Premium

Fragments, cultural tensions and postcolonial societies gasping for balance

It is always the man or woman in the mirror being invited to see an antithesis to his or her own ways, then find the right balance between their worldview and the alternative view.

By Munene 11 days ago

Premium

Ruto, Githunguri and the heavy cost of defiling sacred Mau Mau ground

Criticism on President Ruto over a housing project at the historic Githunguri site, arguing it disrespects cultural heritage and fuels perceptions of political arrogance.

By Munene 17 days ago

Premium

Literature's power lies in simple local stories that speak globally

The stories we can tell best, and which can lend themselves to the most esoteric theories, are the stories that we understand. Local stories. Simple stories powerfully told.

By Munene 18 days ago

Premium

Inside William Ruto's-Raila succession plan

President William Ruto is seeking to win over Luo Nyanza, a region long dominated by Raila Odinga, amid a historical legacy of political rivalry and succession struggles.

By Munene 23 days ago

Premium

Trump's war to erode Arab world global influence and its petrodollar

Donald Trump, a self-assured political operator, compares himself to Jesus and has reportedly said positive things about Adolf Hitler.

By Munene 24 days ago

New novel pulls back the mask on greener pastures, land of free

The book pulls back the mask on the sacrifice it takes to make the 'bucks' in the US.

By Munene 25 days ago

Premium

Kenya, like other countries, has many religions and a scarcity of faith

In Kenya, widespread religious practice often overshadows genuine personal faith, highlighting the difference between organised religion and individual spirituality.

By Munene 1 month ago

Easter, hero's journey and the invitation to renewal within

In my view, whenever a talented writer reads stories by other great writers, these great stories become the key to the main frameworks that characterise all enduring narratives.

By Munene 1 month ago

The UN vote on the crime of slave trade

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama made news calling for the United Nations General Assembly to recognise the slave trade as a gross crime against humanity.

By Munene 1 month ago

Premium

Why US, Israel and Argentina opposed UN Resolution on the transatlantic slave trade

Trump is seemingly determined to reset American and world history by attacking universities and other institutions that he thinks portray the United States wrongly.

By Munene 1 month ago

Lost art of letter writing in a world hankering for real human creativity

Authentic human writing carries a quality that cannot be faked, not by AI nor by any technological invention.

By Munene 1 month ago

Premium

External, internal factors that have sunk Kenyans deep into desperation

Kenya's growing desperation stems from a volatile mix of internal instability and external pressures such as digital disruption, insecurity, and climate shocks.

By Munene 1 month ago

Trump has disorganised post-WWII order and turned allies into enemies

In his anti-Obama/Biden drive, Trump forcefully asserted himself, claimed Canada and Greenland, insulted allies, and beat up on Iran.

By Munene 1 month ago

Our leaders' search for extra-continental validation the bane of Africa

These are times of manufactured world chaos that disrupt accepted international order and place African countries in geopolitical binds arising from colonial conditioning.

By Munene 1 month ago

Premium

Inside Kombani's autobiography as memoirs come to classrooms

Kinyanjui Kombani's autobiography Dear Mama has been approved for classroom use, bringing the writer-banker's personal memoir into Kenya's school curriculum.

By Munene 1 month ago

Premium

Why it will not be easy for Mbadi to achieve political greatness dream

John Mbadi lacks Jaramogi Oginga Odinga's ability to command public trust or Raila Amolo Odinga's spell binding magnetism.

By Munene 2 months ago

Edwin Sifuna: The surging political firestorm that is hard to ignore

There is a political firestorm called Edwin Sifuna that is sweeping across Kenya.

By Munene 2 months ago

Premium

How colonial trauma still shapes our scandals today and its costs

From global scandals to local exploitation cases, the enduring effects of colonial trauma continue to shape power, abuse, and accountability in society today.

By Munene 2 months ago

Trump has brought disgrace to America like no other president

Trump appears to engage in extreme pettiness which drives others first into despair and then into a reluctant sense of rebelliousness.

By Munene 2 months ago

Mainstream media in the wilderness as people go for 'microwave' news

The mainstream media are in a geopolitical and ideological wilderness, having lost dominance to new players, digital/internet, who ignore set rules of operational decorum.

By Munene 2 months ago

From politics of colour to class: Black History Month insights

As the world marks Black History Month, perhaps it is time to reflect afresh on identity and freedom.

By Munene 2 months ago

Davos exposed discontent with Trump's leadership of Conceptual West

During the 2026 meeting, there was a 'rupture' of the leadership type in which Mark Carney of the middle power, Canada, displaced Donald Trump as leader of the Conceptual West.

By Munene 3 months ago

Celebrating the great tradition set by African Writers Series

The African Writers Series has particularly shaped not just how we write about our fears, hopes and aspirations, it has been the architect of the African intellectual universe.

By Munene 3 months ago

Youthful political leaders who believe Kibaki's good times can return

Edwin Sifuna is hard working, charismatic and he reminds some people of Tom Mboya, while Ndindi Nyoro's analysis of what ails the country brings him close to what Matiba tried to do in 1990.

By Munene 3 months ago

Premium

Technology, brick-and-mortar progress should never 'trump' human dignity

The greatness Africa has been gasping for over the past few centuries is not merely infrastructural. Rather, it is mainly moral and ethical.

By Munene 3 months ago

1966, the year independence euphoria in Africa started evaporating

Kenyatta, consistent in political opportunism, disillusioned followers by discarding his Mau Mau 'revolutionary' past while embracing the very colonialists that he had fought.

By Munene 3 months ago

Premium

Gachagua lost, Lamu Woman Rep gained from 'tutam' booing incident

Gachagua showed poor political judgment by not seizing the opportunity to appear like a reconciler and peacemaker by properly guiding his 'Wantam' followers.

By Munene 3 months ago

Premium

Why Venezuela became pawn in Trump's global power play era

Apart from craving for power, within and outside the United States, Trump's desire to outdo other presidents is the inadvertent reason for his behaviour.

By Munene 3 months ago

Premium

Literary criticism is not about trashing other people's intellectual effort

Today, if you review a book and cast it in a positive light, you risk being gaslighted for doing public relations, perhaps on grounds unrelated to the merits of the work.

By Munene 3 months ago

It's not only Somaliland, Israel is equally desperate for recognition

Israel controls Palestine, comprising Gaza and West Bank which it annexed from Egypt and Jordan, and would like its claims recognised as part of Greater Israel without the Palestinians.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

Command publishing and the need for creative awakening

Book publishers have of late found themselves under pressure to deliver scripts to support Competency-Based Education needs.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

How negatives outweighed positives in 2025

As the year 2024 slid into history, there was the usual end-of-year exuberance, "Happy New Year" chants and resolutions to improve. However, 2025 has ended in disappointing ways.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

Embracing renewal and lessons from life as we step into 2026

The year 2025 has been a tough one for the literary community in Kenya and Africa

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

Why Ruto and Trump are in a unique political pod

Trump and Ruto are 'dealers' and, being extremely rich, have easy access to world luxuries, and each has extreme self-confidence, and tends to bulldoze his way.

By Munene 4 months ago

Of Xmas, literature and endless search for meaning in life

It is that time of the year when many people in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa travel upcountry to commune with family for Christmas festivities.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

How Christianity became a religion in conflict with itself and with other beliefs

The growth of Christianity makes Jesus a religious grand strategist and he probably envisioned the subsequent conflicts.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

Meja Mwangi: Reclusive novelist who took readers across the world

He grew up near ranches and wildlife reserves in Nanyuki, a setting that influenced his writing. Meja was publicity-shy and avoided the media and photo opportunities.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

How Trump disrupts geopolitics while shouting 'America First'

President Reagan's strategy pressured Soviets, combining preemption with diplomatic financial incentives. US Precedent's America First doctrine prioritises dominance.

By Munene 4 months ago

Premium

Versatile Mulwa has rested, but the show he loved will carry on

It is Chinua Achebe who says that some people (are so lucky that they) have their kolanuts broken for them by the gods. And when it comes to talent and versatility it is David Kakuta Mulwa.

By Munene 4 months ago

Algiers shows Africa's struggle between radical zeal and dependency

Kenya appears to have surrendered its sovereignty to the Conceptual West while Algeria, in contrast, is increasingly self-reliant and is seemingly succeeding in reducing dependency.

By Munene 4 months ago