising activities at work on behalf of charities such as United Way, Federated Health and he has received recognitions for his dedication to these charities.
5. Ben Ondoro served on a disaster mission on behalf of the Ontario Provincial government in the United States during the hurricanes Katrina and Rita under FEMA and the American Red Cross. He received recognition from the Ontario government for his dedication and work in New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Bay Town and St. Agnes during the trying moment for our sisters/ brothers in the unfortunate situation.
(c) Besides family & work, Ben Ondoro is very much involved in many community work and other volunteer activities. What does it mean to the public who supports his efforts should his reputation and character be in question?
1. He has been involved with KCO since its inception and volunteer many hours serving its members
2. He is involved with a number of Canadian charitable organizations raising money for projects in Kenya
3. He has a school project in Mathare, Kenya with approximately 350 students with the support from his fundraising efforts here in Canada.
4. He has a Village Water project near Kisumu, Kenya with support from his fundraising efforts here in Canada.
(d) Myself, Me & I – This refers to Ben Ondoro’s personal well-being and freedom as a person. If defamed, what would be the level of his pain and suffering?
So, say hypothetically that there were grounds for Ben Ondoro to sue an individual for a posting on kco-l or anywhere else on the worldwide web for defamation, all the above mentioned points a – d will have to be taken into consideration unless or otherwise the honorable judge rules against it. Depending on how long the list is, one might have to part with a big chunk of cash for legal fees and eventually settlement. Next time anyone is posting information touching on any individual on the worldwide web, think twice especially if what you are trying to say or rather saying does not have any facts that can be proven in the court of law.
The law allows for freedom of speech/expression, so as long as what you are saying is factual and the intention is not to maliciously destroy the character of another person then you can talk and write all you want. These are facts meant to educate those who might not have given it much thought as they write emails going to the public domains.
Thank you all for reading this long document prepared by Ben Ondoro as an expression of opinion and thoughts as I continue to focus on my semi retirement.
Sincerely
Ben Ondoro – Life member & Immediate Past President of KCO
0 comments:
Post a Comment