OP-ED: Sorry Mutahi Ngunyi, You Weren’t The Only One Who Was Played
By Washington Osiro| [email protected] “We were played”. So said the political analyst-cum-consultant Mutahi Ngunyi when “controversial hairdresser”-cum-“genius” Josephine Kabura blew open the results of unheeded “counsel” that he gave Anne Waiguru the disgraced former Cabinet Secretary of Devolution and Planning. The results: An elaborate theft of billions from the department’s coffers. Mutahi Ngunyi who parlayed, I would argue plagiarized, Bell Lab’s Jack Morton’s elegant analysis of the problem facing 1960 computer engineers in their pursuit for faster computing power into a base and basic analysis of Kenya’s electoral politics lamented that he, among others, was “played” by someone he had…
Memo to Kenyans: We Are Who We Elect Into Office
By Washington Osiro “What is honored in a country is cultivated there.” Plato, “The Republic” The latest decision by Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) is proof-positive that the country should seriously consider offering amnesty to the likes of Moses Wetangula and the rest of its “Who’s Who” — RAO, Musalia, Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto, Waiguru, Moi — all who have been mentioned or implicated in some form of malfeasance or impropriety. That the body established by the country’s constitution to oversee elections to any elective body or office established by the Constitution or prescribed by an Act of Parliament…
[OP-ED] Open Letter to Larry Madowo: Suck It Up Already!
To paraphrase Justin “JT” Timberlake: Boo-hoo-hoo! Cry me a river Larry! I find it strange that you seemingly did not realize that the response you got from Raila’s cyber army is courtesy of your chosen profession.(Read: This is what happens when you upset Raila Odinga supporters) Memo to Mr. Madowo: Being criticized, unfairly or otherwise comes with the territory i.e. being in the public domain. Not that this disclosure will matter to all but let me also say from the get-go and as succinctly as I can: I am not, repeat neither a Raila supporter nor a “CORDite”. Larry, if you cannot stand…
[Commentary] An Open Letter to Black African Immigrants in the US
Dear Black African immigrant, The America you dreamt of is an America you never conceived of. You are officially black. In your country you were just you, no color attached to your identity, but now you are black. Stop saying I am Nigerian, I am Zimbabwean, or I am Kenyan. America doesn’t care about any of that, in America you are simply black. You will try to fight, deny, and resist every time someone calls you black. You resist your newly prescribed blackness because a ladder of racial hierarchy exists in America. Sooner than later, you will realize your blackness…
Nation editor Dennis Galava was given time off, not suspended-Nation Media Group
No Nation Media Group editor was suspended for criticising President Uhuru Kenyatta, Editor-in-Chief Tom Mshindi has said. In an opinion piece on Thursday, Mshindi said Managing Editor for Special Projects Denis Galava was only asked to take some time away from work. “The editor has been asked to take some time off so that we can discuss how he handled an important and delicate assignment,” he said. It was reported that Galava was suspended over an editorial that criticised the President’s administration and was published without following procedure. The editorial touched on issues of unemployment, economic stagnation, corruption and poor…
Editorial: Mr President, get your act together this year
Your Excellency, 2015 was a bad year for Kenya. All the pillars of our nationhood were tested and most were found wanting. Some collapsed, some were seriously weakened, while others were desecrated beyond repair. We are talking about the presidency, economy, security and, most importantly, the people. We acknowledge the fact that it has been a tough year for leaders across the world — what with global economic upheavals and terrorists wreaking havoc everywhere. However, we reject the almost criminal resignation and negligence with which your government has responded to our national crises this past year. We need not recount…
[OP-ED] 9 things no one told you about settling back in Kenya from the diaspora
Dear Diasporan, You have finally taken that step of courage and decided to return home. Back to the motherland full of opportunities and where you are determined to make a change. Armed with your degree, you are convinced that you will be able to introduce and implement more efficient working methods and ideas. Driven by your conviction, you will come back home to help fight the animal that is graft and hammer sense into the citizens who sit back and watch the looting of the country’s coffers. Inspired by the burgeoning number of young millionaires, you will return in the hopes of joining the…
[OP-ED] Ethiopia is welcoming the investors Kenya has frustrated
By Bitange Ndemo, Ethiopia is the world’s fastest growing economy. If you doubt that, watch CNN’s recent One Square Meter Report which highlighted this second-most populous nation in Africa whose economy has consistently grown by double digits over the past 10 years. Several industrial parks have been built and more are coming up. There are four operational industrial parks, three of which are privately owned. They include the Eastern Industrial Zone at Dukem, the Lebu Industrial Zone which is owned by Huajian Group, and Modjo Industrial Zone owned by George Shoe. A government-owned industrial park, Bole Lemi Industrial Zone is also coming up. Ethiopians…
[OP-ED] Corruption in Kenya: Fool Me Once.….Fool Me Twice…..Fool Me Three Times I Must be Kenyan.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s latest announcement on the fight against corruption is yet another act in what has become a bi-annual Kabuki Dance on the issue. Shortly after the November 2015 announcement, Mr. Muriithi, a writer for the Daily Nation penned a piece whose title claimed (that) Kenyans in Diaspora Welcome President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Renewed War on Graft. In the article, approximately ten (10) people, presumably Kenyans in the diaspora, took to social media to express their sentiments re: the president’s latest pronouncement on the subject. The British High Commissioner to Kenya was one of those who “welcomed” the former colony’s…
[OP-ED] How you become important in the village for going Abroad
I am so excited today. I just made a “how to” discovery. Thanks to Google, we can find answers to almost any “how to” question. There’s even an answer on how to die, but I prefer how to live longer. So, mine is inclined to life. Everyone wants to make the world a better place and I’m not left behind either. Allow me to put a smile on your face and better my world. Does it ever amaze you how life changes in just a blink of an eye? All of a sudden nobody’s become somebody’s and everyone is moving…
