Articles Tagged Life & Society

We were all shaking this week. Some were shaking because the earth actually trembled under their feet; others shook because of the fear of the earth shaking in future; and most were shaking just because of the uncommonly cold weather. If, like me, you left your abode en famille in the early hours of Wednesday […]

Who would want to be poor in Kenya? We treat the poor no better than chewing-gum stuck to our shoes. If you are poor in Kenya, you must never fall seriously ill. If you do, your descent into hell will begin. Assuming you have a local clinic, you will in all likelihood be given the […]

There it is, tucked away in Nairobi’s Highridge area: the strangest of shopping malls. Like some bizarre human-sized rabbit warren, full of confusing corners, surprising staircases and odd little businesses in basements, on roofs, in the car park. You almost expect Alice to pop up somewhere in this wonderland – expect that Diamond Plaza, or […]

Mahmood Mamdani always makes sense. He is a rare voice of reason in East Africa, where unadulterated vitriol and uneducated diatribes are often the norm when discussing this thing called ‘The Asian Question’. When something as shocking as Kampala’s April riots disturbs us, it is soothing to read an insightful reflection by so thoughtful a […]

There is a story often told about work and productivity (The Economist carried a version of it recently). An economist is out for a stroll, and comes upon some workers digging beside a river to build a dam. The workers are all using spades, and the work is back-breaking and laborious and takes forever. Intrigued, […]

Do voters vote for the right things – and for the leaders who deliver the right things? Traditional thinking would suggest that the answer is yes: democracy is a good thing because voters do, by and large, all things considered, vote sensibly. In other words, they are rational beings who vote in their own self-interest. […]

If you head out to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, chances are you’ll come across a police roadblock on Mombasa Road. I did so recently, and counted fifteen policemen manning this checkpoint. Yes, fifteen. Perhaps two or three were actually checking cars; the other dozen or so appeared to be ‘supervising’. Or look at the […]

This column is happy to continue its annual tradition of deciphering the weighty and comprehensive Economic Survey – our main compendium of economic numbers – for readers’ benefit. So, if you don’t have the money (Sh. 900), the time (284 pages) or the interest (what’s on TV?) to read the whole thing yourselves, today’s piece […]

There is much hoo-ha about the epidemic of scams that has ‘suddenly’ afflicted Kenya. Everywhere you look there is a pyramid scheme collapsing, or a big company rushing to warn customers about SMS hoaxes being conducted in its name. Outrage fills the air. The papers are packed with calls for the government to do something […]

I don’t know who wrote this, but it will certainly resonate with many I grew up with. If you know the author, please post a comment. Minor edits are mine. To the wonderful kids who were born in Africa and survived the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. First, we survived being born to mothers who […]

There is a highly charged debate taking place in Kenya today. It concerns one of our unique national assets: our wildlife. There is a strong and vocal lobby that is demanding we rescind our decades-long ban on hunting. An array of facts and figures is being marshalled, and it is finding frequent expression in the […]

We now know that there might be as many as one million Kenyans abroad. And that they are sending a billion dollars back home every year. Our main sources of overseas funds used to be foreign aid and what we got from selling tea, flowers and wildlife; these days we think ‘remittances’. This column first […]

Here’s a quiz question: on which day of the year does the Daily Nation sell most copies? The answer is: the day after the KCSE results are released. That duly happened last week: parents, teachers and pupils all bust a gut to get their copy. Why? Because the entire future of thousands of children can […]

You’re being taken for a ride, ladies. I last wrote about Valentine’s Day back in 2004. Every year since, I have resisted the temptation to rant again about this imbecilic celebration. This year, I’m unable to stop myself. You’re being taken for a ride, ladies. First, a reminder of why I was agitated three years […]

This week I want to pay tribute to John Sibi-Okumu. John is a man with many strings to his bow: he is a teacher, a dramatist, an actor, a TV personality, an editor and a columnist. And those are just the pursuits I know about. He inspires children and intimidates politicians in equal measure – […]

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been investigating allegations that the defence firm BAE Systems paid millions of pounds in bribes to Saudi Arabian officials to secure the Al-Yamamah deal – the country’s biggest-ever defence contract, worth 40 billion sterling pounds over the past 20 years. Just before Christmas last year, Britain’s Attorney General called […]

As I waited for the world to descend on Nairobi to debate climate change, a couple of names from my past loomed up in the international headlines. And both, remarkably, were enlightening the world about the vexed issue that is climate change. The first name was that of John Hawksworth, once a colleague when I […]

Muhammad trained as an economist, and obtained a scholarship to study the subject further in the United States. After returning home with a doctorate, he began teaching at a local university. But he lived in one of the world’s poorest countries, and something was bothering him: he engaged in intellectual repartee with his fellow academics, […]

There is a fable that is widely heard in Kenya. This fable has two versions, depending on who’s telling it. If it’s a Kenyan South Asian doing the recounting, then it goes like this: Kenya’s Wahindi are born business-people. Excelling at business is in their genes. They can make any venture work, and can wring […]

‘S’ works at night as a watchman. He was on his way to work one evening, when a frantic neighbour caught up with him and told him to rush back to his home – a one-room shack in Dagoretti – because it was on fire. S pedalled his bicycle like a madman, weaving amongst all […]

Which is the best country in the world in which to do business? You may be surprised to learn that it is not the world’s largest business-centred economy, the United States. No, top ranking in the World Bank’s recently released report, ‘Doing Business 2007’ actually went to Singapore. New Zealand was the runner-up; the USA […]

There is a serious crime that most of us have committed at some point in our lives. I have done it and, in all likelihood, so have you. It involves stealing from others; denying people their rightful livelihood and pocketing it for yourself. Not guilty, you shout? Don’t be too sure. I am referring to […]

Mention the word ‘activist’ in Kenyan corporate circles, and watch all the chief executives head for the nearest exit. In business, activists are persona non grata at best, dangerous hotheads at worst. There is nothing to be gained from associating with these people, who seem to get high on tear-gas and are only truly alive […]

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the remarkable charitable efforts of the world’s two richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. In particular, I enthused about the new business-like and systematic approach to philanthropy being pioneered by the Gates Foundation. I almost regret writing that article. My in-box has been inundated with mail […]

So our five tumultuous by-elections are done. Did we learn anything, and are we moving forward? I am afraid the answer to both questions may be “no”. Like a tape running on rewind, we may actually be unlearning what we know whilst driving backwards. How can we be said to be moving forward when we […]

The man who amassed the biggest fortune in history is going to devote the rest of his life to giving it away. The man who amassed the second-largest fortune in history is joining him. If there was bigger news than that this year, I must have missed it. This is remarkable stuff. Bill Gates, the […]

Last week this column highlighted the issue of transparency as a key weapon in the war against corruption. Here’s some more evidence. Researchers recently set up a secret experiment at the University of Newcastle in the U.K. Work colleagues were asked to put money into an ‘honesty box’ to pay for their hot drinks, rather […]

The World Bank likes to conduct a little test. Imagine you are the last person to leave work late in the evening. You approach your vehicle in the secluded car park. You see a white envelope lying on the floor. You pick it up and find that it contains twenty $100 notes. No one is […]