Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

It's been nice and, let me say, encouraging to have had your company for most of this year (as I started this blog in May). It's been a pleasure to have been writing my blog posts for your eyes only: I have loved it every bit of the way.

Why am I writing all this? Is it that I am throwing in the towel on blogging and indirectly bidding you goodbye?
No, never! Once you have been bitten by the blog bug it becomes pretty difficult to wean yourself off blogging. It is one of the best addictions I have seen around for a long time (at least better than drug addiction, what do you reckon?).

The reason for writing this: I'll be travelling upcountry to visit family during this festive season. For this reason, I'll not be able to blog for a week or so.
"Why?" you ask.
The 'upcountry' where I am travelling to is not well served with Internet facilities. Internet 'access points' are few and far between. Anyway, I'll miss you all.

Feel free to visit my other blogs (links below):

On Drifting, Wavy Words

Career and Workplace

Fgm: Down With It!

Finally, I wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Till we meet again: Take care and God bless you!

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 4)

This is yet another post that endeavours to look at the differences between the peoples of these two East African countries. My aim here is neither to create acrimony between Kenyans and Tanzanians nor to make people of one country feel inferior to people of the other country. That has never been my aim. Neither will it ever be the aim of these series of posts in particular nor this blog in general. We are different, there's no doubt about that. Nevertheless, we ought to accept each other, our differences notwithstanding, and work towards a common goal.

Signal to driver or Kiss?

If you have ever been to Dar es Salaam, then you have ever seen and heard what I'll mention here shortly.
Daladala (or Matatus/Mathrees as they are popularly known in Nairobi) touts mostly use their mouths to signal to the driver to stop and/or to start moving the vehicle. You don't get the drift, I know.
These Kondas (touts) twist their mouths (almost pouting the lips) and try to suck in air between their lips to produce the sound that tells the driver what to do! If you were not looking at the conductor, then you would think that he is kissing a woman – 'serving' a kiss with the lips of both parties tightly pressed together (for that is how it sounds like!).

Some Europeans were travelling to Posta (where most of the important offices are located in Dar es Salaam) some years ago. Out of the blues, they heard a strident sound reminiscent of some bedroom sounds that they were used to hearing. All of them turned almost instantly and in unison. They faced the Daladala's doorway from whence the 'sound' was coming. They saw the conductor, a lanky man, theatrically producing the sounds (effortlessly, it seemed to them) signalling the driver to pull into the lay-by for there was a passenger alighting. (A lay-by is the space next to a road where vehicles can park out of the way of traffic). These Europeans had little else to do but to shake their heads in wonder and grin like a Cheshire cat.

In Nairobi, touts and conductors whistle, "bang" the vehicles or talk loudly (shout is the word to use here) to signal the driver to stop to pick a passenger (or to allow a passenger to alight) or even to start moving the vehicle. None of the sounds they produce sound anything close to a kiss!

Are You a Tanzanian or a Kenyan?

In Kenya, the citizens are issued with National Identity Cards (mandatory for those Kenyans who are 18 years old and above). It also goes without saying that one has to carry it around, especially if one anticipates to be out late at night. It saves face when one meets with those guys who are eager to arrest guys 'on sight'. When they ask: "Wapi Gibande yago?"(Where is your identity card?) You flash the small card that says you are a Kenyan and they let you walk away.

In Tanzania, there are no national identity cards (but the government is planning to start issuing its citizens with the cards in the near future. At least that is what Tanzanians have been promised by the Fourth Phase Government).
Some of the Tanzanians I asked how they would tell a Kenyan from a group of people said they would listen to the people speaking and voila! they would pinpoint the Kenyan to me. This interested me and I asked one of them to tell me how he would do it. "I would listen to the people talking. I know a Kenyan's Kiswahili and English. It would not be hard to get 'your guy'."
Incidentally, even the Tanzanian immigration department has perfected the art of listening to the Kiswahili (Or English) of a person and instantly state whether that person is a Tanzanian or a foreigner. Another method these immigration guys use is to ask you where you come from. If they have doubts with what you state to them (especially if you tell them that you are a Tanzanian and they smell a rat), they ask your district of birth, village and even the name of your chief. By then, if you are not a Tanzanian, you will be squirming in your shoes.

Read the previous posts on the differences between Kenyans and Tanzanians by clicking on these links:
Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 1).

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 2).

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 3).

Africans, Let Not Your Greed For Money Make You a Victim of Such a Scam

I found this e-mail in my inbox. Most people have fallen for such internet scams. Please, don't be one of them. Think twice before you engage in any internet business or transaction: You just might be hoodwinked.

Dear Beloved,

Due to the sudden death of my husband General Abacha the former head of
state of Nigeria in June 1998, I have been thrown into a state of
hopelessness by the present administration.I have lost confidence with
anybody within my country. I got your contacts through personal
research,
and had to reach you through this medium. I will give you more details
when
you reply. Due to security network placed on my daily affairs I cant
visit
the embassy so that is why I have contacted you.

My husband deposited $12.6million dollars with a security firm abroad
whose
name is witheld for now till we communicate. I will be happy if you can
receive this funds and keep it safe I assure you 20% of this fund. I
will
need your telephone/mobile numbers so that we can commence
communication.

Sincerely Yours.
Hajia Mariam.

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (Talk Back)

Today I received some very interesting comments/observations about what I have been writing here in the recent past (the differences between Kenyans and Tanzanians). Here I share with you the same in its entirety. These are the comments by one Isibingo. Read through and see what you think.

Isibingo says:
"In Kenya, we take Eight years in Primary school, Fouryears in Secondary school and Four years in University (i.e. for most of the degrees courses).
In Tanzania, they take Seven years in Primary school, Four years in Secondary school, Two years in High school (Forms 5 and 6) and Three years in University (i.e. for most of the degree courses)."

ANSWER:
FYI 8+4+4 = 16 years and 7+4+2+3 = 16 years , now whats the defference?


You said "In Kenya, things are different. Wedding contributions are not as hyped up. In most cases, the families of the bride and groom do the contributions amongst themselves. Occasionally, input from outsiders is sought." why do not ask yuorself about expensive and for-show LUO and GIKUYU weddings, are they hyped up?

"You may hear this:Mwanangu, hiyo suti imekupendezesha k_m_ ya mama yako! ("Mwanangu" here has not been used by a parent to his/her son but by a friend to a friend).
To a Kenyan, this would sound like an earth-shattering insult but to a Tanzanian, this is an earth-shattering compliment! . Come to think of it."

ANSWER:
kuma###### word depends on hoew it is bring used,FYI ,it can be used as insult OR compliment in tanzania.

you said "Still on education, pupils and students in Public (and Private) schools in Kenya stay in school from morning to afternoon (after 3pm). Thus, it is rare to see students and pupils roaming the streets when classes are on."

ANSwer:
IF The issue of GOING TO SCHOOL in shift in TZ WILL may cause students/pupils to roam in the streets when classes are on THEN this is also in KENYA. (back in 2002 Kibaki did it as education policy).

You said "Most Tanzanians use water in the toilet (to do the work of a toilet paper!). You see them going to the toilet with small containers (kopo, as they are called in Tanzania) filled with water."

ANSWER: MAJI NA KARATASI IPI BORA, wakati KIBERA SLUMS with 1.5 million people{more than half of NAIROBI}wanatumie maji kutawaza.


you said "In Kenya, when you are cooking sukumawiki (kales) and meat, you mix everything in one sufuria.
Things are done differently in Tanzania. Sukumawiki and meat stews are cooked in different pots. "

ANSWER: this is because Tanzanians can afford good food/meals. mixing everything in one sufuria is sign of extreme poverty, especially when 1.5 millions of them lived in NAIROBI(Kibera),the second largest slums in africa.

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 3)

As we continue to look at the differences between Kenyans and Tanzanians, today we look at still some more of these disparities.

Water or Toilet Paper?

Most Tanzanians use water in the toilet (to do the work of a toilet paper!). You see them going to the toilet with small containers (kopo, as they are called in Tanzania) filled with water.

Kenyans use different materials as "wipers" in the toilet. Some use toilet paper while others use old newspapers, pages of exercise books and a motley of other materials as long as they can wipe.
This reminds me of something we used to do when we (my friends and I) were young. We used to keep the "Jogoo" and "Jimbi" maize meal papers. Anyone who has ever seen these maize meal papers knows how hard they are.
Before going to the toilet, we would energetically "rub" the paper between our hands to remove the "hardness" so that our a**** (!) would not be hurt in the process of "wiping". That's how crude some of us were (and are).

A Kenyan friend of mine visited a Tanzanian family sometime last year. When he came back to Kenya, he shared his experiences with me. He shared one experience with me more than once. He told me: "There was no toilet paper in the family toilet. Instead, there was a big bucket filled with water and a 'mug' inside the bucket. This is what those people used to use instead of toilet paper. I could not bring myself to using that (mind you, I feared to ask). So, I bought my own TP (toilet paper) and 'hid' it in my bag. Once, a big piece of TP fell on the toilet floor without my knowledge. Imagine the hullabaloo when the housemaid found the wet piece as she was cleaning the toilet!"

Education

In Kenya, we take Eight years in Primary school, Fouryears in Secondary school and Four years in University (i.e. for most of the degrees courses).
In Tanzania, they take Seven years in Primary school, Four years in Secondary school, Two years in High school (Forms 5 and 6) and Three years in University (i.e. for most of the degree courses).

Still on education, pupils and students in Public (and Private) schools in Kenya stay in school from morning to afternoon (after 3pm). Thus, it is rare to see students and pupils roaming the streets when classes are on.

This is quite different from what happens in Tanzania. It is a common sight to see students and pupils roaming the streets when classes are on. Why? Pupils and students go to school in shifts. This means that some go to school in the morning while others go to school in the afternoon (or "mchana" as they call it in Tanzania): When the 'afternoon students' come to school, the 'morning students' leave for home.

====================================================
This is the end of the third part in a series that endeavours to look at the differences between Kenyans and Tanzanians.
Have your shout out. Send your views and observations on this issue to undaunted_2006 at yahoo dot com and I'll post your observations here.
====================================================

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 2)

This is the second part of a series of posts focusing on the differences between Kenyans and Tanzanians. In the last post, I wrote on how Tanzanians and Kenyans differ in matters of Courtesy and Food sense.
Today, we look at even more differences.

The Kiswahili F*** word
In Kenya, if someone directs the Kiswahili f*** word at you, he is exceedingly annoyed with you. Thus to mollify his anger, he uses the f*** word to show you the extent of his anger. (A person who uses such a phrase is thought (by the majority of Kenyans) to have "porous" morals)!

I know you are asking yourself what word I am talking about here. You'll have to forgive me because my conscience is threatening to haunt me if I write the phrase in black and white.
Why? This is simply because I am a purebred Kenyan.

The phrase is: K_m_(a woman's private part) ya mama yako. (My fingers are shaking as I type these words on the keyboard of my computer). You catch the drift!

In Tanzania, the aforementioned phrase is used, in street talk, to emphasize a certain point. It is, basically, used (by some Tanzanians) to drive a point home and also as an exclamation! (I do not refute the fact that, in some instances, it is used as an insult!)
You may hear this:Mwanangu, hiyo suti imekupendezesha k_m_ ya mama yako! ("Mwanangu" here has not been used by a parent to his/her son but by a friend to a friend).
To a Kenyan, this would sound like an earth-shattering insult but to a Tanzanian, this is an earth-shattering compliment! . Come to think of it.

Wedding Contributions and Wedding Ceremonies
Wedding contributions in Tanzania are taken very seriously. Infact, one would rather contribute for a wedding than for someone's school fees. "Kadi za harusi" and "vikao vya harusi" are the key words associated with weddings in Tanzania.
In Kenya, things are different. Wedding contributions are not as hyped up. In most cases, the families of the bride and groom do the contributions amongst themselves. Occasionally, input from outsiders is sought.
In Tanzania, wedding ceremonies are strictly for those who contributed for the wedding! A wedding invitation card is the "Identity Card" that shows that you contributed and are therefore "eligible" to taste the wedding cake. No gatecrashers are allowed whatsoever.
In Kenya, most wedding ceremonies (except private weddings) are for virtually anyone and everyone. Even passers-by can 'pop in', take a bite, sip a drink and take their leave without anyone raising as much as an eyebrow.
When I was a young boy, my friends and I used to keep " a diary" of wedding ceremonies to attend. On days when two or more weddings appeared in our "diaries", we would arrange who would attend which wedding ceremony. Our main aim of attending these ceremonies would not be to see the bride and groom exchanging wedding vows but to partake in the 'wali', 'mchuzi' and 'soda' that would be served at the wedding reception. We would do this without the slightest tug and pull of guilt at our conscience. Talk of living in two, totally different, worlds!

This is the end of the second part of this continuing series of posts. Keep it here for more.

Are there any other differences you have noticed? Send an e-mail to (undaunted_2006 at yahoo dot com) and I'll post your observations here.
**I have written my email address this way to prevent it from being picked by Spam robots that are roving the Internet looking for e-mail addresses to send Spam to.

Kenyans and Tanzanians: the Disparities (part 1)

There are some behaviours, reactions and ways of life that are uniquely Tanzanian and Kenyan respectively. In this post (and subsequent ones), I endeavour to look at how these two East African peoples are different.

COURTESY:
Ask any Tanzanian and you'll be told one thing about Kenyans: "Kenyans are very rude, arrogant and not courteous."
"Why?" you may ask. It is said that Kenyans use rude, commanding language when they are asking for something (and they mean to be polite!).
Picture this:
A.
In a restaurant in Nairobi, a Kenyan is asking to be served a cup of tea.
Kenyan: Hello, we leta chai ninachelewa. Harakisha basi!
In a restaurant in Dar es Salaam, a Tanzanian is asking to be served a cup of tea.
Tanzanian: Habari za saa hizi. Naomba kikombe cha chai ya rangi.
B.
In a mathree (matatu) in Nairobi, a conductor is asking for fare from the passengers.
Conductor: Leta pesa yako na ufanye fasta (bring the fare and be fast at that). Fare ni mbao (twenty shillings) sitaki mtu ambaye anajifanya hajui fare ni chapa ngapi!
In a Daladala in Dar es Salaam, a conductor is asking for fare from the passengers.
Conductor: Naomba nauli yako. Nauli ni mia mbili hamsini (approximately Ksh 14).

In Tanzania, it is an unstated 'law' that you have to greet each and every person you come across as you go about your business. Greetings for people who are older than you start with "Shikamoo". For example, " Shikamoo Mzee Juma."
In Kenya, things are virtually different. It is "not a must" for one to greet everyone they meet on the way. You greet only those who are your acquaintances and are familiar to you. There are no specific greetings for people who are older than you. There are two widely used greetings in Kenya (and to people of all ages and sizes). These are:
i). (If one says "Sasa" you say "Fit"). This is akin to the "Mambo" "Poa" that Tanzanians use.
ii). Habari gani? (This is akin to the Habari za saa hizi? or Za saa hizi? that Tanzanians use.

For those Kenyans who are planning to visit Tanzania, please learn the art of greeting people often and to those older than you say "Shikamoo."
For those Tanzanians who are planning to visit Kenya, please don't get angry when someone walks past you without exchanging 'pleasantries'. That is our way of life here.

I had a rough time once (when I was visiting Tanzania) due to not greeting some old men who were seated somewhere as I passed. Incidentally, I didn't know the exact location of where I was going (somewhere at Kunduchi) so I had to go back the way I had come and at least ask someone to direct me. I remembered that I had seen some old men somewhere along the way. When I got to where they were seated I greeted them (with a humble Shikamoo!) and asked them for the direction of where I was going. They exchanged glances, scowled their faces and continued talking. I stood there awkwardly waiting for God-knows-what. One of them cleared his throat and told me:" You passed here without even greeting us and now because you have a 'problem' you have come to us. What do you expect us to do? Do you want us to associate with a rude fellow like you? I don't think you are a Tanzanian. Next time greet people whether you need their help or not. African culture dictates this!" And with that he directed me to where I was going (he literally took my hand and led me to where I was going). Before leaving, I 'served' them with my profuse apologies.

Do you have more you can share with us on Courtesy?Send Your Email Here(undaunted_2006 at yahoo dot com) and I'll post your observations.

FOOD:
In Kenya, when you are cooking sukumawiki (kales) and meat, you mix everything in one sufuria.
Things are done differently in Tanzania. Sukumawiki and meat stews are cooked in different pots. During mealtime in Tanzania, there are more bowls on the dining table than on an average Kenyan's table. These bowls may contain i) Maharage (beans)* (Kenyans call it Maharagwe).
ii) Mchicha *(Kikuyus call it Terere).
iii) Dagaa *(Kenyans call it Omena).
and
iv) Meat stew

My take is that Tanzanians are more nutrition conscious than Kenyans. Another thing, They use coconut "milk" in most of their food preparation and the food that is cooked with this "additive" is wonderful to the taste, take my word for it!

I know of a Kenyan couple who crossed the border into Tanzania with the sheer intention of looking for a maid from Tanzania. When I asked them of their reasons for going to such lengths and incurring all that cost, they looked me straight in the face and said: "We went to Bagamoyo (in Tanzania) for our honeymoon. We loved the food we were served. It was a whole new experience. We need this Tanzanian touch in our very home in Nairobi thus the need for a Tanzanian house maid."

This is the first part in a series of posts looking at the differences between Tanzanians and Kenyans.
Do you have more you can share with us on Food (or any other difference you have noticed)? Send me an Email and I'll post your observations here.

Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise - Accountability

The title of this blog post is, incidentally, this year's World Aids Day theme. This theme is designed to inspire citizens across the world to hold their political leaders accountable for the promises they have made on AIDS.

Here in Africa, our leaders have helped set up so many Aids-related funds, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and institutions. For that, and myriad more, we laud them. But there is still so much that has to be done for our people and to our people.

The HIV prevalence rates are growing grimmer by the day.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 39.5 million people living with HIV, including 2.3 million children, and during 2006 some 4.3 million people became newly infected with the virus.
It is estimated that around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and die of AIDS before they are 35. (The sixty-four-thousand dollar question: how many of our youth can boast of a HIV free status?)

If these statistics are anything to go by, then our leaders should devote more of their time, energy and resources in addressing the Aids scourge and come up with better ways of combating the spread of the disease.
Our leaders should borrow a leaf from Senator Obama, if they must. The said US Senator took an HIV test in full public view when he visited Kenya sometime this year.

If our leaders decide to take a similar a stand, it will help accentuate (to the citizenry) the importance of knowing one's HIV status so that one can take better charge of life.
The line would run something like this: Mr. ***, my Member of Parliament, took a HIV test last week. This is two weeks after the president took such a test too. Therefore, it is equally important for me to know my status! .

The destinies of our nations are greatly hinged on our leaders' decisions, attitudes, what they take seriously and whether or not they live up to what they proclaim. This is proof enough that they should be epitomes of moral perfection and integrity.

With so many people looking up to you, Sirs, you have so much to deal with on your plates that you can not possibly afford to be complacent and vacillate on matters of national interest.

HIV/AIDS is one such matter. Our leaders ought to live up to what they promise the people they lead. Accountability is of utmost importance in this respect.

· We have been promised better health care: please make good your promise.
· We have been promised more campaigns to sensitize people on HIV/AIDS prevention: please deliver the goods.
· We have been promised more interactive approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention and education: please keep your promises.
· We have been promised more aid to the needy and poor who are HIV positive: please, please, please don't let us down.
· We have been promised anti-retroviral drugs that will be given free of charge: please, just know that millions of lives are hanging in the balance.

As we go into World Aids Day tomorrow let us endeavour to keep our promises and, as a result, build accountability.

My Son, Take It Slow: Aids is a Rapacious Prowler

As we mark the World Aids Day this year, we ought to think and rethink the strategies that we are using to combat the spread of the Aids virus. Above all, behaviour change should be accentuated and re-emphasized. This is simply because without behaviour change we are almost hitting a brick wall with bare fists.

My son, I am now an old woman,
I feel the ancestors beckoning to me,
My heart is punctured and frayed,
My body: old and frail.

In the years I have been around,
I've learnt so much 'bout the world,
I feel the time is ripe,
To share with you my arsenal.

In recent months, I've been watching you,
Watching you keenly; watching with eyes of steel,
My eyes have not slumbered in my watch,
My guard has not dropped in my sentry.

My son, I am afraid of what I see;
I am afraid of what I dream;
I am afraid of what I see in your eyes;
I am afraid of your zest and vim.

My son, I am afraid,
The more I think of what you are doing,
The more I age past my age,
The more people comment on how old I look.

These are dark days, my son,
Days your grandpa and I never dreamt of,
Days graced by pitch darkness,
Days I constantly try to wish away.

My son, don't get bored; keep still,
I am not vacillating, be sure of that,
Listen to me this once,
Listen to the drawl and drag in my voice.

This is the third month since I started my 'vigil',
My son, I see different ladies at your side every passing day:
Ladies fabulously endowed with 'well-rounded bums';
Ladies with earth-shattering smiles keep you company.

They call you 'Mr. Chics – the guy with the move',
Thanx to the innumerable sexual partners you keep,
This is sickening, my son:
Downright filthy and inglorious is what I call it.

My son, do you want to see me going to an early grave?
Do you want me to talk myself hoarse – and go insane in the process?
Do you want me to wet my pillow with tears into the wee hours?
Do you want me to see you crumbling like a fallen block of granite?

When Aids smiles at you, my son,
There'll be no turning back,
It will eat and gnaw at your every marrow,
It will turn you inside out – Please spare me the pain!

I don't want to imagine (but it's part of the nightmare I can't ward off),
The tall, handsome son I know,
Being reduced to an emaciated sculpture,
A sculpture with sores, boils and falling hair.

My son, Aids is for real,
It's prowling the neighbourhood with a vengeance,
Please sit down and rethink your behaviour,
An HIV free generation starts with you, my son.

Teachers, Hold The Cane Carefully: It is Lethal

Of late, there have been cases of teachers accused of inflicting untold suffering and injuries on students and pupils.
Instrument of torture? The good old cane.

One is left wondering what the intention of the teacher was prior to the 'accident'. Did the teacher intend to correct a misdoing (by use of corporal punishment) or to maim the student to show that he/she is in control of the class. These thoughts are doing their rounds in my head.

I remember when I was in school in the eighties, the cane was the trademark of any 'proper' school. In other words, cane and school were twin brothers. When I was in Standard Four, for instance, my Mathematics teacher used to 'burst' into class, a nyahunyo (Maasai whip made from car tyres) dangling under his arm and he would menacingly blurt, "Stand up...Tables!" By this he meant that we were to start reciting the Mathematical multiplication tables. Anyone showing signs of not knowing what was going on would be descended upon by his whip.

I was a victim of the swish of his whip almost everyday: numbers and mathematical signs were Greek to me. We got used to such treatment and never at one time thought that our rights (what were children's rights at that time – they were gathering dust in the United Nations books – or were they?) were being infringed.

When I was in Standard Eight, my English teacher decided that using the cane was a thing of the past and instead resorted to using his fists and legs. He would get into the classroom (the sight of him would send chills of terror down our spines) and we would stand in unison. Our greeting to him would reverberate throughout the block: "Good Morning Mr. Mbugua." He would look at us as if we had insulted him and, with the ferocity of a bull, he would come towards us.

For no reason at all, he would rain blow after blow on our small forms (especially around our stomachs) and no one would dare cry out for fear of stoking his latent fury. All that was in the name of corporal punishment. In retrospect, that was terrorism!

Sometimes I doubt whether some of that was punishment to rectify behaviour or an avenue for someone to vent his/her pent up heartaches on young, innocent and undeserving pupils.

Fast forward to the present...
Most of those dubious forms of corporal punishment have died down, thanks to Human Rights activism. 'Exploded' cases of a teacher punching and kicking a student are few and far between. But, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
Carrying of canes, let alone using them, in schools is not allowed. This is a trend that is catching on in Africa. But sometimes you find some teachers carrying 'small canes' (literally folding them to fit in their coat pockets) for emergency, as some are heard to say. Circumstances for such 'emergencies' are as ambiguous as the word "emergency" itself.

Although this is the status quo that teachers in Africa are trying to come to terms with, we still hear of some isolated cases of teachers 'beating to the point of death', 'injuring', or even 'killing' students. The 'crimes' that warranted such outbursts range from not respecting the teacher (rudeness), failure to attempt assignment, an untoward brush with the teacher and so forth.

The Nyeri (a district in Kenya's Central Province where President Kibaki hails from) incident this week where a pupil collapsed after being punished, speaks volumes of such a state of affairs. I don't think that those were just 'some' inconsequential strokes on the bums. There must have been some brutality somewhere somehow.

I know of a case where a teacher was so irked by a student that, in a stroke of 'genius', he reached for his leather belt and let out his steam on the student. Unfortunately, the metallic buckle hit the student on the head with such a force that the next thing the teacher knew was the student reeling and falling to the ground, head first. He was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Although banning corporal punishment is not a cure-all, it sure will save our children from emotional trauma and fear. (I found out that a bigger percentage of the fear I had emanated from the crude forms of punishment I received when I was in school!).

This ban will also help mould students and pupils who can think on their feet (by this I mean that there is no coercion used to initiate decisions).

A better Africa is what we need and this is the way forward.

Yet Another 'Invention' from TANESCO: Now Power Cuts Up To 10 P.m.

President Kikwete in a sombre mood

The Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) yesterday announced an even 'grievous' loadshedding than the one that has been in place for months on end now. Homes and industries will see the advent of the new (what's new about the whole shebang!) rationing schedule as from tomorrow 20th November.

Among other things, the rationing schedule stipulates that loadshedding will run up to 10pm instead of the usual 6pm. This has been occasioned by:
i) The closure of dams (Mtera dam being one of them) due to drought. These dams were used for the generation of electricity.

ii) One of the 'kingpin' generators is out of kilter thus destabilizing the national power grid.

iii) The government being duped into buying an aeroplane's engine to serve as generators. Whether the government had a hand in this is still to come to the fore.

iv) Corruption in high places (TANESCO would never accede to this). How else would you explain the government's involvement with a company that has no physical address in the USA. The self-same company was not registered. The company was to deliver equipment to the government for the generation of electricity.
This rings closer home. It reminds me of the dubious Anglo Leasing deals that soiled the Kenyan government's hands!

Anyway, the 6am to 10pm power rationing will have serious economic ramifications (of course this is an obvious result given the situation!). With the Tanzania shilling plummeting, then the implications of this new development on the shilling could be combined to make a horror movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Please make sure your seat has strong legs or else...

Questions are doing their rounds in the heads of Tanzanians. They are asking: "Why didn't our esteemed government not do anything about the 'umeme' thing before things got out of hand. They knew things would turn out this way, or didn't they?"

However, others, instead of asking questions, are jumping to conclusions at the speed of lightning. With contorted faces, angry guttural voices and creased shirts and trousers (thanx to 'mgao wa umeme') they quip: "Maybe this is the Kasi Mpya, Nguvu Mpya and Ari Mpya that President Kikwete has brought onto the scene. If this is the tip of the iceberg, how, then, does the whole iceberg look like?"

Tougher Times Doing an Advent on Tanzanian Soil.

Could Our Leaders In Africa Do A 'Vladimir Putin'?

President of Russia, Vladimir Putin


Is there any real transparency in Africa, legion Transparency committees and Commissions of inquiry notwithstanding?

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has just finished answering live questions from a cross-section of the Russian public.They have been phoning-in and putting their questions to him. The whole thing has gone out live on two major TV channels in the country.

The questions ranged from policy implementation, environmental issues to motley of other issues that need clarification.

This, according to me, is a move that takes courage (and 'loads' of resilience!) and one that no one would attempt if they had anything to hide.

This has me thinking. Is it possible, even in the wildest of situations and imaginations, for our own leaders in Africa to even dream of adopting the Vladimir Putin system?
Methinks this system would save time, money and the citizenry would be better educated on what their government intends to implement and what it is doing on certain fronts, for instance.

Most countries in Africa are known for " unwarranted commissions of inquiry" to find out the "cause of a certain problem and know where to go from here". You should not even mention the "stacks" of dollars that go into these sittings. Incidentally, some of their findings are not made public, leaving questions lingering in the citizens' minds: did the commission pull through (or was there ever commission in the first place)?

We would like to ask our presidents some of these questions and hear them voice their concerns on the same.
"Why?" you may ask.
Well, most of the time we feel we need 'concrete' information (not the pursing of the lips that some of leaders treat us to) and a 'live' word from the president would allay some of our ingrained fears.

Our presidents and leaders have a lot to learn from Vladimir Putin.
My advice to them:
Clean your slate; pull yourself together; have nothing to hide; have a tight grip on the truth and have your people's interest at heart (not just 'lip service' kind of interest).

After all's been said and done, pick up that phone. With an air of confidence, call Vladimir Putin and ask him how the game goes.

Tanzania media: Are We "Wool gathering" the East Africa Federation?

Veteran Journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo's piece in the current The East African (October 23 – 29) struck a cord in me when I read it yesterday. It 'excavated' a touchy issue that has been tugging at my heart of late.

I have tried to 'force' the picture of Tanzania holding 'the federation baby' in its arms, to no avail. The whole shebang just does not jell. It is incongruous, to say the least. And why?

The piece, titled Let's face it, the Tanzania media is not being very neighbourly, divulged that of late there has been a section of the Tanzania media that has been fomenting inimical attitudes towards the East African Community.

Surely, have we come this far (the millions of dollars of East Africans taxpayers money that have been used notwithstanding) just to sacrifice our just-about-to-be-born baby on the altar of misunderstanding and misconstruction? Tumemla ng'ombe mzima, je tushindwe na mkia?

The press, in any country in the world, should know better than to involve itself in hate campaigns against anyone. It should, however, come to clear the air and set the record straight.

A certain Tanzanian website wantonly runs a hate campaign against other East Africans. It impugns other East Africans and pits them against one another. Check the site HERE.


The press should know better than this. Its efforts should gravitate towards empowering its citizenry with the right information that will help guide them on what to think. Furthermore, the press is said to be the watchdog of society so it ought to know better than to take matters personal.

Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens: always working for the good of the citizens; determined to stand on the roof tops and shout down any manner of moral vice – not trying to glorify the inglorious!
Someone once said: The press is the people’s university.
People of all walks glean snippets of knowledge and information from the press that go a long way in influencing them to form personal judgments and opinions.
Journalists have a specific brief. Why should their special mandate be sacrificed on the altar of compromise and complacency?

When the 'federation story' is viewed against this backdrop, one is left wondering whether the 'vehicles of information in Tanzania' will play to its tune.

East Africans, let's ask ourselves these questions before it is too late:
• Are we wasting our time here?
• Are we wool gathering "the East Africa Federation" into focus or being "insensitively" realistic?

Tougher times doing an advent on Tanzanian soil

This is Mtera dam in Tanzania, one of the dams that was closed due to low water levels




There has been an acute shortage of electricity for most of this year in Tanzania. This has seen the economy in the country plummet as industries and workplaces remain dark and 'powerless' during the day.

Walking around Dar es Salaam at night, one would be forgiven to think that China has rubbed some of its 'anointing' on Tanzania. What with most industries and 'businesses' (barbers, tailors etc) working round the clock to take advantage of the electricity-at-night-only scheme! Ofcourse, this is not to mean that China has a similar load shedding. Don't quote me wrong. (Give guys in 'blogoshere' a yard and you are sure they will extend it to a mile.)

The Tanzanian Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) has given the reason for this electricity 'inconsistency' as the lack of enough water in the major dams that 'fuel' electricity in the country.

The electricity company has spelled out tougher times by closing Mtera and Kidatu dams and announcing the imminent closure of yet another dam, Kihansi dam. This, surely, is a beacon of tougher times; times that the average person, especially one who depends on electricity to survive, will find hard to bear.

The government should come up with 'tangible' ways to thwart the imminent tragedy that is staring Tanzanians in the eye. Millions of Tanzanians' hearts are palpitating and waiting for their government to act.

English or no English we are one people

I am still smarting from the heavy barrage of words that has been bandied between Tanzanians and Kenyans about who's better than the other.

Kenyans pride (read gloat!) themselves as having a better grip on the Queen's language than their Tanzanian counterparts.
(Mind you, the English are still learning English. So really, there is no reason to walk with your shoulders held up high just because you can make one or two flawless sentences in English). Or is there?

Now I know you want to know my nationality. I am a Kenyan through and through: blood, bones and mentality. Even then, I think and decide with my mind and not my heart.

You would ask, "What business do I have 'defending' Tanzanians?" Well, the reason is simple and clear: the brass tacks. I value unity and oneness (semantically speaking). In addition to that, the value of a man doesn't lie in the language he speaks (or doesn't speak well!) but in the sheer fact that he/she is a human being.

That, above all, is what we should look at before we get embroiled in matters that are out to create rifts in our midst.

We should glory, instead, in what we as East Africans uniquely possess and endeavor to better our relationships by sharing our unique possessions to make East Africa and, in essence, Africa and the world a more people-friendly environment.

Let's stop this braggadocio (talking too proudly about oneself) we have taken up of late:
• Kenyans say, "We know more English than you (so we are better off). We are better educated than you guys and laziness is not a 'sport' we excel at."
• Tanzanians say, "Our Kiswahili is the real thing. You Kenyans continue clamoring and paying allegiance to the colonial language you are very proud of and let's see how far you go."

Surely, such kind of exchanges with our neighbours does not portend the healthiest of situations. Your neighbour is one you should be quick to cover the weaknesses of. Why? It is him you'll run to, incline your head on his shoulder, look into his eyes and ask for help.

Kikwete, the face of East Africa?

Having taken to reading The East African of late,I couldn't help noticing something that has graced the front pages of the said newspaper in the past four or so issues.

If you are an ardent reader of the same, you may have noticed it too. The main picture on the front pages in these issues shows a 'quixotic' East African president with different people in each issue. This president is in the person of Mr. Kikwete of Tanzania.

In the September 11 – 17 issue, the picture is that of President Kikwete congratulating President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi after signing of a full ceasefire agreement with Palipehutu-FNL in Dar es Salaam.

In the next issue (September 18 – 24), the picture is that of Kikwete arriving from Havana, Cuba, after attending the 14th summit of the Non-Aligned movement.

In the September 25th – October 1st issue, the picture is that of Presidents Kikwete and Bush at a New York hotel.

The picture that graces the front page of the current issue of the newspaper is that of (you guessed it right!) President Kikwete with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan when they met in New York.

This being a Regional paper, then the East African presidents should be given equal 'front page experience'. However, as it is now, it seems the other two Presidents in the Region have done nothing of import, in the last four weeks or so, to humour the 'paper' into warranting them front page treatment.

Anyway, truth be told. Mr. Kikwete is a man of action and a person who is out to effect changes in the country the Tanzanian electorate served him on a silver plate.

Yesterday, he called a Press conference that was televised on leading channels in Tanzania. In the conference he answered questions posed to him by journalists. Even the Kenyan “political instability” chit-chat he had with President George Bush was quizzed by a journalist. But he answered it tactfully, making sure he doesn’t open a can of worms. He said Bush just asked, in passing, about the “political instability” in Kenya (a friend to the USA, as Kikwete put it) and that there was no cause for worry. Time will tell whether there is anything to worry about or not(Click here Bush/Kikwete chit-chat.)

I doubt whether the other two presidents in East Africa can call a Press conference and encourage journalists to ask them questions they feel like asking in full public view (Television) without fear of retribution and scathing, scalding criticism. I dare them to take up the challenge. We, the electorate, need to ask questions of public interest and get answers to quell the building pressure in our bowels. Messrs. Emilio Mwai Kibaki and Kaguta Museveni, are we, the people who voted you to office, asking for too much here?

Anyway, if only his contemporaries in the region would take the cue from him (President Kikwete), then, maybe, the eye of The East African might be caught and they may be accorded 'front page treatment' to break the four-week monotony.

African brain drain: the grand scourge of our times

African professionals have been flocking Western countries en masse in the last decade or so in search of the proverbial 'green pastures'. This has put African economies in such a grave spot

Our dear friends in the medical profession have dominated in the "efflux" of professional brains from this continent. In the recent past, statistics have shown that female nurses from African countries are landing lucrative jobs in The UK and America. With the green bucks, the Euro and Pound smiling at them they are left with little else to do but to bid farewell to penury and embrace the 'fatter' checks.

The story is told of a fifty-year old nurse, a widow and a mother of five (three boys, two girls) who made the painful decision of relocating to the UK to work as a nurse. She had to leave her children behind (three of them had jobs and families of their own, one was at the university and the last one was in secondary school).

Her new job entailed taking care of the aged – their waking up, their eating, their toilet, their bathing, their pains and sorrows, practically everything. This was quite a change of the work environment for her. She was used to wards and patients. She was used to doing rounds in wards and getting to know how patients were coming along. Anyway, for the bucks she could do anything.

We are giving our professionals a raw deal here in Africa. Their pay is low as compared to their contemporaries in other countries in the world. In view of this, I don't see the reason why they shouldn't 'drain' their 'brain' anywhere east or west so long as the pay is good. I know this is not the best of situations.

• We need to benefit from our own brothers' and sisters' brains right here in Africa.
• We want our Africa to stand on its feet and have a say in this world.
• We want our economies to stabilize and grow.
• We want all the good brains that are being churned out at our universities and colleges to help redeem Africa economically and politically.

Sadly, this can only be realized if all the key players in our governments are keen enough to come up with lasting solutions to our woes as Africans. Some of the people at the helm of our governments are self-centered and only look to their own interests and those of their families. They fail to realize that there are millions looking up to them and that the very strokes of their pens could spell death to generations. This is why corruption and nepotism are still weighing us down up to now.

Brain drain is decimating our output and curtailing our progress. Yes, and rightly so. The millions of dollars that were used to educate the people who now opt to go and work outside Africa have to be recovered somehow. It is no secret that most of them were educated on loans they took from their governments. As you well know, governments principally get money from taxpayers. So here, we are talking of the cream of the nation funding these guys' loans.

Shouldn't our countries then benefit from the education that they helped afford our dear brothers and sisters? African legislators and statesmen, please wake up to this fact and act pronto. We are waiting for your clarion call, Sirs.

The most misused word in the whole wide world – love!

Do we really understand what love means?

Love is everywhere: the airwaves (radio & TV music), cyberspace, magazines, books, and one-to-one encounters. It's simply everywhere.

I started hearing the 'love' phrase when I was an adolescent.
Scores of adolescent boys and girls could be seen skirting around the dark places at night probably to meet their 'dates' at their pre-arranged rendezvous. In my day, there were no mobile phones to ease communication. We just had to wait for our 'girls' and hope against all hope that they would turn up otherwise our 'dare devil' antics would just go to waste. Don't even mention all the priceless things we wasted in our quest to look macho.

We wasted our time, energy, good old virginity, and the chance to understand the dynamics of the most wonderful word in the world – love.

In retrospect, though, I am happy that I went through adolescence in those years. Today, everything is so different. The moral guard has been slackened far too much that most of the things that were considered no-brainers in my day are part of the normal lives of people nowadays.

The airwaves are 'rotten' – what with music that uphold immorality and the overuse of 'the love word' without meaning any bit of it.
Please don't mention the internet and its sisters. Appalling is the word to use here.

Recently I came across a story that, to me, seemed to leap from the page and shout aloud about the true meaning of love. I have reproduced it here for us to have a rethink about this word that we have taken for granted for a long, long time.

There was a young couple, Della and Jim, who were very much in love. Each had one unique possession. Della's hair was her glory. When she let it down it almost served her as her robe. Jim, on the other hand, had a gold watch which had come to him from his father and which was his pride.

It was the day before Christmas, and Della had exactly one dollar eighty seven cents to buy Jim a present. She did the only thing she could do. She went out and sold her hair for twenty dollars. And with the proceeds she bought a platinum fob for Jim's precious watch.

Jim came home at night, when he saw Della's shorn head he stopped as if stupefied. It was not that he did not like it or did not love her anymore. She was lovelier than ever. Slowly he handed her his gift. His gift was a set of expensive tortoise-shell combs and he had sold his gold watch to buy them for her.

Each had given the other all he or she had to give. Real love cannot think of any other way to give.

This, I think, is the true meaning of love: Giving your best for the benefit of another person without asking what you'll get out of it.

African cities stinking, littered – a way of life

One of the things that is very conspicuous as you traverse the cities and towns in Africa is litter and garbage. However, as development and the so-called 'social wellness' are causing ripples across some African economies, things are brightening up.

It leaves so many questions begging for answers when I see, read and watch people's unbridled activities that are detrimental to the states of our towns, environmentally speaking.

Picture this. A car is speeding down a highway. A window is rolled down and a hand wantonly throws out, onto the busy highway, banana peelings and biscuit wrappers. If the occupants of twenty different cars do the very same thing in, say, three hours, what would be the state of the said highway? Appalling to say the least.

Picture all the highways in that city or town undergoing the same (in the three hours) what a city or town that would be! But, according to me, people have some "respect" for the roads so littering on the roads is not as bad as bad could be.

Our estates are the worst hit by this 'scourge'. Garbage disposal systems are just not working and if they are, then people don't even notice. Why? This is simply because we are the same ones who incapacitate their smooth running by our sick actions.

Few questions too many
• What is so hard with disposing off garbage in the rightful places & containers?
• What is so hard with doing the right thing at the right place (as far as garbage/litter is concerned)?
• Do we do the things we do because we like doing them or are we forced to?
• Do we really 'enjoy' living in insalubrious surroundings, our public image notwithstanding?

My opinion is that this is a typical African mindset. It is more a 'mental malady' than the lack of resources.
Sometimes we throw litter about, unknowingly (someone would say 'unconsciously' to mollify the guilt that goes with it!). We were born with it, in it and have grown into it.

So if we are to extricate ourselves from this state of affairs we have to redefine our systems. I suggest, too, that legislation that is more rigorous be put in place to nip this deleterious 'malpractice' in the bud.

We need cleaner cities and fresher air in our cities, towns and countries. And a pinch of manners to boot... Let's stop throwing papers, wrappers and peelings in all the wrong places. Save peelings for your farm and not the road! Do the guys attending the Africities summit in Nairobi catch the drift?

I am setting my sights too high, aren't I?

Bush – Kikwete rigmarole: Kenyan question

The Monday meeting in New York between Presidents George Bush (US) and Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) was only good to a point. The suspect nature of the meeting came to the fore when Kenya's "political instability" was brought into the picture. (Political instability indeed!)

What was George Bush doing discussing Kenya's political situation with Kikwete while Kenya's Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju (leading the Kenyan delegation to the UN General Assembly) could have been called upon to comment?

To further mar the already stained picture, no explanation was forthcoming as to why Bush spoke about Kenya's domestic issues with Kikwete.

Methinks, Mr. Bush ought to have been wise enough not to hold such discussions with the president of a neighbouring country while our own delegates were within 'calling' range.

What does this portend? Does this go to emphasize (drive a point home!) how our own administration is lowly esteemed by the president of the world (Bush!)? What is the meaning of this goings-on?

Phobia and fear: much of a muchness

Phobia is defined by the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as a strong, unnatural, and usually unreasonable fear and dislike. The same dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant and usually strong feeling caused by the presence or expectation of danger.

All of us have something we fear and dread. There is no gainsaying that. If you say that you there is nothing you fear, however infinitesimal, then you will have to forgive me when I call you one big liar. Moreover, ofcourse, what you fear should not necessarily be what I fear.

People fear anything ranging from ants to lions and snakes. It is only when your fear is unreasonable that you can start worrying of being phobic.

A phobia is said to be a 'learned anxiety' that has formed around a real or imagined situation. The original source of the anxiety is gradually replaced by symbols that come to represent it. In time, the symbols become the source of fear and a phobia is born.

Phobias about different things have names that I find very rib tickling if not strange.
Here I share with you some that I came across recently:

• Kakorraphiaphobia - fear of failure
• Aulophobia – fear of the flute
• Papaphobia – fear of the pope (God forbid!)
• Acrophobia – fear of heights
• Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces
• Claustrophobia – fear of closed places
• Triskaidekaphobia – fear of number 13
• Xenophobia – fear of foreigners
• Zoophobia – fear of animals
• Arachybutyrophobia – fear of eating peanut butter
• Cyberphobia – fear of computers
• Keraunothnetophobia – fear of falling man-made satellites
• Cibophobia/Sitophobia/Sitiophobia – fear of food
• Anglophobia – fear of Britain
• Didaskaleinophobia – fear of going to school
• Anuptaphobia – fear of staying single
• Brontophobia – fear of thunder and lightning
• Agyrophobia – fear of streets or crossing streets
• Agateophobia – fear of insanity
• Hellenologophobia – fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology
• Venustraphobia – fear of beautiful women (what a phobia!)
• Levophobia – fear of things to the left side of the body
• Athazagoraphobia – fear of being forgotten or ignored or forgetting
• Gephyrophobia /gephysrophobia/ghephydrophobia – fear of crossing bridges
• Siderodromophobia – fear of travelling by train
• Xenoglossophobia – fear of foreign languages
• Xanthaphobia – fear of colour yellow or word yellow
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday, 13th
• Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – fear of long words
• Chronomentrophobia – fear of clocks
• Arrhenphobia – fear of men
• Erythrophobia/erytophobia/ereuthophobia - fear of red lights or of blushing
• Rhabdophobia – fear of being punished severely with a rod or being criticized
• Bromidrosiphobia/bromidrophobia – fear of body smells
• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing (I bet that classmate of mine in boarding school had this phobia. What with bathing only once in months!)
• Ancraophobia/anemophobia – fear of wind
• Amaxophobia – fear of riding in a car
• Felinophobia/ailuophobia/elurophobia/gatophobia – fear of cats

Phobias are strange things altogether. If there are others you know, please feel free to post them on this column. We'll be more than eager to read from you.

The missing piece in the jigsaw

The other day I found myself 'inadvertently' eavesdropping on the conversation of some two young men. They were talking about Aids, sex and marriage.
One of them was saying that men (quite an outlandish generalization) cannot do without sex. He went on to say that as long as a man is 'functioning' then sex is the sure release of his building pressure.

Then the insalubrious 'party pooper' was brought into the picture: Aids. They fear Aids. Talking of Aids as if talking of the weather is sheer madness (what I learnt from what they were saying). They said that with Aids lurking somewhere in the shadows of 'after sex' then a tricky situation had plunged headlong onto the scene.

One of the two (a bachelor, I learnt) said that with Aids marring the beautiful picture that once gleamed in the light, marriage had become a no-tread zone to many a young man. He said that he would 'marry' for two or three years and, after getting a kid or two, tell the woman (read wife),
"Your time's up. Pack your bags and leave!" He would retain the children (with that he would have accomplished his goal in life!).

They viewed sex as a way of letting off 'steam' and marriage as a 'factory' for making children; after that: to hell with it!

This is a dim view of reality. Sex and marriage are beautiful things created by God. Sex serves its purpose divinely in the context of marriage. And marriage is more than just 'where children are made' but rather where we learn to use our God-given talents to benefit each other (the married) in exciting ways that increase the gushes and torrents of love.

Still on the issue of marriage, sample what Bishop T.D. Jakes has to say to the married and the ones aspiring to be married one day.

What it means to be married

"To the one you are marrying you are saying: when my time comes to leave this world, when the chill of eternity blows away my birthdays and my future stands still in the night, it's your face I want to kiss goodbye. It's your hand I want to squeeze, as I slip from time to eternity. As the curtain closes on all I have attempted to do and be, I want to look into your eyes and see that I mattered. Not what I looked like or how much money I made, or even how talented I was. I just want to look into the eyes of someone who loved me and see that I mattered."

This is quite a huge price tag attached to the marriage institution and certainly the missing piece in the jigsaw. What do you think?

Aids awareness programmes: unnecessary semantics?

Today, I am an angry African. No, I am miffed and annoyed. "Why?" you may ask.
I have been trying to educate people on the right course of action to take as far as prevention of Aids is concerned. I have tried to do this through my writing (newspaper and magazine articles, my blogs), public speaking and one on one encounters.

I go to such lengths, not because I suffer from Aids (which I don't) or because I benefit in any way, but because of the love of humanity and human life. Life is one of the most priceless things that God has given us. We should never, I repeat, never, use our lives as guinea pigs and swim in the morass of ludicrous experimentations.

Our foremost cry should not be how we can cure Aids but rather how we can stop promiscuity and immorality (HIV's open highway). I know you'll not agree with me but truth be told, we can never expect to cut the tree's branches and wish the tree away after that – we should rather cut the trunk, uproot the stump and cut the branches while the tree is lying vertically on the ground!

What makes me choke is the laxity that most people exhibit when it comes to Aids issues. Aids awareness programmes have become too common that most of us guys have dropped our guard and forgotten the danger that we are exposing ourselves to. My view of the whole thing is that people have heard so much about Aids that their 'ears' have become numb. Is it the case of too-much-of-something-is-poisonous? This depends on ones perceptions and priorities. According to me, poison, in this case, is what you get when you do not heed the call: Aids.

Let us refuse to be dragged to such a level. Whether we like it or not, Aids is the stark truth of our dangerous times and if we do not take heed then our continent will not have tomorrow's leaders. So hurting but a very potential outcome.

Compromise and complacency should never be allowed in our neighbourhood – if not always then at least when we are dealing with this grave problem.

To sum up, can we expect to extricate ourselves from this menace if promiscuity and immorality are still a principal part of our moral fabric? If we do, then it's like expecting a snowball to survive in hell.

Tribalism: Kenya’s oldest ‘living skeleton’ in the closet

There've been heated debates on the tribalism issue, mooted and dissected on a motley of forums. The internet(blogs & sites), newspapers, magazines, tabloids and pamphlets have helped potray the dynamics of this 'touchy' issue.

I've been following the goings-on with bated breath and each time I read or hear about tribalistic issues this question always screams for an answer: when will our people open their eyes and see that tribalism (tribalistic mindsets)'help' to sever the cords of national unity and harmony?

Having lived outside Kenya for sometime, I've seen Kenyans of different tribal origins working together as brothers and sisters, their tribalistic mindsets notwithstanding. I've seen, for instance, Kikuyus and Luos working in harmony and calling each other 'bro' or 'sis'. I've seen them doing things together, things they would not have attempted or a brotherliness that would never have materialised were it in Kenya.

This is a sorry state of affairs. Must we go out of the country to realise that tribalism should never be an issue and that we can work as brothers and sisters (AS KENYANS) even at home.

If we can live and work as brothers outside Kenya how much more in our homeland!!

Outside Kenya we call ourselves Kenyans, in Kenya we call ourselves 'Luos', 'Kikuyus', 'Kambas', Kalenjins'... the list is endless. What does someone in his right senses make of this? "HYPOCRISY!" You scream, and I pat you on the back and smilingly tell you, "You've hit the nail on the head."

We are hypocrites, God forgive us. We always want to be molly coddled and told that we are on the right path. But in this matter we are wide off the mark.

Hello Kenyans. We are Kenyans whether Luo, Kikuyu, Nandi, Luhya, name it. We'll always be Kenyans. Let's behave, eat and live as Kenyans should. Let the strength of brotherhood be our bastion.

Let's elect people, not because they are Kikuyu, Luo, Kamba or any other tribe, but because they can steer us to the acme we aspire. The decisions we make today will go a long way in defining our lives and nationhood, whether rash or well-thought out!

Did I hear you smack your lips in dissatisfaction?

My plea: Let's treat each other as Kenyans. Treat fellow Kenyans as you would your beloved brother, sister, son or daughter: with love, respect and sincerity.

The prick that draws the line between life and death

A few weeks ago, in a movie theatre, a person felt something poking from her seat. When she got up to see what it was, she found a needle sticking out of the seat with a note attached saying "You have just been infected by HIV". The Disease Control Center (in Paris) reports many similar events in many other cities recently. All tested needles were HIV Positive.The Center also reports that needles have been found in cash dispensers at public banking machines.They ask everyone to use extreme caution when faced with this kind of situation; All public chairs/seats should be inspected with vigilance and caution before use; A careful visual inspection should be enough.

Recently, one doctor has narrated a somewhat similar instance that happened to one of his patients at the Priya Cinema in Delhi. A young girl, engaged and about to be married in a couple of months, was pricked while the movie was going on. The tag with the needle had the message "Welcome to the World of HIV family". Though the doctors told her family that it takes about 6 months before the virus grows strong enough to start damaging the system and a healthy victim could survive about 5-6 years, the girl died in 4 months, perhaps more because of the "Shock thought".

Quite a heart-rending account. It's harrowing, ain't it?

This guy said it just right (without spicing the whole shooting match!)

The other day I saw something in the news that confirmed something that I've been feeling all along.

A certain Diorus Kamala(Naibu waziri of EAC in Tanzania) has told Tanzanians not to freak as our three countries go into integration( an integration some Kenyans feel highly unlikely to materialise because of recent goings-on in Tanzania: literal dilly-dallying)

Most Tanzanians think and even are convicted that when the borders are opened then Kenyans and Ugandans will rake the gold from their very door steps, under their noses!

He has presented it as a challenge for Tanzanians to take up and work on. As he says," The employer will not look at where you are from, that is, whether you are Tanzanian, Kenyan or Ugandan. The employer will look at whether you can deliver the goods with the preciseness it deserves.

He's urged them to to equip their arsenal of expertise, skills and knowledge to be able to brave their way forward when push comes to shove.

As the bottom line he's told them to look beyond East Africa and see how they can fit in the global jig-saw puzzle as far as job opportunities are concerned.

One thing stands out quite conspicuously( in his speech): Put down all propaganda kind of mindsets in the East African issue. Work your way to the top and, basically, opportunities will smile at you afar off.

I fervently laud him for voicing this facet of thought so loud and clear for all East Africans to hear and act upon. Let's stop resting on our laurels and work our way up the ladder.

The drive, move and push in a fresh breath of words

Everyday we are in desperate need of the impetus to go that extra mile and advance in all that we are and do. Sometimes we feel we are incredibly deficient of the 'cutting edge' mettle that we hanker for.

Sample these quotations to get the drive...

1. Africa is not a poor continent; it is filled with people of poor mentality.
-Dr Handlie Leslie

2. One of life's greatest tragedies is that majority of the world's population is composed of individuals who have negotiated an agreement with mediocrity, signed a contract with the average and pledged allegiance to ordinary.
-Myles Monroe

3. If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and advice from the most successsful tramp I could find. If I wanted to become a failure, I would seek advice from people who have never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding and do as they have done.
-Joseph Marshal Wade

4. I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward.
-David Livingstone

5. You don't luck into things. You build them step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities.
-Barbara Bush (American First Lady, wife of President George Bush)

6. When the past wants to dominate your thoughts, let your dreams ignite your day.

7. If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
-Martin Luther King Jnr

8. A man could do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault with what he has done.

9. You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan and the will to see that plan through to the end.

10. Most men stop when they begin to tire. Good men go until they think they are going to collapse. But the very best know the mind tires before the body and push themselves further and further beyond all limits. Only when all these limits are shattered can the unattainable be reached.
You can be that bit better if you try.
Don't give up: do all that's in your power to perform.
Face each day positively. And give to the world the best that you have,
and the best will, definitely, come back to you.

This is heart-rending and pitiful (I know these words don't do justice to what you are about to read and see!)

...This is how she looked when she breathed her last

The other day I received a heart-rending email from a friend of mine. The story encapsulated in the mail is so touching that I've decided to post it here for your 'perusal'.
(The photo is a 'disturbing' one)

Here it is as sent to me by this friend of mine.

In Reference to the girl who infested over 124 masculines, I have the details from her for you to read through and know what happened thereafter and actually how she really looked when life was still available.

START!!

READ THIS......



RUINED LIVES

When I joined Moi University in September 2001, I promised myself "That it's in Moi University I got it and it's here I will leave it". I have indeed lived to keep my promise.

I was in Form Three when a student on his attachment in our school proposed for a relationship. He had all the qualities a woman would want in a man so I gave in. He told me all a form three girl would want to hear. In my innocence, I succumbed to his pressure to have sex with him, consequently, I lost my virginity to him.

After his placement, he reported to college for his final year and we still had contacts. I visited him on a number of occasions, (I've even lost count of the number of times I visited him). He was my first and only love and therefore hang on every word he told me.

My boy friend later graduated and we lost contact until last month (March) when his sister told me about his whereabouts (details of this later).

Before registration in the Faculty of Law, in PSSP, I went for medical tests as is the requirement. I then opted for an HIV test, which unfortunately turned out to be +ve. It then dawned on me that I had traded the rest of my life for a university student who had deliberately and intentionally preyed on my innocence.

My first impulse was to take my life, counseling sessions did not mean much to me and I quickly walked out of the session. I however did not confide my status to anyone until today.

The following day I went to a different Health facility and the results were still +ve. Therefore there was no doubt that I had been infected by this teacher-student. Since as the sister said, he had passed away after 6 months of being bed-ridden, besides, I had never had any other sexual relationship with anybody – No blood transfusion and the last time I used a syringe was in 1989.

Now, since whoever infected me did not mind about my life, I will also infect as many as possible as long as there are university guys oblivious of my status.

So guys, anyone of you out there who may have crossed my "path" should count himself unlucky and should quickly place an order for ARVs supply before it's too late!

I decided to spread the virus indiscriminately in the Campus, (and have no apologies), because it's here I got it and I intend to leave it here.

I've a well-documented report of all those guys who "crossed my path" since I joined this college. I will be posting their full names and registration numbers on the Students' Notice Board after the end of Sem. II Exams (August).

So far, I've had 124 students, yes one hundred and twenty four. Out of these, only 6, yes six used a condom.

I still reiterate the fact that I owe nobody an apology and am still on a spreading spree till August.

Otherwise, I wish you success in your end of First Semester exams as you wait for your slow and sure DEATH.

N.P.

( Guys pliz take care. You've got only one life and it's the most precious thing you've got!)

Tanzanians' Gripe

The other day I was in Tanzania on a a business mission. I travelled to the coast of the country and found myself in Bongo(this is swahili for brain.This is the name given to Dar es Salaam, the country's business hub, implying that you've got to use your brains to survive here).

This particular day was exceptionally hot(but I was made to understand that this was the 'normal' weather of the place). To avoid an 'involuntary' sun tan(what am I saying? My dark complexion beggars description!) I decided to spend some two or three hours in a certain restaurant before going about what had taken me to Dar es Salaam in the first place.

I took a table at a corner, ordered a drink and a local English daily. I nursed the drink as the contents of the daily paper gave my eyes something to look at.

My peace and quiet was 'forcefully' intruded upon by the voices of some three young men who sat at a table a few metres from mine. I folded the newspaper and furtively cast them a glance.

The threesome were well groomed and the subject of their engrossed conversation forced me to pay even more attention. One of them was saying: "There are so many Ugandans, Kenyans and Congolese in our country. They are taking up every opportunity that would have helped us Tanzanians." One of the other two interjected, "They are surely a pain in the ****!" We Tanzanians are like tourists in our own country." The last one quipped, rather rhetorically, "Most employers want to employ these guys. If it is school, we've gone to school and have an education. Maybe even a better education than most of those who come here. What do they have that we don't, anyway!"

By this time I was wide-eyed and straining my ears to get every word, fullstop, exclamation, all. I was to learn later that many a Tanzanian thinks on the same lines as these three guys. Their discussion of foreigners in their country is, most of the time, negative.

They see them(guys from other countries especially neighbouring ones) as people who've come to 'steal their opportunities'. This is highly unlikely. one can never steal an opportunity. An opportunity is taken advantage of. Simply 'lapped up'. opportunities are quite evasive 'creatures'. When they are not taken up the moment they present themselves, then the next thing is you realise they've done the disappearing act.

My word of advice to Tanzanians: If people from other countries do see the innumerable opportunities that your country has to offer, open your eyes and see them too! The more you continue complaining, the more you close your eyes to the opportunities.

Check out our sister blog...

Hi everynone. Pliz check out our sister blog on Career and Workplace.


Address: http://www.ritch-career.blogspot.com

Thanx.

Ghana's game nearly outsmarted the Brazilians but...

Watching Ghana playing Brazil last week in their Round of 16 match made me so proud of being an African. Their game was inundated with expertise, vim, vivacity and a host of good pointers that really spoke well of them. Of course, I don’t want to overlook the fact that they had a flaw in their finishing style. Yes, they got a number of very good chances of scoring but they wasted them due to their lack of finishing tricks. Does this speak to the whole of Africa and in essence tell us that we have so much to tighten if we are ever to do better than most of these so-called ‘world class’ teams? The answer is, of course, a big YES! No doubt about that.
Ghana’s newness to the world cup scenario also was a good pointer that this team has firm ‘guts’ to take on a team as good as Brazil.
After the tug-of-war of a match, some guy who was in the same room as I shouted, rather harshly, that Africa’s dreams had been dashed and that Ghana had let us down. I cast him a rather icy look and, unlike me, felt like slapping him right across his meaty face.
I was just about to open my mouth and try to put one or two points clear to him but decided against it. It would have been a waste of my breath.

Africans, Ghana did not let us down but rather elated our spirits that there are at least some teams in Africa that can do something good in Africa and for Africa.
Their strikers, goalie and defenders kept us at edge of our seats as we moved and swayed with the ball as it ‘fled’ from one corner of our screens to the other.
It was quite a match to watch; and a spectacle to behold.
As we prepare for World Cup 2010 in South Africa, the following are politic thoughts to ponder about:
• African teams need proper training in order to compete effectively in these games.
• African teams need exposure to occidental and oriental football in order to deal effectively with situations that present themselves at these games.
• Our coaches should be ‘state-of-the-art’ and with enough experience and know-how.
• We should not dwell too long in antediluvian ways of playing football. We should modernize our approach to the whole shooting match.
• Allocations for serious strategies should feature in our annual budgets: the stadiums and facilities should be up-to- date. What is happening now is that when African teams go for matches outside the continent they are overly mesmerized by the standards they find in their host countries. So, in essence, instead of playing they are left to rolling their eyes round and about trying to take in the whole scenery and bring it back to Africa! So they end up losing their matches!! {The only logical outcome given the situation}.

I am not a pessimist; neither do I enjoy pessimistic sermons. But I love the truth because it liberates and sets free. Truth be told, Africa has a long way to go as far as good football is concerned but that should not discourage us. We just need to be resilient, tenacious and ready to learn.

Africa 2010 will be a whole new experience. This is my ultimate dream. But a pessimist would say, “That would only happen if the sky opened and a miracle ‘dropped’ from heaven!” But I would quip, “Miracles are very much with us. Miracles do happen and are bound to happen to Africa, in Africa and for Africa!”

See you in the 2010 World Cup matches in South Africa.
Do you think Africa has a chance to show its ribs, brawn and form in the matches?
I need to hear from you…

ARTUR MARGARYAN, SARGASYAN

The guys with the move




For a time now the Kenyan media has been replete with the Artur saga: Artur this…Artur that…Artur here…Artur there.
These brothers clearly got themselves a following. What with the media and ‘celebs’ alike giving them celeb status that they did not deserve{or did they?}

I am made to understand that one of them, Artur Margaryan, was an arrogant type.
He was given to shooting off his mouth at every possible chance and delivering a cocktail of ‘blue blistering barnacles!’.

He was an amorous type too. His fling with Winnie generated heated public debate. We are told that he had a way with ‘them’ ladies. Anyway, I wouldn’t blame them for falling for his money {first thing} and then his looks {second thing}. And with some of us in financial and pecuniary handicaps who wouldn’t anyway.

Then followed their ‘abracadabra’ stunt at the airport {JKIA} that really made us doubt the security even at our very door steps. They had the effrontery to brandish a gun {or how many guns had they?} at one of the presumably well secured areas in our Kenya.

What security, therefore, do you expect at Kayole or Mathare, for instance?

But still they got state security and some top guys in the Kibaki government threw their weight round about them. One of them was Michuki {the guy with rattle snakes in his pockets} who said they were ‘genuine businessmen’. What mid summer madness!!

This guy said ‘…rattling a rattle snake’ after the Standard raid which left many a Kenyan crawling and slithering and steaming and breathless and…hissing!

He came up with a new one ‘genuine businessmen’. Maybe that’s how he viewed them {Arturs} but whom should we blame for his hindsight?

Anyway, all said and done, they were deported. But you and I know it only too well: this was a belated action…belated deportation…belated everything.

Good riddance to the Arturs and we hope this is the last we hear and/or see them. We are already tired of our ‘indigenous’ Arturs. There is no need for ‘expatriate’ ones. But that’s a story for another day.

Winnie, please don’t knife me for making such scathing remarks about your guy, Margaryan. Suffer me this once.

Hail Ghana, Hail Africa

Ghana's goalie Richard Kingson in a merry mood after his team beat the Czechs 2-0

Ghana did us proud yesterday after beating Czechoslovakia 2-0 in their world cup group match.
Sure enough I felt a surge of exhilaration and relief as those goals whizzed past the Czech goalie.
I know that's the same feeling that went down the spines of Africans in the continent and the world over.
Hail Ghana, Hail Africa.
We are with you every step of the way.
Beat the US and you'll have done us a whole world of good.

Climb up that mountain. Go for gold! Go, go, go for it guys... http://www.bigfoto.com/africa/ghana/ghana-80.jpg

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Stop this sleaze; it is driving us mad

Journalists and other media practitioners have their specific place in the society. Without them there would not be balance and justice.

They can and do highlight events. By exposing attempts to cover up criminal activity, they help to restore law and order. The aim of the law is activated and faithfully watched in the formidable spotlight of the media.
Thus the term ‘watchdog of society’ fits it[media] like a ring.

Be that as it may, there is a dark side. Media professionals can and do abuse their freedom some of the time.

Media organizations can and are tempted to peddle lust under the guise of news and entertainment. The so-called “soft porn” [say sexually arousing dancing in music videos] is so rife nowadays that it is just a way of life, thanks to media outlets.

Our streets are littered with countless numbers of publications, newspapers and all, that regularly carry splashes of bare-chested or half-clad women leaving little, if anything, to the imagination.

The centre-folds and subsequent pages carry stories and pictures that are aimed at stirring sexual desire in their faithful readers.

Readers just pay a pittance to make sure that they[readers] keep coming for more of this deleterious, sickening filth!

The very instruments that are the watch dog of the society are the first ones to corrupt the minds of the people they invariably claim to protect.

To protect from what?
To protect from injustice of any kind and manner.
To protect, the young and old alike, from information that would poison the mind.

To allow only the right, clean information to be channeled to the multiple audience stake holders so they can up their minds about what to think.

This is the tall order of the media.

Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens: always working for the good of the citizen; determined to stand on the roof tops and shout down any manner of moral vice – not trying to glorify the inglorious!

Pornography, in its raw and unexpurgated form, is being flaunted all around our towns courtesy of magazines, newspapers and the internet.

The outlets that release such stuff are increasing by the day. It leaves a question begging for an answer: is censorship an antediluvian, medieval idea that has no place in our present society? [Censorship in the sense of rooting out all manner of ignominy?].

I tend to think censorship is tricky business. In this age of freedom of expression, it is mind-racking to decide what should be blue-penciled and what should not.

The Late Pope John Paul’s Council for Social Communications summed it this way: “The presumption should always be in favour of freedom of expression, for when people follow their natural inclination to exchange ideas and declare their opinions, they are not merely making use of a right. They are performing a social duty.

“Freedom of expression is not an absolute norm. There are obvious instances – for example, libel and slander, messages that seek to foster hatred and conflict, obscenity and pornography, the morbid depiction of violence – where no right to communicate exists.”

The sure fire way to rid society of obscenity and pornography in our mainstream media outlets, that leave distorted minds in their wake, is for the government to use coercion in the censorship practice.

Pornography, in its every sense, makes horrid gaping holes in the right and correct perception of sex.

According to the National Coalition Against Pornography[NCAP], whose offices are in Nairobi, pornography affects all and sundry: men, women, children, marriages and society.
It corrupts and pollutes the invariable user such that impure thoughts constantly flood the mind.

Pornography depicts a woman’s value as solely to provide sexual gratification.

Early exposure to pornography may lead children to promiscuity, criminal sex or even bestiality.

Porn kills marriages. It creates unrealistic demands about sex frequency, specific styles/acts and a woman’s response to sex.

Porn endangers society. Statistics show that most rapists, child abusers and serial killers are insatiable porn consumers.

In these days of HIV/AIDS we cannot afford to continue basking in media ignominy that is otherwise known as entertainment. We have to forcefully extricate ourselves from this abyss. Surely, Africa, if we are to rise up against all odds, then we have to take matters of utter import seriously. Otherwise our children, marriages, youth and literally everything we are and have will forever be lost in this quick sand.

If the media lives up to what it should be, then the society represented will be a well-guarded one.

Someone once said: The press is the people’s university.
How very true. People of all walks glean snippets of knowledge and information from the press that go a long way in influencing them to form personal judgments and opinions.

Information that gives no hoot about moral credence breeds opinions and judgments of the same strain and nature. Journalists have a specific brief. Why should their special mandate be sacrificed on the altar of compromise and complacency?

Let’s take a stand on this and refuse to be blown about by every foreign wind that blows our way.
And that’s the bottom line.

Corruption: miry bog of all manner of scam in Africa

Corruption has been seen as the mainstay of African countries. Many African leaders have soiled their hands with it; Corrupt dealings and corrupt everything...

It pains me, especially, when I think of the many people whose hard-earned money is taken and used by corrupt officials. This is, as they say, to grease their hands so that whatever is being pursued can be accomplished in half the time.

But should people 'pay' for services that are their right to receive without paying for them?

There is also what we call 'high-level' corruption.
This one takes place in the background. This is to say,the players in this game are well cushioned against any kind of detection, especially by the man in the street.

This is corruption that takes place in the 'high' offices; and the stakes in this game are big time!
Paper, pen and computer files do all the 'stealing' of precious tax payers 'coins'.

This really hurts the common man who has entrusted his 'life' to the leaders who engage in such kind of turpitude.

This is the same feeling that drove me to 'scribble' the poem below when I heard and read about the Anglo Leasing scam Kenya recently.


In the days of yore kenyans' political ken suffered such dearth,
Political simulation, stimulation incomprehensible,
Legion political 'achilles heels' looming large in stormy seas,
Such was the tune, of such no panacea promised respite.
With the advent of a new regime,
Political turbulence 'seemed' to be 'burnt to a frazzle',
Hodge-podge politicking was thrown out the window,
Magnified promises to the masses graced the billboards.

Time flew fast and with it came a 'new' breeze,
A recrudescence of past ills set in on our soil,
Power wrangling, 'power fisticuffs' so to speak,
Were replete in our mainstream press.

Then it came our way, a giant two-headed bug,
As it set in, a loud bang ensued,
Then silence, a silence reminiscent of a calm in a storm,
The 'eye of the storm' spinning in murderous frenzy.

Everything in disarray, in shambles,
As the bug wend its way into the coffers,
Lining many a ministers insatiable pocket,
With dollars, pounds, Euros, shillings.

Anglo Leasing's the giant bug,
That has sucked the blood of the 'common mwananchi',
It 'engulfed' my hard-earned supper yesterday,
And cast me a look that bespoke penury in my posterity.