The Slippery Slope In Prosecuting Pastors Ezekiel and Mackenzie
The Malindi doomsday cult is global news and the Kenyan Government is keen to catch up. The Shakahola massacre was revealed not by police detective work but by media stringers and correspondents who doggedly tracked the weird goings-on at the Good News International Ministries ranch of Pastor Mackenzie Nthenge. This year, during a four month […]
Let’s Embrace Maps More. Better Maps
Maps have long been a staple of election reporting. The US Presidential election, for instance, is one of the most mapped anywhere. Be it the presidential election or the midterms, maps help voters everywhere to digest and understand results. Typically, results are reported from precinct to county, to state, and then nationally. Use of more granular maps produces data that better visualises local politics.
Mukami Kimathi’s Death Shouldn’t Stop Search for Kimathi’s Grave
Many believe that the secrecy surrounding Dedan Kimathi’s burial site is part of a larger conspiracy by both the British and Kenyan governments to erase memories of the Mau Mau and its leaders from Kenyans’ minds. This is why the Mau Mau remained a proscribed organisation for four decades after independence. Under the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi regimes, Kenyans spoke about the Mau Mau, including Dedan Kimathi, in hushed tones.
Ordinary People, Living Ordinary Lives, Embracing Extraordinary Courage
Last week I had breakfast with a colleague. As we exchanged pleasantries waiting for our meal, she mentioned in passing that she’d be attending a public participation meeting that could clash with our next planned meeting. It turns out that she is an active participant in her neighbourhood’s local resident association, and she has been joining forces with others to oppose the runaway illegal construction projects mushrooming in the area.
Nairobi One Huge Slum? Blame City Hall!
This is the same Nairobi in which public green spaces are grabbed, buildings collapse, residents can’t sleep on a weeknight because bars won’t let them and drainage can’t stand the rainy season. The story revolves around a property on Kilimani’s Kindaruma Road whose construction in April 2022 was not as far advanced as it is today.
What’s A Kenyan Life Worth? Of Rogue Drivers and Low Fines
To begin with, considering the number of accidents that occur, causing death by dangerous driving is not a much charged offence. Latest statistics for 2020 show that there were 290 charges brought against 26 female drivers and 264 men. So I expected that courts would be throwing the book at accused persons. But alas, the courts are imposing sentences that cannot be seen to address the carnage on the roads with any measure of seriousness. The lawyers, defending accused persons, have had it so good that a fine of just over KSh 600,000 for killing three and injuring a fourth was in the estimation of one defence counsel so excessive and draconian that he has promised to appeal against both the sentence and the conviction.
Mukumu Girls Tragedy: A Wake Up Call
The tragic happenings at Mukumu Girls and Butere Boys schools in Kakamega have shed light once again on the state of boarding schools in our country. They come more than five years after the Moi Girls School, Nairobi fire killed 10 students, and other deaths following caning, illness, more illness, suspected suicide, unknown causes, and still […]
Why It Is Critical to Address Unresolved Land Issues in the Coast
The recent orchestrated “invasion” of land belonging to the Kenyatta family has once again highlighted the highly sensitive and contentious issue of land in Kenya, particularly among the Kikuyu of Central Kenya, whose grievances date back to the colonial era when British settlers took over their land and dumped them in “reserves”. Post-colonial elites further […]
Kuna Nuru Gizani? Shakahola and Other Short Stories
It is a Sunday afternoon and the sun is playing hide and seek with a lazy cumulus cloud that stubbornly hovers above Uhuru Park, Nairobi. The park is teeming with a sea of humanity. For hours, they have been singing, clapping, dancing and cheering. Now, oblivious of their own near-exhaustion, they are totally captivated by […]
Should Retired Presidents Be Barred From Politics?
“I need to retire from retirement.” Sandra Day O’Connor A rather intriguing provision in Kenya’s Presidential Retirement Benefits Act 2003 provides that “A retired President shall not hold office in any political party for more than six months after ceasing to hold office as President.” This legislation was enacted in 2003, in order to address […]
