A Whole Months Toil drowned; blame it on overindulgence

An accountant in his late twenties leaves his office at the third floor of a busy building in the Nairobi CBD. After such a day of rigorous stock-taking and final accounting in the budding IT supplies company all he can think of is how to drown all the pressure away ready for a new week. Clad in blue jeans, sneakers and a black hood, he heads for the ATM right across Government Road, its end-month and his employer ought to have met his obligations, he rarely is late anyway.

But on this day, luck is not on John’s side. On entering his secret pass the machine unceremoniously reveals that his week-long long overdraft is yet to be cleared. He fumbles for a moment cursing his employer, before he chucks out the card and paces out of the booth, phone in hand. There is no way this day was going to be ruined.

The call goes to one of his most valued allies, Sue, the proprietor of a local dive ‘casino’ synonymous to the kind of gambling lads do here, tonight he can only appear on the credit side of her books. His khat guy doesn't need a call, he’s well acquainted to differed payments that he actually reserves a sizeable bunch for him every day.

Now leisurely sitting on the only leather couch in casino ...

Running late

I must say it is really quite difficult to post regularly in this blog, this should be taken as an admission of inadequacy.. but am talking about how treacherous it is to embark on a journey of being a jack of all Trades and still have a strong conviction of being a master of all....or put in another way crowning yourself King of super-multi-tasking!

You see once you have a myriad of obligations that you have imposed on your self with the hope of at one point in the near future doing it big in multi-platforms you consequently find yourself speeding towards the biggest ailment that no physician handles; the habitual latecomer!

Time is unarguably the most important resource that humankind has ever had, it is with time that life is planned, and all manner undertakings if not time-bound aren't realisable. I mean it doesnt really matter if we plan our time out since time will always go on..once the clock ticks one minute, its gone! forever...... there's no going back to correct that small error that you did that made such grave damage to your next hour, no.

Most people if asked to make a list of things they did, or interestingly, things they didnt do in the past that they regret, or are ashamed of would produce quite a number....it still is one discovery that we have make; the time-moving machine...hehe; one that allows you to go back and forward in time! that surely would be tremendous; can you just imagine changing that thing that you still think you could have done better? or when they misunderstood you? or that lie that you so innocently fell for? or maybe that brilliant idea.. that you didn't invest in... life would be so awesome

But lets  face it....time is so precious....and it is always running out.... there is not enough time to work, have fun, visit family and do charity; not to mention attend church! we are so busy.... I even think that most people spend most of the time doing things they don't like; like that elementary school teacher who'll work 12 hours a day, or most of present day lecturers who run between pseudo-university colleges and third floor institutions to make ends meet, most legislators who had to attend higher education and learn to improve their language skills just to be nominated, not to mention loads of busybodies in the public service whose only hope of not being retrenched by technology is the tribal shield that their bosses proudly don.

It's interesting that we get late, even doing our most basic chores, like say having a late lunch....waking up.....a quite unique characteristic that only humans have. birds are never late, the dog never checks its watch... oo probably its because we are busy.....Question is what are you busy about? when doing all the planning we make a list but most important is setting priorities...even the Universe itself didn't reach here all at once....

“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. an alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”                                

― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

Photo: courtesy of BizexpoCentre

upturned absurdity

Thanks to my very thoughtful university lecturers and better still our very wise Senate I got a whole two weeks break from all these books assignments term papers and that other dull thing that school life dons; exams...

so I travelled to the lakeside (I don have to mention coz they say its only one lakeside worth the name) and I marvelled at the beauty so rich..and of course the fish....n yeah the night-life is amazing....you know two weeks ago, I'd have said comfortably that only a handful guys drink from this region...am glad I hadn't told anyone..haha

of course I had my photographer with me and he managed to capture this very moment when I was thinking about sea traffic.... I was wondering how it could have been if we highly depended on it like we do on Matatu Public transport...I mean if they were to on strike (like I heard guys today saying how they walked surprising distances to work) would we swim to work!

ooooh wat about the parking for those fellows who must have personalized boats and maybe Rangerover equivalents would be miniships! hehe

our brothers from this very lakeside who know how best to hike a ride back home hanging from the train would really need Aristotle's Brain to survive... wait maybe thats too much a brain for them... lets say Newton's!

seriously we need a better public transport sector...not the kind of paralysis that TLB is serving us....

Collective Responsibility unknown In today's leadership

According to the free online dictionary collective responsibility is a concept or doctrine according to which individuals are to be held responsible for other people's actions by tolerating, ignoring, or harbouring them, without actively collaborating in these actions. it is based on convention,or usage rather than by law, and requires that once a decision has been taken up by a group, all members are bound by it and must support it.

In the United Kingdom, the doctrine applies to all members of the government, from members of the cabinet down to Parliamentary Private Secretaries.Its inner workings are set out in the Ministerial Code. 

Collective responsibility is when people are held responsible for other people's actions. This is because they tolerated or ignored the behaviours but did not participate in them, In this case everyone takes the blame for one person's actions.

If you asked me to show you how this is being observed in our current UhuRuto Governance I will have problems identifying individuals who are adhering. But ask for the flip side of it and I will parade a whole list of it that you'll be amazed...and actually it doesn't require a lot of research. Its not new though as previous Governments have been setting precedents for continuity of the super-blame game that always leaves the Kenyan Guessing who is really Responsible.

Its intriguing how these pseudo-leaders find the guts of proudly disowning their very own undoings...analogically speaking I think government officials ought to treat their work as a family is run... You don't blame your kindergarten daughter for leaving the lights on overnight and it is you who left her watching cartoons while you dozed off! these would-be-servant-leaders of ours boldly call a press conference to express how they wont resign; justifying with statements like; "I was not aware", " It is my juniors who did it", " that's  not my work" .....

how awesome would it be if guys Like Kimunya(Embassy sale scandal), Prof Kaimenyi (Laptop tendering), Kiraitu(Triton), Uhuru (Computer error!), Shollei ( Judiciary funds), and the like would own up to their own in-competencies in running their offices and stepped aside alongside their junious? this would pave way for new up-task  Kenyans to take over such positions. 

but nope; they wouldn't... and if they were where would  our other friend Tribalism be?

Somebody needs to enforce this, if even such a law exists in this country... to ensure that these gentlemen and ladies in those high offices do not earn these fat salaries lying down and running scams as their juniours work their asses off.and also to discourage the juniours from behaving like programmed zombies who cannot raise alarm when they are being exploited or when their bosses get roguish.

I even think that once you have been suspected of a wrongdoing involving public resources you shouldn't be eligible for appointment to a public office any more, whether guilty or not. I mean why should we? There thousands of Kenyans with great credentials who can fill up your position... I don't see why we should even have a principal secretary(formerly PS) serving three governments in three different ministries.... this explains the continued massive knowledge loss we experiencing as educated Kenyans seek jobs abroad.

Undervalued Brides

On saturday we celebrated the International Women's Day, and truly this day reminds us of the women in our lives...and it gave us a chance to remember in a special way these unsung heroes who have braved a lot to raise a whole six Billion+ of the world's population...

And in Africa we all know women haven't just braved the hazards ofjust raising the children, but worse still
the hostel treatment by men (leaders, their husbands and evetually their sons). They have been customarily trated as commodities and their rights have been seriously infringed.

I was very enthusiastic, of course I texted some of the ladies (they prefer being called that..I dont know why!) in my life and they were appreciative of the far that we have come from the medieval culture of mutilation, wife inheritance and aterialization

Fifteen years ago it would have been a terrible joke to imagine that Africa would have a woman President! . . . not even that, . . . a legislator

I would not have written this..were it not for a distant Aunt of mine, a woman of  great wisdom and a mother of eight who lost her life in the hands of a mob on the same day... She was the kind of woman who you would relate with at your age and be comfortable... even at her age, 70, she still braved the scorching Rift Valley sun and plant and harvest her crops.

Monopoly Bus Service to Rationalize Public Transport

Yesterday's strike by matatu operators is a reminder of the constant menace that is our public transport system, a headache that no one seems to find a remedy for over the last two decades.

Taxis blocking City Hall way during Wednesday's Strike

All town dwellers will agree with that its only a few days that they have reached home and never complained about the bad traffic, hiked fairsor unreturnd change to the smelly touts and the greasy sits that one is subjected to with no other option, or even the rude careless language the operators have perfected.

This got me thinking about the good old KBS service which had been commisioned to provide transport in the 90s by the government at an affordable price and offer reliability. Matatus were hardly allowed into townn and there was security of a stable fare system.

Campus students for instance would have cards which they could subscribe monthly and actually get to traverse the city without having to pay for different destinations! That sounds heavenly..right?

Nowadays you can hardly

Rogue YOU!!!

Is it not annoying when you an unqualified individual working in an office he clearly doesnt deserve and he flaunts his authority on you?



Or take the example of that watchman in an Elgeyo-Marakwet county who was comfortably working as a nurse and proceeded to offer his 'services' to the county boss!

I could also give examples of numerous guys I know in the displined forces whose dreams are in finance, education, economics, communications and even medicine. With this I think to work in the army one should have a passion, a great sense of patriotism and the physical wellness to top it up.

NO Professor

Mixed felings have been ellicited by the release of the KCSE 2013 results by Prof. Kaimenyi yesterday. Of course this is expected because there's not a time when humans are going to fully agree on one thing or have the same sentiments about an issue (That is why we have the law!)

Now, the good professor has been in the news for a myriad reasons since he assumed the Helm of the powerful Education ministry. Notable times are his handling of the teachers strike and his vehement support for the laptop project which his Government is keen to fulfill.


His always stern face and and his severe tone which he uses most of the time cannot over-emphasize his resolve to do his job. I  remember when I was in Meru School when he was called as the Board chairman to handle grievances by students he left the then principal  Kariuki D.G.on his own in the hall after students became rowdy... He is a busy man and arguably no-nonsense!



So when he says that the age of children joining primary school should be six and that those below ages of 14 and 18 will not be allowed to do the national exams 9KCPE and KCSE respectively) he is serious.

Monopoly Looms as Essar Exits

The exit of mobile Service provider Yu Mobile from the market is a blow to many Kenyans who were used to the unbelievable tariffs offered by the Essar owned company.

A significant 3 million subcribers will be forced to adjust their connection budgets from the ridiculously free call rates to Airtel's rates although they will retain there phone numbers.

A Yu advert showing the incredible offers of free calls that had revolutionized the lives of poor Kenyans.

The ailing service provider has been making losses to the tune of 3 Billion annually and since 2009 had accumulated up to 25 Billion in losses.

This leaves an almost perfect oligopolistic market with the leader Safaricom enjoying quite huge powers. the future of Orange is now in question judging from the fact that it had even less market share compared to YU Mobile which enjoyed 8.8 percent.

Newspaper Photographs Wanting

I should not be judged as to be an everyday newspaper reader (..I rarery even buy one unless there's a serious issue I have to get details on, or a job advert I must check..), but I would say in my defence (after you read this!) that I have an appreciation for good photography.

Living in a country where only two papers achieve national readership and carry the bulk of Kenya readership, I don think anyone should be blamed for allegiance, or so we could say about friends of mine who assert that The Standard has arguably the best paper quality and illustrations.

I could say they are more frequent readers than I am so they might be justified to laugh at my vouching for The Daily Nation as having a more appealing presentation of content.

One interesting thing about the place of newspapers in todays era of new media in its ability to attract varied types of audience  is that the placement of stories and their enhancement with photographs counts alot in its reception.

TV radio and the internet have an upperhand in terms of audio, visual and scannerbility, such that some people believe that there'll come a time when newspapers will become extinct. I disagree,

Let's Postpone Chaos

The height of political indiscretion was show-cased yesterday as ODM polls were turned into a playground of humans messed each other up and all this infront of the cameras

It is such a dark day for the Kenyan's opposition party which is hoping to clinch the 2017 presidential elections

but this really isnt a surprise as all indicators were showing that something abnormal was going to happen. from the dramatic withdrawals of current party officials to the heated rivarly among the two camps, really a normal election would have been a miracle.

mayhem at the delegates meeting

And to think that the omission of a candidates name brought the whole elections crumbling..it is if I could invent this word now, cryable!

But thats kenya for us......If it was another political party probably the script would be the same..just a different cast.

perhaps TNA's elections four years from now is a good way of postponing  imminent chaos... I think so ...

the larger the gap between elections the better for us... we are spared the grimace of staring at wasted resources and knowing that the few we have entrusted with our leadership can't even handle their own squabbles

what if we were to give presidents a 10 year term... dont you think poll chaos would be greatly postponed?

***Photo courtesy of diasporamessenger.com

A Letter to my deceitful friend

Dear Friend, 

I met you in high school, although I had heard a lot about you as I grew up. They had mixed feelings about you which even made you more intriguing. My teacher was really against you and some of us had already developed fear.

High school brought a new leash of freedom to me, this included freedom of thought and perception. At that time I developed strong opinions about almost every other thing that previously had been monopolized by parents and religion. And it felt so good! I was becoming quite open-minded.

That is when I decided to approach you. At first it was not easy, some of my peers had already hit it off with you and they made every effort to flaunt their daringness. I was envious they were having a good time and no one knew about it.

But you made it even worse for me, when I tried you made me feel like dirt. Everything felt so wrong and I was in guilt. However I kept appearances, the exploit you presented was worth breaking a norm or two, or so I thought.

Eventually I blended in well and you showed me how to belong. We really became tight and even my newly found friends would mention you a lot in our conversations. I knew I could count on you and the few friends who confided in you kept you as a well-guarded secret lest someone got a whiff of you as we hurriedly interacted.

Our escapades were many even after high school, I got friends to like you and you also judged who I interacted with. Those weekend parties you were largely involved and on the balcony you always topped up after the drinks were finished. We coughed occasionally but your charms were so profound that we didn’t mind.

Teenagers learning how to smoke in a college dorm

I invoked your noble wisdom when I was in tricky situations. Of course I had to pay for transport but your presence superseded. Like when my house was broken into we sat for hours pondering. Or when my relationship with whatever her name was hit the wall, you were there for me. Anger management was your specialty and I relied on your prescription to keep cool.

But then I started having doubts about you. For a wrong time I kept convincing myself I was wrong, you were as nice to the rest as you were to me. Worse still you broke our deal many times and every time I needed you more it cost me even more. I had to have you every day even it meant lying to get some money for you. You allowed installments that cheated me the whole cost wouldn’t hurt.....

Obama's onslaught on Africa's Sovereignty Unwarranted

The fact that President Barack Obama has threatened to cut aid to Uganda due to the passing of the anti-gayism legislation is an bold affront to not only the country's democracy but  the sovereignity of Africa as a whole.

Overdependence on foreign aid is a major factor that  has hindered development of Africa's economies and made them not differentiate themselves in terms of production methods diversificatiom of economic activities where they have been forced to conform to rigid standards.

Obey or perish is the philosophy guiding our west partners in supressing us and colonizing even our most sacred social-cultural lifestyles.

Its funny that the US would cut financila aid that helps people ailing in uganda on grounds of a law that seeks to protect the cultural heritage of the country, rather than against the dictatorial tendencies that have described Musevenis Governance

***photo courtesy of google

AIDS: we dont fear you

A disease that was early in the 1990s declared a national disaster is now something that people talk about casually in the streets and actually make all manner of jokes about provided they are not infected and seamlessly been forgotten.

AIDS a a once clear death-sentence responsible for thousands of deaths every year and millions of money in drugs and management of families and not to mention the endless loss of skilled personell plus the subsequent loss of job creations that  would have been should be more seriously regarded than how it is nowadays.

particularly in campus casual sex and fwbs and all kinds of fornication are probably at a higher level than any other time in history (considering the high levels of promisquity in medieval Rome and slave sex!) who good for them STIs were unheard of.

I wont say anti-AIDS campaigns or quarantines and more provision of sheaths or all that sort of preventive mechanisms should be boosted....no I think we ..........................................................................