The Lifesavers of Kibra
During crises, people prefer stories of the miraculous rescues and escapes, acts of heroism, bravery and selflessness. Rarely does anyone focus on the grim, monotonous, and challenging aspects of disaster response.
Concert Debacles, and the Dearth of Consumer Protection
I am writing this after being deeply disappointed at the Boyz II Men concert held in Nairobi on Saturday, June 10. Deeply disappointed is the closest descriptor I can think of to express my feelings that does not rely on the use of expletives. In case you missed it, the verdict is that this was […]
Colonel Mustapha and the Case for Universal Healthcare
If there’s one thing that Kenyans love it’s gossip, especially when that gossip is around a celebrity. Even better when that gossip is around something considered shameful or embarrassing. Is life even interesting if you didn’t hear that so and so did this or that and there are pictures or videos to prove it? Tapping […]
Surviving Nairobi As An African Immigrant
I slide and lean back on the leather seat watching my feet soak in a pedicure massager. It is a few minutes past 2 p.m. My eyes pace around the room on the fourth floor of a building on Nairobi’s Moi Avenue. As it tends to happen, the place is a salon, a barbershop and […]
Missing Yassin Moyo. The Boy Kenya Mustn’t Forget
The courtroom was empty. Gleaming wood-panelled walls, a black leather seat on the bench and a door leading to the judge’s chamber stared back at me. I stepped out to check if I was in the right courtroom; the second one after the Constitutional Registry on the first floor of the imposing Milimani Law Courts […]
Why Baby Pendo’s Case Won’t Start Yet
The short life of Samantha Pendo became a metaphor of Kenya’s 2017 electoral violence.
The Nine Lives of Kiamaiko Slaughterhouses
Bayana maintains that Nema has become too hasty and radical in its approach. He tells me that the deadline issued demonstrates a government whose priorities are reversed. Unsettling a whole community’s economy, he explains, will come at a great cost – it is Nema’s job to provide more options, not less.
What the Experts Say About School Unrest
The debate on school unrest can easily get convoluted, with different players pointing fingers at each other. The reports offer many solutions – many of which we have not explored here. One is left wondering what should be the priority.
Mukuru’s Wars and Woes
The case of forced evictions – or threats of the same – in informal settlements isn’t new to Mukuru or Nairobi. In August 1996, the eviction of 20,000 people from the Mukuru shantytown was ordered by the Moi regime and then quickly suspended. Two days later, it was the turn of Mbagathi Village (between South C and Langata Road) to be destroyed. Going further back, in 1969, in Kaburini in Eastleigh, 370 families were evicted from their homes only to be awarded a Site and Service Scheme near Karura Forest five years later.
The Perils of Pandemic Travel
Despite the many hoops that we’ve had to jump through during the trip to Brussels, we’re lucky that as journalists travelling on the invitation of an international organisation, our visas, COVID tests and transit costs have all been covered by our host newsroom. Not everyone gets this sort of support.
