Articles Tagged Life & Society

On Monday 30 December 2002, I sat amongst several hundred thousand people at Uhuru Park as our new president read out his oath of office. The joy of the crowd could almost be touched. It grew to a crescendo, and as the president reached the end, the final lines were said in a rousing chorus […]

Have you heard of Miriam Wanjiru? If you watch Nation TV or tune in to Nation Radio, you certainly will have. Miriam is not your normal celebrity. She is not a film star. She is not a pop singer. She is not a beauty queen. She is not a hip and go-getting yuppie. She is […]

We are bedevilled by violence in this country. I have asked the question before: where does it all come from? Who teaches us this savagery? From the events of last week, the answer is obvious: our leaders. The pictures on our TV screens last Saturday were gruesome, to say the least. Hulking bulldozers met flimsy […]

Unless you’ve been in serious hibernation for the past three months, you will be aware of a phenomenon called Big Brother Africa. In case you’ve just woken up, however, here’s what you need to know: twelve contestants, each from a different African country, are holed up in a specially adapted house in South Africa. They […]

So, the travel bans and nasty advisories are virtually gone. The European tourists are beginning to trickle back. Industry bigwigs, mayors, and beauty queens are usually at hand at the airport to welcome them back, dollar signs visibly gleaming in their eyes. The smiles are back. We can treat the whole episode as an ugly […]

Do you understand the following words? “The government is committed to developing innovative, proactive and goal-focused policies that reflect the aspirations of all Kenyans and meet the expectations of key stakeholders. We will focus on efficient and effective service delivery in an environment of transparency and accountability.” Or consider the following typical ‘mission statement’ from […]

The shilling did its dance of joy last month, in anticipation (I’m told) of wonderfully large aid flows that will wash up on our shores in a matter of weeks. Our currency, like us, waits with begging-bowl outstretched. In business and government circles, the talk is the same: we’ll be OK because aid is on […]

What ails Kenyan tourism? Why does it go reeling from disaster to crisis? Is it really all to do with bombs and clashes, terrorists and politicians? These are merely smokescreens; when you look through the miasma, an ugly picture of complacency, giant-sized egos and misguided strategies emerges. Look first at the product. There’s no doubt […]

So, Kenyan tourism takes another body blow. An industry that has taken a frightening number of knocks over the past 10 years is put to the sword again. Already, we are told, the damage done by travel warnings, flight re-routings and conference cancellations runs to billions of shillings. Reeling from the bang, the tourist industry […]

Whatever happened to decent behaviour? Where along the rocky road we have been travelling did we lose our civility? What became of the ancient virtues of kindness, gratitude and courtesy? I only ask because I fear they may be lost forever. You think I exaggerate? Read on, and decide for yourself. Are you a worker […]

I grew up in Kenya, and believed in America. It was easy to do in those days. To a child’s eyes, America seemed to stand for freedom and liberty, for the power of the individual, for wonderful affluence. On the other side were arrayed a bunch of undesirables: dour Russians intent on taking away everyone’s […]

Kenyans have started to dream again. Up to last year, dreaming was a dangerous pastime in this country. How many of us would try to imagine a better country, and be left holding the shattered pieces of that vision in our hands? How many of us would hope for a safer city, only to find […]

On Thursday 20th March 2003, Kenya’s cricket team was doing a lap of honour having just lost a match in South Africa. Why? Because our cricketers had just been beaten by India in the semi-final of cricket’s World Cup. The crowd – South Africans, Indians, Kenyans – was on its feet applauding. And those of […]

And so we have a war. If you listen to George W. Bush, this is a noble war indeed. It is about freeing Iraqis from the shackles of a cruel dictator. It is about creating a model for democracy in the Middle East. It is about eliminating terrorism from its roots. Don’t listen to this […]

The emperor Nero, it is said, played the fiddle while Rome burned. In Kenya today, our new leaders are showing a frightening propensity for doing the very same thing. The Narc government swept into power on a wave of huge public sentiment. The people had had enough of entrenched poverty, enough of poor services, enough […]

I want to tell you about a country I know. This country has a population of 20 million people. Its citizens include doctors, scientists, technologists, industrialists, shopkeepers, salespeople, artisans and housewives. The average income of this group is approximately 8,000 US dollars per annum- more than 20 times that of the average Kenyan. This country […]

The drums of war started beating around Iraq early last year. Today, a full orchestra is in place, led by its conductor-in-chief, George W. Bush. As the music of imminent destruction rises to a crescendo, we must ask ourselves here in Kenya: what is this war about? Does it have a rationale that we can […]