When Nick Mwendwa replaced Sam Nyamwea as president of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in February 2016, one of his promises was to elevate women’s football in the country. And in counting his administration’s achievements, Mwendwa has bragging rights for taking Harambee Starlets, Kenya’s women’s side, to their first-ever Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) in 2016 in Cameroon.
It so happens that players born in Europe to African parents are now choosing to play for African countries instead of their European countries of birth; Geoffrey Kondogbia of Central African Republic, Moroccan Mehdi Benatia, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were all born in France. Achraf Hakimi was born in Spain but plays for Morocco. This was even more apparent during the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) where the Lions of Teranga, the winning Senegalese squad consisted of players such as Bouna Sarr, Abdou Diallo, Nampalys Mendy, Edouard Mendy all of whom were born in France. Further North, Tunisia’s Wahbi Kazri was born in France while Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech is of Dutch nationality.
The case of forced evictions – or threats of the same – in informal settlements isn’t new to Mukuru or Nairobi. In August 1996, the eviction of 20,000 people from the Mukuru shantytown was ordered by the Moi regime and then quickly suspended. Two days later, it was the turn of Mbagathi Village (between South C and Langata Road) to be destroyed. Going further back, in 1969, in Kaburini in Eastleigh, 370 families were evicted from their homes only to be awarded a Site and Service Scheme near Karura Forest five years later.
Despite the many hoops that we’ve had to jump through during the trip to Brussels, we’re lucky that as journalists travelling on the invitation of an international organisation, our visas, COVID tests and transit costs have all been covered by our host newsroom. Not everyone gets this sort of support.
Peer pressure was ranked highest by both students and teachers with 27.9% of students and 34.7% of teachers saying it was a contributing factor. There was however a new dimension this study introduced; strict reforms by the Cabinet Secretary for education, Dr. Fred Matiangi. The CS had taken an unprecedented decision to ban visiting and prayer days for form four students during third term as a measure to curb rampant exam cheating. 23% of the students and 18% of teachers cited the tough policy reforms as a contributing factor.
Vodka tampons or butt chugging (used by men to introduce alcohol into the rectum via the anus i.e. as an enema)—depending on what you call it—allows the alcohol to bypass the liver’s filtering and metabolic processes so that the ethanol drains straight into the bloodstream via veins to the vena cava. It is, in other words, short-circuiting your body’s defense mechanisms by putting liquor in your ass/vagina, creating a euphoric, intense and near-instant buzz.
When Mane stepped up to take the penalty, the execution was so powerful and precise that even Gabaski’s dive and stretch could not reach it. Mane hit the football with the venom of a man who was tired of anti-football, and as the net dangled from the power, the crowd in Paul Biya Stadium roared. Mane had clinched a first for his country and his manager. Football prevailed.
Everyone assumes you either use weed, are a peddler, or know one. It’s a normal thing to get stopped by strangers and getting queried as to where they can get a joint. Policemen will frisk you for the hang of it because they are looking for blunts. Look, not that I don’t know where to get weed, but it would be courteous if you assumed I didn’t. Also, don’t carry blunts. Everyday is a good day to get busted and pay a real vulgar bribe.
And so when the word boring is floated around regarding AFCON, I wonder what kind of content passes the vibe-check. For most fans, it is undoubtedly not the tactics that glue us to the screen, nor is it the match analysis by the pundits during half-time. It is also not the commentary that got a lot of criticism when the tournament kicked off. For we ourselves are pundits and commentators, and the most talking points come from the flair on and off the pitch. And in AFCON, both of these are served in plenty. Sometimes even, to dramatic extents like when a brawl ensued after Egypt knocked out Morocco at the quarter finals.
Certainly, different people have different ways of journaling. Understandably, some people may bemoan the task of writing down how they feel or what they want to achieve. But in the new media age, journaling does not have to be tied down to scribing alone. Instead, you can keep a journal by voicing your thoughts on a voice recorder or your phone. Others, brave enough to look into their own eyes while speaking their thoughts, keep journals through videos.
