Thank you

Hi people!
This is to say thank you for all the comments you have left and all the emails you have sent. I haven’t had a lot of time online once I get back I’ll be sure to be in touch.
In the meantime check out what the Kenyan Blogosphere is saying on our collective home, KenyaUnlimited.

|  Email This Post | 5 comments Friday, December 30th, 2005 at 10:14 AM

Kakamega blogging

This has got to be the first ever blog post from Kakamega hasn’t it?

|  Email This Post | 7 comments Tuesday, December 27th, 2005 at 9:04 AM

The Mentalacrobatics Person of the Year 2005

First a confession: It usually takes me weeks to decide who is going to get the Mentalacrobatics Person of the Year Award. This year is different however. I had decided by the end of January and challenged the year to change my mind. Instead of changing, my choice was reinforced in my mind.

The Mentalacrobatics Person of the Year 2005 is
Mzee Kimani Nganga Maruge

For those not familiar with Mzee Maruge’s story he is the oldest man in Kenya to start school - aged 84. In fact the great-grandfather has now won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest person in the world to start primary school.

Mzee Maruge’s story is brilliant for many reasons.

• First of all his motivation to start school. He wants to read the bible, he does not know how to read, so he enrols at school to learn to read. Problem, solution. Sometimes the solution to our problems is right in front of our eyes. Yet we over complicate things and get tied up in details instead of attacking the problem.
• Second his fortitude and determination. Enrolling in primary school after 84 years in this world can not be easy. The comments, the snide remarks, the scorn but in his own words, “Let them who want to make fun of me do it. I will continue to learn.”
• Thirdly his unpretentiousness. All the pictures I have seen of him in school he is wearing the school uniform. He doesn’t want to be different, doesn’t demand to be different. He is there to learn. He is enjoying the experience. After visiting New York to speak at the United Nations he told BBC’s Network Africa programme he had been having a good time visiting, and was learning a lot which he would take back to his classmates. Take back to his classmates. He sees them as his equal at least in the classroom.

Pride and a lack of determination floor many of the people in this world. He seems to have mastered them both. His determination to reach his goal is an example to us all. See another picture here.

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|  Email This Post | 24 comments Friday, December 16th, 2005 at 8:55 AM

In Japan on business

The Lord of the Manor of Frodsham a.k.a Djibril Cisse in Japan.
LFC (CoE), Here on busines.

P.S.
Liverpool Fans go to Tokyo, Chelsea fans go to Torquay.
Liverpool Fans need passports, Man U fans need bus passes.
Liverpool fans go to Spartak Moscow, Arsenal fans go to Spar.

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|  Email This Post | 15 comments Monday, December 12th, 2005 at 6:42 PM

Race riots in Australia?

Riots in Australia can be understandable. You can have riots anywhere and Australia is no different. But race riots in Australia? Now that is some serious crap. When I first read about The White Australia policy I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. White Australia? You must be frigging kidding me. And then I heard an idiot on TV say, “keep Australia white”. I thought it was April Fool’s day. Of course lazy commentators and people with their own agenda will use religion as the smoke screen for the latest riots blaming Islam yet again. Just remember a decade ago it was people of South/East Asian origin that were being hounded and then of course there is the sad experience of the Aboriginal people. The irony in all this is the roots of the prejudice associated with the White Australia Policy can be found in the class conflict between “Convicts” and “Exclusives” both groups of white people, one which felt more “pure” than the other and the other which felt more “entitled”. Of course it takes two to fight and I am sure there are some people on the other side equally deluded, not least the two clowns who beat up the lifeguards. There is when those who call themselves community leaders have to stand and be counted. It is not enough to make lovey-dovey-lets-all-sing-kumbaya speeches, as part of a multi cultural country and society you have a duty to reach out to the other communities in your society.

As Kenyans there is a lesson from all this. Remember Mboya’s quote on, “avoiding the pitfalls of those who run before us”? Not only on a tribal level but on a racial level as well. For example when you ignore one part of the country while formulating a development agenda justifying it with statements like, “well they are not really Kenyan” disaster will come, did come.

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|  Email This Post | 8 comments Monday, December 12th, 2005 at 5:29 PM

Jamhuri Day 2005

Happy Jamhuri Day to my Kenyan brothers and sisters. Let’s keep running.

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|  Email This Post | 3 comments Monday, December 12th, 2005 at 8:58 AM

The curse of MOTM award

Oh no. Rafa “Tha Gaffa” Benitez has won the unluckiest award in football. Right on cue, Zenden does his knee in, Essien tried to prove his theory that Germans are unbreakable on Didi Hamman, Darren Potter does his back in and we haven’t even played a game yet.

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Rafael Benitez

|  Email This Post | 2 comments Saturday, December 10th, 2005 at 9:59 AM

Roho Juu

Coach Gordon Anampiu is confident Kenya will crush New Zealand this morning during the George Sevens International rugby series in South Africa … “The All Blacks game comes first and they will not be woken up at the time. They get up a bit late,” said Anampiu.
Final score: New Zealand 41-0 Kenya
Eh guess they woke up in time eh coach. Anyway: Roho Juu!

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|  Email This Post | 2 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 6:32 PM

RSS Nation

Kudos to the Daily Nation for providing a set of RSS feeds for our viewing pleasure. Very useful (especially if you do not want to bother with the whole log-in malarkey).

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|  Email This Post | 2 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 8:57 AM

a heavy metal fan breakdancing

When Kibaki swears in his new old new cabinet today he will look around and wonder where it all went wrong. Three ministers, 16 assistant ministers (and counting) turned down the jobs they were offered including the previously fiercely loyal Charity Ngilu. Things done changed, or have they? It would be brilliant if our political leaders had suddenly got a sense of national duty and were taking a stand for the country but they shatter that myth almost immediately. Ford-Kenya under Kombo did not take their cabinet seats because of any sense of patriotism, but because the seats they wanted were not the seats they were given. In his statement Kombo accused Kibaki of, “shortchanging the party” (note party, not country).

Kenyan politics reminds me of high school/university romance. You know how it is; there is always one guy/girl who is a heart breaker and serial cheater. Yet they never lack for a partner despite everyone being aware of the facts because the next victim always says, “S/he cheated all those other people, but s/he won’t cheat me. I will make him/her change. S/he will not do that to me. I am different.” Since Kibaki ignored and tore up the MoU agreed before the last election the minute he got into statehouse, why did Kombo and Ford-Kenya feel that he would honour his agreement with them over the constitution? At least now we know why Ford-Kenya went bananas, nothing to do with the Wako draft, all to do with the flags on their cars.

One thing we can credit many of our political leaders with is a sixth sense as far as a sinking ship is concerned. Those who retain their wit tend to jump before they drown. (Remember the mass defection away from Moi during the last election.) What do you really get from serving in this lacklustre cabinet anyway when you know the real political power does not sit in it? Who wants to sit in a cabinet of losers? What do you gain by being an assistant minister, ummm a name tag? What do you gain by being offered a position as assistant minister and then rejecting it publicly, kudos.

It has to be said the craziest person in Kenya today is whoever is advising Kibaki at the moment. Wrong move after wrong move after wrong move. Watching Kibaki is like watching a heavy metal fan trying to break dance.

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|  Email This Post | 7 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 8:12 AM

a non story story

A man found guilty of forging a visa and student pass in his passport gets deported from Kenya. No big deal. No story there. You don’t mess around with your official travel documents unless you want trouble from the authorities no matter which country you are in. But put the man in a dress and swiftly the BBC deems the story worthy of its website and all of a sudden we are discussing, “a society that holds conservative views on sexuality.” The piece is leaning dangerously into employing the logical fallacy of an ad hominem argument :

1. Kenyan police arrested a man who dresses as a woman
2. Kenya holds conservative views on sexuality
3. Because Kenya holds conservative views on sexuality that must be why they arrested the man who dresses as a woman

You almost forget the criminal offences he committed.

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|  Email This Post | 6 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 7:22 AM

KenyaUnlimited Open Blog

There have been waves in the Kenyan blogosphere with the launch of the KenyaUnlimited Open Blog. This Open Blog is an experimental blog featuring contributions from the members of the Kenyan Blogs Webring. Through these contributions you will be able to track and trace issues that are of relevance to the Kenyan blogosphere or being debated in the wider Kenyan blogosphere. Subscribe to the RSS feed and the comments RSS feed. (KBW members, register to post!)

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|  Email This Post | 2 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 5:07 AM

Kenya Tikdem

A word to our politicians (to paraphrase an Ethiopian phrase)

Kenya Tikdem

(Poached from an email on a Kenyan email discussion list).

|  Email This Post | Add comment Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 4:54 AM

Powerful words

Awet N’hafash
Zelalemawi Zikri n’swatna
Hade Hizbi, Hade Libi
Selam n Kerni Africa
Powerful words learnt from my Eritrean sister.

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|  Email This Post | 3 comments Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 4:31 AM

sad sad day

Sad, sad day. We should all take a moment to reflect.

technorati tags: tyra banks

|  Email This Post | 14 comments Monday, December 5th, 2005 at 4:01 PM