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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Digital News

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Joseph Maina

How timber merchants are keeping afloat

In the last few years, Kenya’s timber business has been beset with changing dynamics that have seen many abandon the trade altogether.

By Joseph Maina 2 years ago

How timber merchants are keeping afloat

Skills to steer your firm into the future

Skills to steer your firm into the future

By Joseph Maina 2 years ago

‘Soda water’ Meru villagers scoop for body nourishment

‘Soda water’ Meru villagers scoop for body nourishment

By Joseph Maina 4 years ago

To all the fathers, this is your day

To all the fathers, this is your day

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Cockroaches driving me crazy

I never imagined I would ever complain of cockroaches in my house, more so in a national newspaper, but the time has come when I can no longer keep quiet about this matter.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Cockroaches driving me crazy

'Funny' accidents in our homes

Accidents happen in our homes every day and some of them can make you laughing. I hate to talk about a topic as scary and depressing as accidents, but some bizarre events have been witnessed in my household recently.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

'Funny' accidents in our homes

Manners maketh a man

Manners, as the adage goes, maketh a man. A person lacking in good manners is grossly disadvantaged in society.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Manners maketh a man

Weddings are nowadays costly

“I have attended numerous wedding ceremonies in this church,” he went on. “I can tell you some of these people really struggle to put up their weddings!”

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Weddings are nowadays costly

Men are visual creatures

As a family man, it has never been my wish to ogle women, but there are times, however, when my eyes involuntarily go “window shopping”, if you know what I mean.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Men are visual creatures

Kenyans are shameless copycats

Kenyans have aped western lifestyles almost to a point of no return.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Kenyans are shameless copycats

Nairobians do not know the city

It is now close to two decades since I settled in Nairobi, the green city in the sun. It has been a tumultuous ride, and it gives me tremendous pride to identify myself as a Nairobian.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Nairobians do not know the city

Should corruption be legalised?

Well, there are many corrupt yet successful people among us, and very few of these people ever get punished. This has led me to think of some positive benefits of corruption.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Should corruption be legalised?

When a boy meets a girl

My son Russell, now aged 16, has fallen in love with a girl named Maureen who transferred to his school at the beginning of the year.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

When a boy meets a girl

Parenting skills have diminished

As I drove home from work last Thursday, I came across a small assembly made up of my neighbours at my gate.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Parenting skills have diminished

Local languages are Greek to the youth

While children in some households are encouraged to learn their native tongues and take pride in mastering them, some parents actively distance their children from this important aspect of culture.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Local languages are Greek to the youth

Do you really know your neighbour?

How well do you know your neighbours? Well, I have been asking myself this question for several weeks now, after I caught some of my neighbours engaging in questionable acts in questionable places.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Do you really know your neighbour?

Ignorant people know everything

Most of us prefer to read or hear what we want, and any information that goes contrary to our wishes is often taken with a pinch of salt or dismissed outright.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Ignorant people know everything

Respect other people’s jobs

Kenyan parents have for many years encouraged their children to aim for white-collar jobs, drawing from the opinion which holds that such jobs provide a sure guarantee to riches, prestige and easy living later on in life.

By Joseph Maina 7 years ago

Respect other people’s jobs

Day my prodigal son returned

I believe you know the story of the Biblical prodigal son who left home and went off to the Koinange Street of Jerusalem, taking with him a substantial load of his father’s wealth.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Day my prodigal son returned

Phone books hide many secrets

Apparently, most Kenyans do not write people’s real names in their phone books, and prefer to use fancy pseudonyms and wild nicknames instead, claiming they are easy to remember.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Phone books hide many secrets

Avoiding wars at home quite costly

Have you noticed that many Nairobi men nowadays head straight to pubs after work where they spend an inordinately long time that should ideally be spent with family?

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Avoiding wars at home quite costly

Looking alike can cause trouble

It is common to find members of a family who look alike. There are children who look like their parents, siblings who look alike resemble their parents, siblings who look like and even cousins who look like twins.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Looking alike can cause trouble

Ordinary items seem strange to city children

It always thrills me to go with my children to the rural areas.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Ordinary items seem strange to city children

When our jobs are a secret

It has occurred to me that some parents find it difficult to tell their children exactly what they do for a living.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

When our jobs are a secret

Some questions make visitors rather uneasy

As parents, Mama Jimmy and I want our children to be well-behaved people, and among our key areas of interest is the treatment of guests.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Some questions make visitors rather uneasy

Fashion must have limits

Sunday started off on a lively note for the man who brings home the unga. I woke up at the crack of dawn, had a shower, shaved and jumped into a clean suit in readiness for church.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Fashion must have limits

Education not the only path to success

I am now convinced beyond reasonable doubt, fellow countrymen, that education is not the only route to success in life as is said.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Education not the only path to success

Obama is on the lips of all

For many Kenyans, United States President Barack Obama’s much-awaited visit would easily rank among the most memorable events in recent times.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Obama is on the lips of all

Bad singers are in many homes

My children are ardent music fans. They sing along to popular hits, Sunday school rhymes, advertisement jingles, Christmas Carols and numerous other tunes.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Bad singers are in many homes

No more alcohol in my house

My humble contribution to the rat race leaves me extremely tired and spent, and I see no harm drowning my stress in a bottle of barley, while watching a game of football on TV after a hard day’s work.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

No more alcohol in my house

Ugali is driver of Kenya's economy

Of all the important yet common things in Kenya, Jimmy chose ugali.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Ugali is driver of Kenya's economy

Rudeness propels this age of rage

A day hardly passes without a rude exchange in my house, workplace or neighbourhood. It seems we are living in an age of rage, where rudeness is the in-thing, preferred by both the young and those who should know better.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Rudeness propels this age of rage

Dialogue is an overrated technique

This has got to be the best video I have watched in ages: A woman in the United States was caught on video a few weeks ago pummeling her son in public, after she caught him participating in a violent riot in their home city.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Dialogue is an overrated technique

Odd characters present in all classes

My boys have in recent weeks been discussing the new students who joined their classes at the start of the term. Some of the newcomers have transferred from other schools while the rest have repeated classes.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Odd characters present in all classes

Cruel nicknames tell many tales

Thursday evening caught me shooting the breeze in my living room after a hectic day at work. I was listening to my sons’ holding an excited chatter.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Cruel nicknames tell many tales

Suitability test for marriage is needed

Thursday evening caught me seated with a bunch of friends at Kwa Muthoni’s, a wines and spirits joint located in downtown Nairobi.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Suitability test for marriage is needed

Will New Year resolutions be kept?

Now that we have stepped deeper into 2015, a sense of normalcy has resumed in my hacienda after the recent marathon of festivities. As usual, it is time to assess the resolutions we have made for the New Year.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Will New Year resolutions be kept?

Merry Christmas fellow taxpayers

With the Christmas around the corner, a carnival mood has engulfed my part of the county. It is the season for merry-making and unbridled spending.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

Merry Christmas fellow taxpayers

What is in a name? Numerous things

Communities in traditional Africa had interesting ways of naming children. In some societies, the choice of a baby’s name depended on the time, place or circumstances surrounding birth.

By Joseph Maina 8 years ago

What is in a name? Numerous things

An angel touched me 20 years ago

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my engagement to Mama Jimmy, the mother to my heirs and life-long partner. For a long time, this was the most special and memorable of my days, and I treasured every promise we made to each other.

By Joseph Maina 9 years ago

An angel touched me 20 years ago

Financial discipline is key to success

As a child, my parents taught me the importance of thrift, a lesson that I never took seriously. Throughout my childhood, I was a heedless spendthrift and fool who parted with his money as fast as it came my way.

By Joseph Maina 9 years ago

Financial discipline is key to success

Pubs not right places for children

Last week, my friend Odhiambo and I took our little angels to one of those places that serve all-round family entertainment...After plenty of soul-searching, I made a silent vow: I will never take my heirs to the bar again.

By Joseph Maina 9 years ago

Pubs not right places for children

City life makes boys lazy and scruffy

If anyone ever holds a contest for the most pampered child in the planet, you can bet that Nairobi’s teenagers will definitely make the list of finalists.

By Joseph Maina 9 years ago

City life makes boys lazy and scruffy

When pulling a tooth was agony

People from the older generation will recall that, back in the day, extracting a tooth was a rite of passage in its own right. Back then, not many of us were taken to the dentist, meaning children's teeth were removed the jua kali way.

By Joseph Maina 9 years ago

When pulling a tooth was agony

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