Passing the Dutchie in Lukenya Hills
It is a Friday afternoon and we are parking our bags on the roof rack of a tour bus outside The Heron Hotel in Milimani, preparing to go spend the weekend in the bush like proper tourists sans the ‘Hakuna Matata’ t-shirts and tan Safari boots. I am excited because we are leaving the city […]
Leaving Binyavanga in Lamu to Go Drink Busaa in Eregi
We had been booked in Lamu for the entire Christmas period, after which we would be flown back to Nairobi. But what the Kwani? guys forgot was that they were dealing with a Luhyia man, who gets an irrepressible urge to travel back to his tribal land to be with his people at Christmas time, to eat ugali and chicken cooked in a pot the traditional way, and thereafter pay a visit to the drinking dens in Shichiko village in Eregi to catch up with his kinsmen over a pot of traditional busaa beer after a year of being away in what my people call iruguru (literally, abroad).
Leaving Binyavanga to Go Eat Fried Shrimp in Lamu
From the small crowd of writers and literary-types present, we selected ourselves by the eyes without talking, and one by one we slinked off and assembled in the hotel lobby downstairs.
Remembering Grandmaster Masese, King of the Obokano
I knew Grandmaster Masese well. Not only was he my neighbour at one time, he was also my comrade in arms.
Safari Rally, Where Nostalgia and Evolution Meet
The recently concluded World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally has yet again lived up to its billing as one of the toughest rallies on earth. This is due in part to the unpredictable weather conditions in which the competitors did battle for the four days of the 350-kilometre action. On some stretches, like Hell’s Gate […]
The Frightening Bliss of Traveling Phoneless
Left in my own private world, temporarily relieved of my everyday encumbrances…naked, frightening, thrilling.
Kenyans Aren’t Making Love Anymore, Mr. President
“Wanawake saa hizi hata kushuka hatushuki . . . Hatuna muda hata wa kuenjoy na kina baba nyumbani, kwa ajili kila siku unawaza watoto watakula nini . . . kama baba ni dereva, mwenye gari ameuza (gari) kwa sababu mafuta imepanda bei. Kwa hivyo wewe mama ukabangaize ulete mboga, ukaokote mahindi yanayotoka border ya Tanzania […]
A Santuri and Nyama Fest At Jimmy Rugami’s
It was the fifth year in a row that Jimmy Rugami, Nairobi’s famous record man, was hosting vinyl buffs at his store at Kenyatta Market. It was Record Store Day (RSD), a global event that is the equivalent of Christmas Day for vinyl lovers, celebrated on Saturday 22 April this year. It was a feast […]
James Rugami. Nairobi’s Vinyl King
In Ngummo’s Kenyatta Market, near the nyama choma stalls, James ‘Jimmy’ Rugami curates his sonic treasure trove.
Gakunju Kaigwa
Gakunju Kaigwa is a Kenyan sculptor with a Master’s degree in Public Art from the University of Dundee in Scotland. Although he began his career painting, Kaigwa discovered his real passion in the early ‘80s as a sculptor. He works with wood, glass, steel, resin, bronze and many other materials, using each medium to express […]
