Something's brewing as prohibitions are lifted on sale and distribution of 'muratina'
Muratina brewing went underground and one needed a special permit to brew it occasionally, when cultural rituals and family gatherings permitted it.
By 18 days ago
Something's brewing as prohibitions are lifted on sale and distribution of 'muratina'
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M7-mediated handshake stuns Riggy G into rare silence, imminent eclipse
Either way, it’s an unexpected development on several counts: Firstly, it’s something he promised would never happen under his watch, and even swore by the gods of Kirinyaga.
By 17 days ago
M7-mediated handshake stuns Riggy G into rare silence, imminent eclipse
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Baba's Bondo retirement that never was, and the prospects of new gig as AU boss in Addis
We were promised that opposition leader Raila Odinga aka Baba would be deposited somewhere in Bondo for his much-anticipated retirement.
By 1 month ago
Baba's Bondo retirement that never was, and the prospects of new gig as AU boss in Addis
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King'ori Mwangi stood guard in a newsroom as his son lay dying in a hospital ward
King’ori appeared tranced most of that evening, as TV cameras shone light on his sleep-deprived eyes and, now we know, the grief from an imminent death in his family.
By 1 month ago
King'ori Mwangi stood guard in a newsroom as his son lay dying in a hospital ward
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Hustler Number One becomes King, Riggy G cannot remain calm
Mfalme is king, so the man they had helped install to the throne only eighteen months ago, riding in a barrow, had crossed ranks to sit with the dynasts.
By 1 month ago
Hustler Number One becomes King, Riggy G cannot remain calm
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The Nairobi miracle of transforming overnight chaos to tranquil order
I was particularly buoyed by Sakaja’s edict turning city pavements into an open-air market every nightfall.
By 1 month ago
The Nairobi miracle of transforming overnight chaos to tranquil order
Things are elephant when tots talk about inflation, and can't wait to leave school
When nine-year-olds organise business meetings, you know things are elephant.
By 1 month ago
Things are elephant when tots talk about inflation, and can't wait to leave school
The Ruiru lands registry works with clock-like precision when gangs of brokers scatter
I watched the registrar attend to a dozen or two of wananchi shielding under a shed, appending signatures, and dispensing advice, as he did to us.
By 1 month ago
The Ruiru lands registry works with clock-like precision when gangs of brokers scatter
The wondrous joy of small Eastleigh hospital that's doing better than blue chip companies
Joy Nursing Home offers a teachable moment for the nation: Rather than expend energies to probe what they could have done to make so much money, I’d like to focus on the positive.
By 1 month ago
The wondrous joy of small Eastleigh hospital that's doing better than blue chip companies
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Ruto's democracy by exclamation and a brief housing history
Prezzo Ruto aspires to have a kitty of unlimited funds that will be used to build houses for Kenyans to purchase at undefined rates, using their own sources.
By 1 month ago
Ruto's democracy by exclamation and a brief housing history
From barrows to tractors, and the merits of starting early to finish race even earlier
Prezzo Ruto campaigned for four straight years, so there is merit in politicking around the five-year cycle, and his template appears to have paid off.
By 1 month ago
From barrows to tractors, and the merits of starting early to finish race even earlier
Dagoretti MP KJ returns to stage with engaging sketch containing echoes of Kamotho
A generation ago, KJ was part of the Reddykulus trio that used satire to puncture politicians’ rhetoric and expose their hypocrisy.
By 1 month ago
Dagoretti MP KJ returns to stage with engaging sketch containing echoes of Kamotho
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Politics of gender and how Madam Koome is providing statecraft
But the State House meeting this week did not involve any stripping, so far as we can tell, and if there was eating of any kind, we’re not privy to those details.
By 1 month ago
Politics of gender and how Madam Koome is providing statecraft
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Ghosts of State House are alive and well, let's rebuild from bottom up
I understand Jomo never stayed at State House, Nairobi, opting instead to commute daily to his home in Ichaweri.
By 1 month ago
Ghosts of State House are alive and well, let's rebuild from bottom up
Of little gentlemen serving as groundsmen, and Patricia, math geek who fell by wayside
Patricia’s father was a teacher in a nearby school and being the daughter of a teacher, she carried herself with a certain dignity.
By 2 months ago
Of little gentlemen serving as groundsmen, and Patricia, math geek who fell by wayside
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The outrage of shopping with nothing but your phone, on a day of M-Pesa outage
I hope Safaricom will learn to upgrade their systems at night time, not daytime, and spare us such pecuniary embarrassment.
By 2 months ago
The outrage of shopping with nothing but your phone, on a day of M-Pesa outage
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Baba's supporters opt to eat cake now that price of 'unga' is up
After lamenting about the rising price of unga for most of the year, Raila Odinga decided to do something about it. He splashed cakes all around the country.
By 2 months ago
Baba's supporters opt to eat cake now that price of 'unga' is up
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Murkomen displays mathematical prowess, even though his numbers simply don't add up
Kipchumba Murkomen was irritated by the inaccuracies demonstrated by Kenyans lamenting about the increased rates for use of the Nairobi Expressway.
By 2 months ago
Murkomen displays mathematical prowess, even though his numbers simply don't add up
Roots of rage and the relief of schools reopening next week, after a long break
While I’m happy to be rid of such menace, I’m still at a loss over how to raise children away from such online games that elicit episodic raging.
By 2 months ago
Roots of rage and the relief of schools reopening next week, after a long break
In revisiting Judiciary, Prezzo Ruto must not sound or look helpless
I recall hearing a rumour that Prezzo Ruto runs the Cabinet single-handedly because he claims all his appointees are incompetent. Now, I’m starting to have my doubts.
By 2 months ago
In revisiting Judiciary, Prezzo Ruto must not sound or look helpless
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No money for development as eating county chiefs gobble up just about everything
County governments have been turned into employment bureaus and those with any levers of power are using them to create jobs for their kith and kin.
By 2 months ago
No money for development as eating county chiefs gobble up just about everything
Why Christmas comes early with gifts from strangers in Uganda, the pearl of Africa
And in keeping with the spirit of the season, I will share the generosity of strangers that prologued my Christmas cheer.
By 2 months ago
Why Christmas comes early with gifts from strangers in Uganda, the pearl of Africa
Express development: Why Mombasa road will be a gamechanger
Now they say Mombasa needs an expressway. The project was first mooted in 2018, while the Nairobi-Mombasa Special Gauge Rail was in the offing.
By 2 months ago
Express development: Why Mombasa road will be a gamechanger
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Season of blackouts in the week that marks our nationhood signal gradual but sure decline
One might say that it’s Kenyans who suffer a disturbance to their lives when Kenya Power interrupts electricity supply.
By 3 months ago
Season of blackouts in the week that marks our nationhood signal gradual but sure decline
Rutonomics 101: Why opening our borders is an idea whose time has come
Ruto declared Kenya a visa-free zone for all the peoples of the world who may wish to reconnect with the land where humans traces their roots.
By 3 months ago
Rutonomics 101: Why opening our borders is an idea whose time has come
Tanzania's quest for new names for old places, and untapping 'arrested' development
Songwe was, until seven years ago, part of Mbeya and Mbeya was the headquarters of districts that now make up Songwe. Where is the difference?
By 3 months ago
Tanzania's quest for new names for old places, and untapping 'arrested' development
Diligent acts from these Kenyans making a huge difference, even in their small ways
I was pleasantly surprised to find the Officer in Charge of Land Fraud at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, some chap called Kimutai, still signing documents close to 6pm.
By 3 months ago
Diligent acts from these Kenyans making a huge difference, even in their small ways
Venturing Tanzania's land of brave, home of the Maji Maji war
Kinjeketile produced a concoction that he said would transform German bullets into water. And many of his followers believed it, and the resistance flourished for two years.
By 3 months ago
Venturing Tanzania's land of brave, home of the Maji Maji war
Lost and found: A tale of torn boxers, leaking roofs and overzealous taxmen at the airport
Nairobi traffic jam is horrendous when it rains, and it must be particularly bad at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where roofs have been leaking, while power is intermittent
By 4 months ago
Lost and found: A tale of torn boxers, leaking roofs and overzealous taxmen at the airport
Nearly 50 years in the making, now Dodoma finally coming of age
When one is in Tanzania, the wheels of life grind excruciatingly slowly. Dodoma was designated as the national capital in 1974 and it’s still in the making, nearly half a century on.
By 4 months ago
Nearly 50 years in the making, now Dodoma finally coming of age
Presidential decree allowing logging was to pave way for the planting of seedlings
The loggers are simply cutting trees to pave the way for the new seedlings.
By 4 months ago
Presidential decree allowing logging was to pave way for the planting of seedlings
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Ugandan men and the folly of asking questions whose truthful answer they can't stand
Mid this year, a married woman, in the heat of an argument, let it slip that her husband was not the father of some of her six children. She later apologised and said she had said in jest.
By 4 months ago
Ugandan men and the folly of asking questions whose truthful answer they can't stand
Two visions of Uganda frame a future blighted by unmet past promise
Is there anything going right in Uganda?
By 4 months ago
Two visions of Uganda frame a future blighted by unmet past promise
Journey from source of the Nile to the enchanting vistas on foot of Mt Elgon
Uganda, a land of beauty, superstition, and illegality.
By 4 months ago
Journey from source of the Nile to the enchanting vistas on foot of Mt Elgon
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Why Kenyan men are working hard to an early grave, so women will outlive them
What does culture mean to men? Probably eating and drinking their fill with regularity, growing beer bellies and nursing hangover through weekends.
By 4 months ago
Why Kenyan men are working hard to an  early grave, so women will outlive them
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State of our nation: Now we have hit rock bottom only place left to go is up
As for farmers who have been planting in anticipation of the El-Nino rains, word on the street is that it was a hoax intended to access public funds under false pretenses.
By 4 months ago
State of our nation: Now we have hit rock bottom only place left to go is up
Prezzo 'Ruro' gains ideological clarity with American-flavoured 'pan-Africanism'
Of course, the US masquerades as the world policeman and Joe Biden specifically singled out “President Ruro” for praise at the recent US Security Council in New York.
By 5 months ago
Prezzo 'Ruro' gains ideological clarity with American-flavoured 'pan-Africanism'
Darkness at noon as my leading light has now dimmed forever
Baaba was a slight man with a soft voice and, for the most part, treated everyone softly, rarely raising his voice even when most upset.
By 5 months ago
Darkness at noon as my leading light has now dimmed forever
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Biotech firms: Why Kenyans risk weeping with one eye while the other tightly shut
Folks, listen and listen good; when these chaps are done with us, we shall weep with one eye, and the other tightly shut.
By 5 months ago
Biotech firms: Why Kenyans risk weeping with one eye while the other tightly shut
A lukewarm shower on the slopes of Mt Kenya, then a theatrical treat
The past should not deny a future that belongs to the young, she philosophizes, pointing to Augustus’s other son Samora born and raised abroad.
By 5 months ago
A lukewarm shower on the slopes of Mt Kenya, then a theatrical treat