The BBC’s ‘Sex for Work’: The Story Behind The Story
This was not the story BBC Africa Eye had set out to do. Tom Odula had pitched to the decision-makers at BBC Africa Eye a story about land in Kericho, how British companies came to own it and the lawsuit the Kericho County government had initiated in British courts. Odula got the go-ahead to do […]
Of Nigerian Ogas And The Ogre That Is African Elections
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, one of the most talented and famous sons of Nigeria and Africa, and the founder of the AfroBeat genre of music, sang that democracy is but only a “demonstration of craze.” To him, African countries and for that matter, his beloved Nigeria (that is why he fought so hard for it), were […]
Let’s Throw Less Wet Blankets Over
Kenyans are a skeptical lot (who can blame them, seeing the sorts of governments and leaders we’ve had?). That cynicism could be interpreted in any number of ways, but in this case, I especially mean our inability to see better for ourselves. They say hope springs eternal but I think that spring came to Kenya, […]
Burying The Corpse That Is Kenya’s Death Penalty
“The state is not God. It has no right to give away that which it cannot give back, if it should so desire.” – Anton Chekhov On 30 January 2023, Ugunja MP and Leader of the Minority in Kenya’s National Assembly (NA) Opiyo Wandayi wrote to the Speaker of the NA, communicating his intention to […]
Do Not Let Rigathi Gachagua Distract You
Despite what Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says, the Government of Kenya is not a company with shareholding. But rather, the government is a duty bearer exercising public trust according to law, staffed by people appointed and regulated by national law, and financed by the entire public. This is the short answer to Rigathi Gachagua’s jocular transgression against Article 10 of the Constitution.
Rejections, Man!
I spent Monday this week waiting for an email that never came and that’s when I knew I had gotten rejected for something I really wanted. You know that feeling when you are constantly refreshing your email? When it pings with a new message and you rush to check it, except, once again, it’s not […]
A Nudge For Raila Odinga and Martha Karua
Full disclosure: I have voted for Raila Odinga in every election since 2007, except during the October 2017 repeat election, which he asked his supporters to boycott, and which I obediently did. I almost didn’t vote in the 2022 election because I had by then lost faith in him and in our electoral process – […]
Urgent Lessons For Kenya From Turkey’s Devastation
As rescue efforts following the Turkey-Syria earthquake were thought of as coming to an end, the death toll had reached 44,000 people and 46,000 by other totals. That’s more than a tenth of the total death count in Turkey in recent years, going by that country’s official statistics (whose independence has been questioned) and from […]
Are Political Rallies The Only Way?
“It is important to expose yourself to ideas you don’t agree with from time to time. Attend a political rally of a party you do not like.” Fred Green The political rallies season is back! For some, prematurely so. Six months after the last general election and the subsequent swearing-in of President William Ruto, many […]
Kenya’s Urgent Need For Political Hygiene
A permanent campaign mode; political parties that are used as special purpose vehicles for elections only, then quick to fold up upon delivery; politicians who at one point prepared to run as loyal party members then quickly swap sides to become independents as soon as they lose that golden party ticket; the bad practice of […]
