Sunday, December 30, 2007

...na itaendelea

horror can not describe what i saw on TV these past few hours. but i was rudely reminded of when unknown people took control of my car at gun point drove me roughly into a dark , cold and wet forest and then proceeded to rob me of everything i had including my wedding ring; a priceless band which i had won for so many years. the robbed election victory and the hasty swearing in at state house was to me a reminder of that grave night and a sign that such evils will continue with impunity and that my word, need or wish and that of millions of other kenyans will never be respected in this country.

its time to mourn

...na itaendelea

horror can not describe what i saw on TV these past few hours. but i was rudely reminded of when unknown people took control of my car at gun point drove me roughly into a dark , cold and wet forest and then proceeded to rob me of everything i had including my wedding ring; a priceless band which i had won for so many years. the robbed election victory and the hasty swearing in at state house was to me a reminder of that grave night and a sign that such evils will continue with impunity and that my word, need or wish and that of millions of other kenyans will never be respected in this country.

its time to mourn

Friday, December 28, 2007

They tasted blood

in the short story Tekayo, grace ogot told of the mzee who ate a strange liver he got by shooting down a hawk. the hawk had a piece of meat which the mzee then roasted and ate. the taste was far better than anything he knew and he spent the next months looking for a similar taste without success. however he one time killed one grandson and tasted the liver, he found it to be exact match. from there , a cannibal was born!

well thats rather extreme example, but i couldnt find anything with which to compare the kenyan voter. the anger is palpable. yesterday, i got the westlands primary school queue at spring valley. and that was about midday. the line was that long but voters just kept patient and waited for their turn to vote. the same story was replicated almost everywhere in the country. last night the results started trickling in as painfully slow as ever. but with them came news of massive retrenchment of ministers, MPs even a vice president!

for some, i expected but for most am utterly shocked like mwiraria, kagwe, nyachaye, kombo, kirwa! surely; qu'est ce qui se passe!?

but Rift valley is leading in their brutality showing no respect for the have-never-lost professor of politics. all his sons went by the sword reminding one of King Saul in the old testament. others were total man and paul sang

the kenyan voter tasted the sweet blood of the heartless MPs and presidents for the first time in 2002, and they are showing relentless thirst for more.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Xmass

Merry Xmass to all bloggers , readers, contributors and all Kenyans everywhere. our hearts go to those who have lost their lives, their relatives, friends or/and acquaintances over this festive season in road accidents, campaign violence or car jacking . May the good Lord bless you and keep you and may his light shine upon you

Monday, December 17, 2007

late toast

something went unnoticed or maybe lets say something went unfeted. the NSE finaly truly electronic and via WAN and thereby paved the way for online trading of shares at the bourse. It really does make me proud to be kenyan. and as that was going on, MSC shares were finally uploaded in the accounts and are now available for trade. the prices will go down temporarily as the market reacts to oversupply but thats no cause for alarm, the firm is putting they multi billion project on full gear. things are looking up

Thursday, December 13, 2007

interesting show at alliance

the comedy or is it tragedy of the Narc administration (Kibaki leadership) from its founding days before the 2002 poll through the historic loss in '05 to date is captured equally comically at the alliance francais de Nairobi. the published cartoons from leading caricaturists from Paul kelemba to my man favorite Gathara. its actually history in the eyes of the artists and its very aptly captured. a new artists whom i did not quickly recognize from his signature has very comically captured PNU's campaign strategy. they have a seemingly iconic statue of Raila surrounded by PNU strategists, vomiting on it , throwing dirt and all sorts of things on the statue. as if to mean that PNUs manifesto only offers kenyans Raila bashing and no more.

and more is going on for artists, the newly opened wasinii restaurant is very tastefully decorated. with real nice table designs and great ambiance. but the fact that the packing is charged so highly may deny them customers. who wants to relax in a pub knowing full well that at the end of his 'rest' he will pay more at the gate. otherwise the patronage is still many young and aspiring thespians all of whom turned to look at me when i entered the joint.

for better relaxation maybe you try the new sherlocks inn at the nakumatt lifestyle. maybe they read my blogs and have greatly changed the place. its beautifully decorated and have hot rods band performing only that the paint is still fresh and quite revolting.

back to arts , you can catch Eric Wainaina's production Lwanda the Gheto story at the breaburn. and if you pay for that you get another musical completely free! Heartstrings ensemble is also preparing their show 'Please call me starting this weekend. Tax for either shows : 500 /= only

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

brain v/s brawn

one would argue that its only the curse on Britain in the recent past to lose everything they want dearly as far as sports is concerned that contributed to the demolition of their great hope, the much hyped 'Hitman' Hatton last Saturday. the strong nation have lost a rugby world cup, UEFA champions slot, cricket test matches, car races, IRB series (to kenya of all the people!) and even the loud mouthed Morinho!

However watching the fight of the decade the other day, it was clear that the Briton was upto a very skillful fighter. in fact to me the most skilful i have ever seen. it reminded me of a fight between a merekat and a cobra. the american let his challenger do all the work. exhausting himself by running around the ring, throwing seemingly dangerous heavy punches which did not land on any target. meanwhile mwayweather, would hit Hatton's face at will with sharp heavy punches. after the 3rd round the briton was wasted. in fact i was surprised that he survived those punches till the 10 round. all those loud mouthed brittons who thronged the arena chanting as if it was a soccer match were dumbfounded. but the challenger paid tribute to the best in the world for handing another defeat to deflate further an already wilting national pride.

but to me the fight was a great lesson on how to defeat raw power. unbridled ferocious charge of energy!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Kuresoi

I stand accused and i plead guilty. my head is bowed in screaming shame. my heart bleeds and i feel my shoulders hanging weak in the air coz my bones want to flee. no one wants to be part of this failure.

I went to a place called maela past olenguruone just after finishing school. a friend of mine from that area had suggested that i would make a perfect teacher (somehow i was a star back in college days) and he wanted me to teach the young people in his home area. it was a long bumpy ride but the landscape was to die for . literally. the rolling land, the green country side, the sweet smell of fertility and humus in the air was unspeakable.

after the long ride we arrived in a catholic church where i was to teach. we were welcomed very warmly by an old white catholic priest. he loved me at once. my friend introduced me well and stated his desire. the priest took a long deep breath sighed and then asked us to take a bath. we would talk after dinner.

after dinner the priest looked at me with rather a long face, i knew things weren't well. he said he liked me alright and had heard about my faith and participation in the church. (my friend had been the chairman of our church group) he also liked my grades but he would not allow me to work there. he said the situation was very fluid. the security was bad and my not knowing either of the local language would put me in a very bad situation. so the following day they both escorted me to the bus to get back to my relatively secure place at the lake side

that was about a decade ago. elections had been done. but the volatility continued unabated. it was the time when the kikuyus around kerio valley were taken to the crocodile infested river kerio and ordered to jump in. (river kerio is a deep gorge river with very steep banks. you cant climb out) there was a sad tale about one young man who landed on a rock so the crocs did not get him at first. when help came, the people threw a rope down to him. but when he was being pulled out one crocodile got hold of his leg and there ensued a struggle between his rescuers and the beast down. of course it was no fairy tale and the corodile won.

this year the situation looks worse. i have since started a blog. yet in all these times, have given Kuresoi a huge silence. for that matter, like the catholic fathers taught me, i have sinned by ommision, by silence and by burying my head in the sand.

however the situation in kuresoi, mt elgon etc are a crying shame to all of us who have chosen to be buried in the politics of hatred, in the business of investments and so on.

Monday, December 03, 2007

good times beget hard times

the woes that come with a strong currency continued to be felt across the board. the trend globally has been to weaken home currencies in order to make exports attractive. but for a net importer with huge foreign debts, maybe strengthening the currency would work better. however today bdafica already reports that property owners are up in arms over the losses attributed to currency fluctuations. those who pay their rents in dollars are laughing all the way while their landlords cry foul.

but am not sure whether KQ is also suffering the same fate. However if word going around is anything to go by then it appears they just flew into turbulent winds. a colleague of mine tells me of a flight where KQ promised them continental breakfast only to be served with tea and bread. the entertainment unit wasn't working and the ambiance was stuffy. many are the stories doing rounds that their domestic flights keep on getting canceled at the last minute and passengers shifted to other carriers. some people suggest they are facing the problem of uchumi (unbridled expansion) while others contend that the cost cutting measures were too extreme and have therefore compromised service.

and while that is going on, nation media group may be facing a second readers boycott in 3 years. the last time readers boycotted the paper was in 2005 when they were accused of open bias towards the yellow team. the group had to do intensive door to door marketing to regain lost ground. but it seems the managers never learnt and this year they are even worse in their bias towards one side. maybe the senior managers know where the bread is buttered and also it would be better to lose a few of shareholders profits then see a brother lose an election!

Finally i got this unsolicited advice from a shrewd broda. if you have a few shillings to spare, keep it till January when poll losers will wake up to the reality of school fees, rent arrears, debts and all their relatives. at that time they will find it easiest to dispose of their fuel guzzlers for a song. then like a scavenger, that will be your time to strike and hard!!!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Shillingi ya Kenya

the other day, a friend who works abroad and remits loads of money to help his extended family and friends back home (he actually runs the family remotely) asked me what magic the government had performed in the last few weeks to make the shilingi ya Kenya to rally so hard. i gave just two suggestions one being the Hellios deal and the other the telkom deal. i even suggested to him that if he thought things were bad then he should wait for the mother of all IPOs plus the aftermath. since all expectations is that the thing will be massively subscribed by foreigners. i doubt if they will want their money back when they fail to get their allocations. meaning their money will be floating around waiting for the secondary market. if that happens and the CBK holds its ground then the shilling may become ever much stronger.

the poor guy is crestfallen coz that means he digs deeper. but today on reading the business daily, it appears that my answer to the guy was rather simplistic. there may be many other issues in the cards. i have argued before that since we are a net importer of goods and services including education (imported even from Uganda) we are better off with a strong currency. but again thinking of those many kenyans in diaspora and the kenyan farmers, as well as tourism industry, one cant help but hope for the good (bad) old days when the shilling was approaching 100 to the dollar.

but what is happening to fuel? how come its not respecting our currency?

however for me sometimes, i forget about the issues business and just go to issues purely aesthetic. i think there is something soul lifting about having a strong currency or is it just me?

Sunday, November 25, 2007

..the leaders we deserve

Now the nomination ghost has been laid to rest and those who won(lost) have their names of the priced paper. but in most places some question beg for answers. does PNU, the president , its leaders and all those supporters really , truly and professionally and honestly believe that Langata constituency would be served better by either Livondo who cannot read even a simple written sentence, or Waruinge whom everyone knows is guilty of senseless murders, car jacking, violent rapes, extortion and the like better than Raila Odinga? or is it just hatred? are they only out to show for a fact that hatred is the strongest force in Kenya. stronger far than even love? That they would rather the devil reins than have Raila back in parliament or as president?

What of in westlands? that the architect of the goldenberg, which to date is one of the largest known financial scams in the country, will better serve the interest of the people?


The people of Kieni showed the way loud and clear. when they rejected Murungaru who had stained the name of the president so badly as well as stain their (Kieni people) own name. they were loud in walking the talk. by rejecting Murungaru even though he was close to the president, the Kieni electorate showed much more teeth that the obscenely paid KACC officials.

Ugenya people wanted to give the same lesson. they opted to reject Ondiek who misused CDF so. and also Orengo who has taken the people for a ride for so many years. the man only comes to campaign two weeks to the elections. after which he disappears completely. nothing happens in between. and indeed he will be beaten fair and square!

Am sorely disappointed that those funny characters got the nod of top party officials including the should be gentleman Kibaki. Am hoping that The langata people would do us proud and defeat hatred come the 27th elections

am hoping that the same maturity will be replayed in all places and that people who become politicians will learn to respect Kenyans once and for all.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Disaster!

I have been struggling to find a suitable headline for this post since last Friday. that would explain why its coming almost 4 days late.

the things that were done by the so called political parties in the past 3 days to me have neither description nor a name. from Ugenya where 29 year old Steve Mwanga who won by a near landslide even though his name was mysteriously missing from the ballot paper and was later 'disqualified' to Kuria where Chacha Mwita was denied the certificate, got it then lost it again in a span of 24 hours the thing was unspeakable and am not disappointed, am angry.

Dan shikanda was robbed in broad daylight in makadara as was Amin walji in westlands, Barak Muluka in khwisero and so on. the 'nominations' were difficult to conduct first because it was being done by amateurs we understand but then why on earth did they set the final day as the day for it? that in itself was a sign of intent to rig. PNU used the services of the experienced and organized ECK but after the verdict was out, they shamelessly altered the results without a tinge of guilt and handed the losers the priced certs. and the council member one Mr. Nyamweya had the audacity to threaten Safina which had offered the aggrieved parties some sort of lifeline.

but anyway why am i foaming in the mouth? Mr Moi had one time said that KANU iko na wenyewe. which meant that democracy was as strange in that party as an igloo in kenya. the truth be told, we hardly have any political parties in kenya and the events of the weekend rightly point so. to start with, the voters should remember that they were not required to have a membership card. meaning that they did not have a say. anyone was welcome to walk in and vote as long as you were a kenyan above 18. so it means that we dont have a choice really. either put up, shut up or step! these parties have their owners.

but in Nyanza, true to their nature, the voters took kajwang's song literally and refused to sleep. they showed that '...mapambano bado yako' they refused to be used to rubber stamp those chaos in the name of nominations and insisted that the genuine winners must be re-instated. the party HQs have relented but may be as they say alea jecta est.

am sad for Mwanga. he was a beacon of hope in ugenya whose politics have been ruined by one man and his brother in law for miaka nenda miaka rudi. the man has done a lot for the people, with the people and through the people despite his youth. but my good old friend Kodhek once told me that you cannot stop a young person whose will is strong and is on his way to success. there must still be hope for Ugenya, Mwanga and others like him.

however every cloud has a silver lining and the events proved one Kalembe Ndile right that you dont need a degree to succeed in life (or maybe life in kenya) all you need is a party called TIP to rescue powerful losers and weak winners

Monday, November 19, 2007

Matiba

Seeing Kenneth Njindo Matiba last week presenting his papers almost evoked tears in my eyes. the man who in his years was an organizational, business and political masterpiece was a crying shame as he struggled to get his way to the ECK. and he could not read the pledge let alone sign his papers. yet 15 years after he was literally rigged out of victory by a combined force of Mwai Kibaki and Moi, the man says he feels much better. actually Matiba always says he is much better every time he comes on TV. Kibaki was tactfully sent out by Moi at that time to make sure Matiba never won the election, the remaining votes were stolen, Oginga was confined after FORD split and the rest was history.

yet some bloggers are now blaming ODM for matiba's re-emergence. but probably the man is simply bitter, that the man who made him this poor and sick is comfortably back at the helm with Kibaki the other man who denied him the win. When one sees Matiba in this state and reads about his battle with auctioneers, one cant help but remember moi in his peak as the devil incarnate. But siasa is funny. politicians quickly forgive and forget when it suits them and now even those who suffered with Matiba like Koigi wa wamwere are singing praises of Moi and insulting the other second liberation hero Raila Odinga. Wamwere's case was a sad one that led to his mother striping naked at Uhuru park to secure his release. yet now Moi enjoys all the state resources as the pseudo-president at the expense of heros like Matiba

in fact his situation is a true mockery of the honor our heros pledge. and even Dedan Kimathis statue in town is nothing. or is it that heros are only once they die?

to me the surprise appearance of Matiba was a call to reflection of the collective conscience of the people of Kenya and a strong reminder that ours is a guilty nation that has persistently ignored her true heros and rewarded collaborators and tyrants of yesteryears from as far back as independence.

Friday, November 16, 2007

24 hour business

Nakumatt has extended their 24 hour chain of supermarkets to nakumatt downtown. now 4 stores including eldoret household, ukay and prestige will be open 24 hours every day. and that concept has seen uchumi too extend their open hours to 10PM from 7:30 at least at the sarit. tuskys has also done the same. this is a relief given the stress of traffic during day hours. the only fear now is security which is a big pain everywhere in kenya and nairobi in particular. however it wont be so new since these mega stores are only joining the likes of kenchic fastfoods (actually dancing chicken) on the 24 hour economy. other sectors which have been making money in these are matatus especially the jogoo road bound, kahawa west and langata routes not to mention entertainment joints like f1&2. those that never say sleep!

but one area that cries for this concept is the port of Mombasa, its sad that with all that congestion and delays which cost traders and other importers billions of shilling in missed opportunities as well as storage costs, the port gates still close at 5PM and only open at 8. one time, my consignment was stopped at the gate ostensibly because the clock had struck 5 and the gate keeper bolted! turning the busy port to be open 24 hours daily would also greatly increase the number of jobs available and probably this would be the best place for Kalonzo to start implementing his 24hour economy.

and so be it, wonders of elections never cease, the other day i went to town and could hardly believe my eyes. the hawkers are not pledging their votes for nothing. the guys are back in swarms bigger far than locusts. every parking space, every pavement, even road spaces have been 'chalked' up by the traders. and as before they are selling anything you can imagine. 'you need it? we got it' the shopkeepers who pay an arm and a leg for the ground floor shops are crying foul. but the common mwananchi is happy since these guys dont have to pay tax, nor rent nor elec nor water. so their goods are dirt cheap so to speak.

however the crafty wahindi have known how to beat the election madness. they are giving the traders their goods for free then these guys pay in the evening or when they want more goods. the downside however is that the city that one John Gakuo struggled to beautify and keep clean is now turning to a city in the garbage just as before.

but it really doesn't matter, these guys have just about 2 months to make their hay while the campaign sun shines as they will be ruthless bundled out of town after casting their valuable votes.

million dollar question of the month: Why is it that neither South African businesses nor managers ever make it in Kenya?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

value systems and insult systems

My first job in Nairobi 'jimbo' was as a computer teacher at graffins college sometimes in the late nineties. at that time, computer teachers were very much respected people, i was teaching some very simple things really like Microsoft word, excel etc. i was still quite young but my students were bit older people some from some tough offices. i remember one particular woman who took some rather uncomfortable though quite flattering liking for me. she would have some odd excuses to remain behind after class and have me hold her hand while she tried to use the mouse. it was my job to also teach the students how to hold and move the mouse anyway. well when we got rather close with this woman she started talking to me a lot about her family, her village and so on. at one point she said she wanted me to visit her people back in tigania . the only thing she feared was that i may not have been circumcised and if that were true then her dad would not have me spend the night with the other boys. i would be asked to sleep in the same hut with the goats since by their standards i was a kid. she said a lot of sorrys for saying that , which really puzzled me. it didn't matter to me whether or not someone called me a kid on the account of a loose skin. in fact by our value system, the only thing that bothered me was the prospect of being seen with this seemingly old woman. how would i introduce her to anyone who knew me. by the value systems of the place where i was born and brought up, its abominable for a young man to consort with such an old woman. i was even mortified that she had such suggestions. but to her all that mattered was my uncut status!

that was strange for me since i was a fresh college graduate and was meeting that thinking for the first time. back in college i had met many people but all that mattered was who was able to show the others how to work out calculus , Ordinary differential equations, molarity, probability and statistics and so on. the fairer sex treated all the young men the same and the man with the toughest tongue and sweetest style won the day.

be that as it may, the statement of the lady just reminded me of the time the white men came to Africa and hurled all sorts of insults. chief among them was the claim that Africans were pagans, primitive and uncultured. did that insult matter to Africans? not at all. why because, Christianity was not yet accepted in Africa so 'pagan insult' was as foreign as was Christianity western education was also lacking but there were other forms of education . thirdly most African things were very procedural, methodical and thus very cultural. after all culture is just a way of doing things. that our culture was different to theirs did not warrant an insult.

what am pointing here is that insults only work if value systems are shared. for instance, in my village i would feel really hurt if someone called me a thief, liar, coward,thug or a fool. but it will mean nothing to me to be called kihii, uncut, etc. in this country, i have traveled wide and i have met people who only need to mutilate their organs in order to be accepted in their communities. it doesn't matter whether they are rapists, murderers, rogues or just plain saints. all that matters is the genital mutilation for both men and women.

back to the woman from tigania, i never got to go to Tigania, she feared for me but it never mattered to me that i never went. i also never got to do any damage to my body in order to go after all i was already more than two decades old in this state and a proud father of two!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

a nice week on november

this past week i have spent some considerable amount of time with a large American dude. What do those guys feed on back there. anyway, the guy is generally a gentle giant and was quite a company. in the short time is i have probably heard the most number of 'thank you' , 'sorry to bother you' ,'appreciated','awesome','amazing' , 'extra ordinary' and other soul lifting words in any one sitting in my life. but one other thing that made me jivunia kuwa mkenya was how the gentle giant appreciated the cup of coffee or tea each time he took one. and went on and on about just how nice the drink felt. at one point i had to take a special cup of tea just to try and get that feeling he was getting but to me it was the same old tea.

elsewhere, MSC price has dropped a massive 67% to 14 or has it? many people both in the office and elsewhere have been asking me whether its not time to sell. my simple answer has been that this is not time to sell anything. its actually a great time to buy anything. why? since for many reasons, people are selling. those who don't have confident in ODM government prospects as well as those who want to liquidate their shares to fund elections, manage inflation etc.
However on the other hand MSC is at the point of investing. any company which is in the process of expansion offers the best buy decision. you are meant to sell when a company is maturing and ripe. secondly, the price of MSC hasnt dipped, what has happened is that investors have treated the bonus as a split. so in real terms the price is still 14 x 3 = 42

another good news is that PNU has finally bitten the bullet and embraced majimbo after all. reminds me of my kids.
and now that all parties will embrace majimbo i think am spoilt for choice.

and belatedly, if you are a member of any sacco then you may want to consider participating in the private placement of CIC insurance company. the firm is being sold at quite a good discount.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

in flight entertainement

the nice kenwood stereo that was thuged in thugland hasn't been replaced to date, the downside of that has been that riding in the car has been really drab and i have received both formal and informal complaints from my pre-teen daughters about it. the innocence of childhood hasn't helped matters since they wonder how come i am not acting well yet i have an ATM card. all i have to do is rush to anyone of them and draw the cash then buy new stereo. however maybe due to age, am becoming rather conservative and i have been looking for an original 3-in-one kenwood stereo from my cars vendor. the local dealers told me that would cost me a tidy sum of 60K if they are to import it for me, after that i would pay the government of national unity their VAT and car would be back with its entertainment

"but again the upside of the absence has been that i nolonger have to listen to bursted, or mwalimu kingangi or nyambane, maybe i miss the waumini choirs and the golden mix of simba fm sisi ni wewe! but in the mornings and evening, another form of entertainment has taken the place of the radio. my two nursery school kids have filled this void so well, am having second thoughts about the stereo. the entertainment is quite varied, spontaneous and never repeated. today it started with a billboard with bata's safari boot.

the boy exclaimed; "my shoe! look at my shoe"
the sister corrected, "its not your shoe"
"its mine, look at even the laces"
the sister stood her ground; "its not your shoe, it cant fit you, its too big"
"al tell dad that you are saying thats not my shoe"
"and i will tell mum that you said am in 'nyonyo class'
if you tell her, i will tell dad that you did not finish your food!"
"dont talk to me am not your friend and i will not bakisha for you my break!"

"am not talking to you me am looking at Kibaki in that big picture"
"its not kibaki its the president"
"no raila is the people's president even see its written over there"

Shock these kids can read billboards at this age! i need a refund from my teachers i was not able to read till i was well into primary school!

"stop talking to me!!!"

at this point mum who is the co-driver wants to intervene since its becoming too hot. she wants to separate the waring parties, so she suggests i stop the car and we get one kid transfered to the front seat. i respond that our car is not ready for majimbo , those guys will resolve their differences amicably in a round table! mum is says its not majimbo but 'utenganishaji', i say the change of name wont fool us, its still majimbo , the pre-teens are quite bothered, and am forced to relent. but before i can even hit the indicator to signal intention to stop, an excited scream from the rear jimbo "Mr Marangi! look at mr marangi" and the two former warlords start reciting the marangi advert rather animatedly. so no need to introduce majimbo and we proceed. at the round about another chorus;

"our car. dad that guy is driving our car!"

others burst out laughing but inside am happy that peace has been restored. there has been an IPPG kind of thing and the hitherto potentially dangerous scenario has cooled off

You see kids are like politicians, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends. but at this point we have reached the school and i must let off the 'car theater. i hate it since now i must go back to boredom and all those negative thoughts like the fact that rent-paying-time has arrived a reminder that 8 odd years into gainful employment am yet to get my own digz and that when i get from work, i have to park this road master in front of someone else's house!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

generational gaps

there was this time, i got a visit by my young sister-in-law. just before going away, she asked to be taken out (for a dance) and her sister gave us the approval. so we set out with her in great anticipation. just the two of us. I didn't know what kind of dance she would like so, i acted like a good gentleman and asked her about her favorite music. she said she liked local music. that was good , i knew just where i would get great local music and a great crowd too! so we drove straight there and went ahead to have a great evening or so i thought. however after she went is when her sister told me how bored my sister-in-law had been than night. asking how come, she said "it was because you took her to dance to very old music and in any case its not what she had told you". but but, the music we were dancing to by the likes of dola kabarry, musa juma are the newest, in fact they are hot from the pan! but no, the issue was that i did not understand what the girl had meant by local. local musicians to her meant nonini, jua kali, nameless and such like characters! so i learnt my vital lesson that a simple term such as 'local' can have such different meanings to people separated by less than a decade age difference. i wonder which other terms would have very great difference in meanings to people separated by jubilees of age differences

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

the shy , the bold and the offensive

Kenya is normally divided into 3 distinct sections during any major decision making such as elections. normally there are those who are bold and pushy about what they want. then there are the offensive and emotional. this group never talks coherently about what they want, they rather normally just choose to insult the other group and say why that group must not be given what they are yearning for. then there is normally a 'third force' the middle ground group who never makes their stand known. they normally lurk in the alleys waiting to jump onto the winning wagon. this group is also a very clever group and normally offers their allegiance to the highest bidder! I hate the middle ground group.

the referendum debate was a very unfair debate and never gave the middle grounders a chance. you either ate orange or went bananas. i enjoyed it.

but there is another group i left out 'kimaksudi' , the shy group who have a stand but would not want anyone to know since they have been scolded or told that they are future leaders. some have even been told that decision making in kenya is a dirty game and must be left to dirty people. this shy group is large and have directly been responsible for letting things get out of hand. even though most of the pple in this group are very well educated, professional or successful in business and academia, they have continued to 'sin' by omission and watch as mostly 'dirty' men run this country down the drain.

it was for this reason that i supported the MPs for increasing their salaries and allowances and making the position very lucrative and attractive. my hope was that some of the shy people would be jolted into positive action. this country badly needs their leadership and insight!

My appeal to bloggers be they investment bloggers, entertainment or whatever is to make their stand known and make this country the nation we want it to be. it doesn't help to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that things will work themselves out. its also foolhardy to run to other democracies such as USA, UK, SA and the like and state that you will never be back until we back here sorted out the mess. those nations are the way they are due to the hard work that all their citizens embarked on and their resolve to make their lives better. they agreed to get their hands dirty. As they say; the grass is greener the other side since thsoe people scythe their sod!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Of kisses and churches

When i came to Nairobi to look for a job (since there was no majimbo), i enlisted to act with phoenix players theater at the professional center. it had always been my dream. the good old Jemo who was the director gave me a complementary ticket to the show that was going on at the time in order for me to appreciate the standard of plays. the show was titled 'Fools' staring Ian Mbugua. it was a hilarious comedy and every line caused roars of laughter. but the underlying message was very strong. the story was about a city on which a curse had been cast. the curse made everyone in the city very foolish. the curse would only be broken when the mayor's only daughter got married and received her first kiss.

Now that was where the plot thickened. the beautiful daughter was engaged alright but she could neither get married nor get that powerful kiss. why? because of the fool curse. the fiance could not get himself to do the noble thing and even the girl had very funny answers to every one of his proposals. so the city lived with their 'fools curse' until one day a foreigner who was supposed to be the girls teacher came to town. he fell 'foolishly in love with the girl and even though he was told about the history of the city and the curse, and even the edit that only the fiancee could marry the beautiful daughter of the king, this teacher defied all that and one day, completely unable to contain himself, pounced on her and kissed her very passionately.

The curse was broken. 'wajinga wakaerevuka!' the fools experienced a sudden surge in intelligence and wisdom. one notable thing that happened was that the mayor's wife set up several businesses. she became so organized that even her husband had to book an appointment to see her and so on


in the present kenya, i cant help but draw a parallel with that story. it reminds me on a guy who went to a party called KANU and 'Kissed' the party. the hitherto loyal followers of the party leader suddenly became fiercely independent and one of them is even running for president this year even though his former leader had declared that no one in the party was fit to be a president. not even his friend. at that time they had clapped and cheered him when he made that statement. while the rest who used to follow their leader so loyally are now charting their own cause. in fact i was shocked to hear them say on TV. 'Hiyo support yake kwa rais ni yake binafsi!

moral of the story : Never kiss strangers!


and as that was happening, one Hon Bill Ruto who is a non catholic reminded me ; a staunch catholic, that the catholic church of which John Njue is cardinal is governed through majimbo!

and he is so right. since Njue is coming to Nairobi to head the Jimbo Kuu la Nairobi. where i was born and brought up, we were under the Jimbo Kuu la Kisumu. there are also Jimbo Kuu la Nyeri, and Mombasa. there are other smaller jimbos like Jimbo la Nakuru, machakos, Eldoret, Kakamega etc. Ruto went on to ask Njue how come those majimbos of the catholic church have never caused tribal wars!

Meanwhile, the clashes in mount Elgon are going on unabated as are the ones in kuresoi and parts of eastern province even without majimbo. no pastoral letter has been sent to Kibaki to condemn these clashes. during Moi's time, the catholic church used to issue pastoral letters criticizing the govt every time they heard any small sob or sniff anywhere in the country.

moral of the story: Sin aint sin if your friend commits it!

Friday, October 26, 2007

debut blunders

When former Arch Bishop (now cardinal designate) Njue was appointed by the pope some time this month, i got a call from a very unlikely source. it was a writer with nation business daily. i had known him before at a friendship level. but this time when he called he told me it was purely business. he wanted to know the reaction of a staunch catholic at the occasion of Kenya getting her second cardinal. Well i said it was a great thing but appointment of cardinals was a prerogative of the pope in rome just as ministers were appointed by the president. but he wanted to know the significance and whether that would excite catholics and rejuvenate the faith in kenya. i said that i was not sure. but i wanted to compare Njue with the late Michael Cardinal Otunga. the church in kenya has been following on the beatification of the late cardinal and faithfuls have been asked to report any incidences of successful intercessions (prayers answered after praying through the late cleric) i hear a number have been reported so far. but why have kenyans even tried to do that? because Otunga was unique and fiercely religiuos. we remember him at uhuru park together with muslims burning condoms, we remember his rigid stand against any form of abortion, stand against rights abuses and so on. but we also remember that Otunga was a rare kenyan breed who not only corrected Moi in the pastoral letters but also on his face. he was not the type to juggle issues and double speak. so how different was the new cardinal? Kenyans still did not know his firm stand on moral issues. we only knew his stand on political issues. in any case he had shown more than once his partisan stance. so i concluded to my caller that Kenyans may not find as much excitement on his appointment as what Otunga used to generate and it remained to be seen if kenyans would hold him in such a high esteem.

on telly the same day, Njue did not disappoint me. he was there on his first public appearance declaring his stance on an emotive and divisive issue as majimbo. one would have thought that he would have given it more thought or addressed it more soberly. after all majimbo was never contentious and was in all the 3 draft constitutions including the wako draft which the catholic fathers told us at that time to support

He however repeated it yesterday flanked this time by other catholic fathers. according to him, kenya needs to grow up first as a united nation before thinking of majimbo. question is, how long is old enough. kenya is 43 years old already and we are worse off than in '63. and again what is a united nation to me and you? what does a united nation mean? as at now if you are in marakwet, or turkana, you cannot believe you are in kenya. similarly if you are from nairobi's western side, and you happen to visit mwingi, you would not believe you are touring the same country. but why? cause of skewed resource allocation.

the bishops said majimbo will bring tribalism. ok i know these bishops lead a very sheltered life and they probably dont know that majimbo will not bring tribalism, coz tribalism has been here for very long and it has become worse. we see it everywhere, in jobs, churches, trade, campaigns resource allocation etc. am told even when kenyans go abroad they still stick to their tribesmens and women only and in the US of A , certain cities are know to have only certain tribes. Even the dishing out of districts is glaringly tribal. in fact the next best thing would be to turn these tribes , into administrative units. the BEE and affirmative action in south africa can loosely be termed as official tribalism.

so i was disappointed at cardinal's first public announcement. instead of hitting at majimbo, i think we were better off talking about tribalism and giving practical examples of how to tame the vice now instead of scare mongering. But churches have always avoided talking against tribalism. the only pastor i swa boldly attacking the vice was the same old pastero of the House of grace church.

However during the debate in newsline yesterday, the two former commissioners gave majimbo debate a very sober approach and they suggested that kenyans address the fears that the majimbo debate generates so that we can adopt it since according to them, majimbo was currently the best and only way to ensure equitable distribution of our national resources

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

goodies!

Ati rarieda district! Kibaki sure is a comedian. ok before you am hit with thousands of anti-me punches. who thought rarieda was going to be made a district? it now joins the likes of suba as a one constituency district. so kibaki was lying when he said that we he was moving away from the nyayo ways of dishing out ministries and districts. however nyayo tried it and survived for two terms. desperate times call for desperate actions. at this rate the whole country will be dissected into millions of miniature districts all in the name of going back to kilimani estate. and by the way, where on earth is 'mimi kama rais' lucy? she should be telling us now why she must continue as well as michuki, murungaru etc.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Price Shocker!

this past day i got a shock of great proportions. i have been reading in blogs and even hearing on TV about the price increases but i hadn't seen it first hand until i went for my monthly shopping. well first good news first, nakumatt junction was hosting house of grace church in the central 'hall' (for lack of a better word) House of grace church is not your everyday church with tradition ,laws, rules, kanzu and tarban. it is an 'uptizo' church the kind that 'ozones' of the '90s would attend. replete with young suave gentlemen, beautiful girls, great music and very contemporary teachings. the pastor often addresses the issues of the day. the ones that pple would rather avoid eg tribalism, capitalsm, etiquette and such like things.

but even the good church music outside did not prepare me for the price shock inside. most things have gone up. sugar! 150/=. cooking fat by 20% , bread from 25 to 33 thats what? more than 30% meat by another 30% . washing soap, fuel, unga wa ngano, name it. in fact those women who sell chapatis in inda and some construction sites will just close shop. since their inputs have gone up by more than 50% in one month. meaning they must also increase their prices by the same margin. will they get customers given that income hasn't gone up by the same margin over the past one month?

so much for the free primary education, but will the kids go to that school hungry, unclothed , dirty and unhoused? these were the questions one presidential candidate Pastor Pius Muiru was asking on TV as i browsed the supermarket. citizen did me proud again by giving Muiru the coverage even though all the other stations snubbed the preacher. and he did have a large crowd. only that unlike 'wiper', he did not ask the cameramen to take this shot here and that shot there in order to disapprove steadman. However i must say that muiru shocked me with his grasp of the plight of the common mwananchi and his seemingly very practical solutions. why, he posed was it necessary to provide concessions to people who had the ability to build 150 houses? that was like rain falling on the ocean!

as i moved on, i got forcefully involved in a conversation with another man who was equally shell shocked at the price tags. but he had someone to blame. he suggested that the prices have been increased "...kuangusha hii serikali. hawa ni watu ambao hawataki kazi mzuri iendelee!"

anyway, i would understand that the 120% tax on plastic would have caused increase in prices of stuff like bread or sugar due to packaging but i dont know how that makes the price of a kilo of meat to go up.

but all in all, i really wonder how kenyans across the board are making it. these price hikes are simply extreme.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Siasa na NSE

the good station was at it again. this time, KTN chose two sober minded debaters. or may it was the debaters who chose to be sober minded focused and issue driven. as opposed to the discussion on majimbo which was replete with innuendos and confusion, the debate on NSE and politics was carried very maturely by Billow Kerrow and Jimnah Mbaruh. Mbaruh agreed with Kerrow and even Raila on several aspects of the market. he even agreed that the control of the NSE was concentrated in the hands of a few. he agreed about market cycles and so on. Kerrow gave a very detailed analysis of the factors that can and have influenced markets the world over and NSE included. it was quite refreshing. Jimnah assured us that the market will improve next year come rain or high water. it was there before independence and survived the two dictatorial leaderships. in fact he indicated that confidence levels were going higher up. On the declining index, he said the impending safaricom IPO was a more likely culprit than anything else. investors have just been positioning themselves for the biggest and most emotive IPO in our history. emotive because safaricom is close to many peoples heart. another reason why it should be delayed and held only after elections as suggested by the CEO Michael Joseph.

and in another city, ODM-K was finalizing their game plan. the second miracle. probably to team up with Kibaki and revenge on the pentagon who denied him presidency. does that surprise anyone? Hardly. During the debate on majimbo, Mutula showed that as much.

So Mr. Raila has 4 vendetas ganging against him. one Simeon Nyachae who has never forgiven him for hoodwinking him (Nyachae) to attend the rally where Kibaki was declared tosha, Moi; for all the problems in his (Moi's) life, Uhuru for deserting him at his hour of need and finally Kalonzo, the chosen one who believed that the presidency was his birthright only for the pentagons to declare interest and make it clear to him that he would lose ODM nomination. but this cloud has a very bright silver lining for the Raila team. with kalonzo out of the race, the threat of voters getting confused about the two oranges will melt like ice and further more kalonzo's joining of PNU will only increase the confusion and jostling already existing in that side.

Don't you just like how Ruto gives practical examples in his campaigns. in fact instead of sending Nyongo for the majimbo debate. Ruto should have been sent. Nyongo was very theoretical and academic. but Ruto simply says: hakuna haja kuenda kutafuta kazi Nairobi pekee yake. hakuna haja kuenda referral hospital Nairobi pekee, etc. by the way did you know that most national schools are only found in nairobi province and its close environs?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Smart moves

So who was the smarter one? almost one week after ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga visited the NSE, the value of shareholder wealth continues to rise. And if Kimunya's argument is to be held then it appears that investors have also discovered some love for the fish monger. so its not true that the market fears either fishermen or bee keepers. Raila took the fight to the floor of the bourse but no one was there to fight back. only his relative was there to recieve raila's son and daughter in law. the market rose for the first time in as many weeks that day and has continued to rise. Mr. Jimnah Mbaruh who had started all this in the first place was away somewhere in the land of former colonialists telling them that raila presidency was bad for the economy! He said the NSE does not need the man. when he came back and found that numbers from the bourse were suggesting otherwise, he now declared that politicians must keep out of the market! what an about turn! never rattle a snake mr mbaruh! your friend michuki knows better. if you invite politics you will be stung and badly. in fact the unfortunate careless insults by the finance minister are more dangerous to the NSE than anything else.


but looking at it again criticaly, between ODM and PNU whose govt would threaten the NSE and investors more? me thinks PNU is worse. why? becuase should Kibaki win, his PNU will not have the numbers needed in parliament to pass any bills. all the important house committees will be full of opposition members. he will be forced to horse trade with ODM-K. horse trading means expanding the cabinet, creating positions not needed by the country and basicaly blackmail. what that means is that there will be a lot of uncertainty. now thats the word that a stock market fears most. uncertainty.

on another note yesterday, on KTN, Mutula kilonzo brought himself down by showing open confusion on the question of majimbo. he could not decide whether or not he was for the idea. kimunya was forth right and stated that PNU was for national unity and central governance. he claimed like Moi that majimbo was recipe for chaos. well for moi anything he doesnt like is normally recipe for chaos, he told us as much during the clamour for multy party, and even when we rejected uhuru. he said that electing Kibaki was recipe for chaos.


and while that was happening, John Njue was appointed cardinal of the Holy Roman catholic and apostolic church. only the second in kenya after the late Maurice cardinal Michael Otunga.

funny quote of the day: Kids all over kenya are up in arms against the kenyan politicians for taking over their mchongoanos, insults and games. the kids through spokeschild claimed the shifty old men have also denied them the chance to have role models, grandparents or greatgrandparents!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

coffee break

When the whole country was busy getting charged by both railaphobia and railamania, (am told sinners have railaphobia and the righteous have railamania :- according to Joe Nyaga!), two , nay 3 nice things slipped in unnoticed by many. both NTV and citizen introduced new local productions in their menu. i must say that citizen continues to make me proud. they continuously show their confidence in Kenya and our kenyanness.

While NTV's production 'The Cobra Squad' looks like a Hollywood's production replete with stunts, guns, accent, glamour launch and all that goes with it, citizen, stole my love with their down to earth, truly Kenyan story of papa shirandula and inspekta mwala. well i dont like inspekta mwala as the jokes are rather stale and far fetched. but papa shirandula looks very real and most of the people i have talked to can quickly identify with one or two aspects of show. i know most people will cite the accent and watchman role of 'papa' as being a perpetuation of the stereotype of luhyas being only watchmen and cooks. however we must give it to Bukeko and co for a production well done, good storyline, acting and production.

on the other hand the cobra squad written by none other that the government spokesman (thumbs up to the man for leading from the front) is to me a disappointment and reminds me of the likes of prezo, nonini, nameless etc who represent artists who opt to be copy cats instead of doing things that appeal to our local taste. citizen TV is the only station that has a show for local musicians who do real local music, the likes of ken wamaria, emily nyaimbo, dola kabrry et al. NTV would not be caught dead show casing such talents preferring instead to go for copy cats in their shows.

on top of 'papa' and 'mwala' citizen also has a 'tahidi high', which according to me is very well done actually.

ooh sorry i forgot to mention that KBC has also always had 'local' flavor in vitimbi, vioja, makutano etc. but KBC destroyed their brand with too much partisan politics and its forgivable to forget them!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

child abuse

My kids came back from school the other day looking very worried. One of them told me that she had bad news from the teacher. upon inquiry, she said that the teacher had told them that Raila's hummer was given to him by Devil worshipers! the teacher went on to say that should Kenya elect the ODM flag bearer, then he would have to return the satanic money and we would all be subject to the Devil!

and as if that abuse was not bad enough, another told me the teacher separated them into two groups based on the name, luos on one side (they happened to be only two in that class) and the rest in another group. she then proceeded to teach them a song in a local language which i later learned was a C-song.

but other warnings were milder though, like telling the young minds that Cocao, soda, meat, chicken, crisps, biscuits etc kill! poor kids could not eat anything the whole evening and the whole day yesterday.

they were also told that the man who represents some of the poorest in Kenya and also some of the richest Kenyans all in one constituency is the one who has caused all the poverty and suffering in our beloved nation.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

online entertainement

With a lull in the investor activity. Safaricom sale facing hurdles both internal and external , i have been spending many hours reading very entertaining 'thoughts and analysis' in various blogs and sites. such hitherto respected sites as stockskenya has been reduced to a public shouting arena with tribalists going over themselves to get the filthiest insults to hurl at one another. the other interesting site is Mashada. on blog front, i am finding kumekucha very comical indeed. i am told that these sites are modorated by 'right' thinking and professional Kenyans mainly in the diaspora. They give one a very good picture of how Kenya wants to develop!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

selling self

The political landscape is charged! thats what the media says. indeed, yesterday was just another day i was invited to yet another launch by yet another young friend. its amazing many young people i know are really going into siasa. and all of them promising to change the old view of things that has been hopelessly based on tribe, circumcision, dialect, horse trading and many other low things. panafric hotel seems to be the hotel of choice for most aspirants. and this past day there were about 3 of them at the same time. however i was only going to attend Chaacha's launch. it started with a nice dinner. you had to pay 5K at the door, then get a slip with which you go get dinner. on the way to the dinner tent, i met a guy with a plate full of vegie salad, and i couldn't help but hear the guy in front of me congratulating the herbivore: 'Thats very good food. very healthy. in fact thats what am going for. where did you get that?" i waited to see if i could spot another carnivorous Kenyan eat veggy in one night. when we reached the buffet, the man went straight to the sumptuous mbuzi choma, topped it with beef, before pilling choice helpings of chicken drumsticks! so much for the healthy food.

anyway, then i went in to the hall. shock! the hall was packed to capacity. no extra table. i wondered how i was going to eat standing in my immaculate suit. Chaacha is the immediate former group managing editor and so there were many high net worth individuals in attendance as well as several cameras. the place was expensively and deliciously decorated and even the serviettes had the orange symbol on them. i found Mr. James Shikwati the director of Iren Kenya giving his praises of the young aspirant. Shikwati himself is quite young compared to the articles he pens in the Africa executive.

However it was when the man himself got up to speak that i got the challenge. he started with his difficult childhood, then went on to show us the poverty in kuria , his constituency, before letting us know about his impressive CV. at his age, he was Kenya's youngest group managing editor. he suffered a lot in the hands of Kibs govt following some funny stories and was at the helm when the infamous raid took place. consequently he had several sympathizers in the dinner as well. another interesting thing ; there were very many of his classmates who were here and most of them are now professors. (i thought to be a professor you had to have grey hair...)

i was amazed how this man had surmounted this much hardship to become a GME of a leading media house at only 31. and at 34 he is ready to become a minister in an ODM government as he put it. but again come to think of it. Matiba became a senior civil servant at a very tender age. only that our current 'leaders' will not let go even when they can hardly see and have to limp due to age even when walking with a stick.

However Chaacha's speech, even though refined was missing out significantly on action points , timeliness and solutions. he only talked of what the problem was in Kuria, kenya and Africa but no solutions to those many problems.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Real Lean times

the situation really is grim in the stock brokers front. my favorite standard investment bank had expanded and moved into a new large office in the center of the town. the expansion informed by the huge volume of business and euphoria witnessed last year. but now most of their 14 teller booths are empty and those occupying them are visibly bored and yawning. but standard investment bank still is a good broker and their orders are still executed within 3 working days. they still are able to right checks as immediately the sale is effected without awaiting settlement. so the bank is good. However the employees know all too well who is causing them all this pain. its one Raila Amolo Odinga. they reckon that the market is doing poorly since it fears the prospect of Raila presidency. and the steadman is not making life any easier by declaring that the man really is ahead. its all too funny. voters are ignoring the noise about economic growth, creation of jobs etc.

But Kibaki should have known, you cannot sell economic gains alone, or even free primary education and the like. why ? because if you talk about economy then the pre-indepence economy was probably kenya's best. the roads were superb, security top notch, education high class. in fact students at the university were living very well without paying a cent for it instead, they could get married and support their families on the boom. but why did kenyans 'fight' against the colonialists and send them off? only one reason: DISCRIMINATION

People will not buy the story of growth unless you demonstrate to them how you plan to make them benefit from that growth. what is the need for great roads if you cant buy a car to drive on it? or why would you need great wealth if its not secured? and so on.


ok. am sure that attempt of mine at political analysis has fallen flat on the face. i rather leave better analysts and politicians to talk politics. talking of which , am getting quite a number of invites to dinners and bid launches by some very close friends of mine who have decided to give this country 'professional, ethical and competitive leadership' that it has lacked for the past 44 years. in short they want to be elected MPs. and am parting with some really tidy sums to send these friends to the House. all i ask tell them is if they need a PS they need not look any further!
Elsewhere politics keeps on dividing families. while Biwot looks poised to support Kibaki for a second term in office, his wife and our former principal Prof. Margret Kamar, who rose from a nobody to a professor in a record 5 years is saying its Raila who has the magic wand for all the countries ills!


quick question; what makes an oil company to sell petrol at 85/= a litre when every one else is selling at 79?

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

back to scene

exactly one month after the car incident, i went back to the home through which we escaped. i wanted to just go and see it again and probably also know the owner and thank him. it is in a very posh part of lower kabete just off lower kabete road and i was made to understand belongs to a mr. muriithi. this neighborhood also houses strong people like MJ of safaricom, several embassies and the like. the groundsman told me they knew about the incident since they had seen our 'nyayo' around the home. this area is normally guarded 24 /7 through armed response units. however the grounds man went on the say that his 'boss' was carjacked just the other day right at his lighted and guarded gate. however his story was different since the car ran out of petrol when they were at gathiga. so they dumped him there and carjacked another poor soul again at the latter's gate.

but the man went on to say that this particular area is a thug corridor. those who rob on the lower kabete side use it to cross to the loresho side and vice versa. gun battles are an almost weekly occurrence here. that ran chills down my spine. one thing you don't want to find yourself in is a gun battle between thugs and police.



away from such sad stories to depressing ones. yesterday, i was at the standard investment bank after quite a while. the last time i was here, i could hardly find anyone to attend to me. every one was so busy and pre-ocupied. yesterday, all those idle tellers were all too eager to attend to me. the banking hall was virtually empty and the investment advicers were just lazying about. everyone here was blaming elections for their predicament. i asked them to advice the old man to call a snap election. after all according to him elections is only one day. then we can go on with our lives.

but the elections have some bad things as well. after the president and his trade minister lied to the western voters that sugar quota was extended by 4 more years, it was revealed that in fact the government had not even sent a formal request to comesa as yet!

maybe another cause of the depression of prices is the many recently rich young kenyans who are liquidating their shares to run for elective positions. in Kenya, politics is the apex of the need hierarchy and once you make some money you normally run for a parliamentary seat.

lakini, the truth is that this time is a perfect time to acquire as much shares as you can. things will look up next year when sanity returns to home.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

pre-election business

some business will do quite well this time of the year. yesterday, several school children were given 5 exercise books each. the children were expressly told at school to tell their parents that those books were bought for them by the president! i wonder why presidents buy school books in the second week of third term. however some children are even cleverer than the president and told their parents that the books are from the free primary education program. the program is a Kenya government initiative and not the presidents sponsorship. talk of sharp kids!

Anyway book vendors will love it if this will be the way back to power. other business that will do well include sugar business since the man announced that the quota against duty free sugar will be extended by 4 more years. that news will be very sweet to MSC share holders. i dont know whether it will be good to the farmers who normally have to wait for 18 months to be given their meager earnings. but graphic designers will soon be going to town with posters , t-shirts and the like as will be hooligans defacing the posters of rivals. election time is boom time. even taxis and other luxury vehicles will enjoy. taxis will even be even happier with the return of the alcoblow.

talking of taxis, i saw that in dubai, they have tried to solve the public transport crisis using taxis. i stood 1 hour in a queue waiting for a taxi! i have never seen such a thing. even though the taxis were well kept, professionally driven and even have GPS installed, they simply don't solve the public transport crisis. in fact they worsen it by introducing traffic jams. and so Dubai which now proudly has the worlds tallest man made physical structure, is working on the only known solution to public transport - the metro. by the way did you know you could buy Kenya in Dubai? then u could be president without having to declare a party of national unity. but i digress.

kengen will report a reduction in profit in the neighborhoods of 35%. i think thats massive for a company which has literally no competition and a huge demand for its products. mtu amelala kazini!

other ways to make money this electioneering period is to compose songs in praise of the contestants or follow them up and provide a back up crowd. campaigns are anxious moments and one can almost pay to be given that assurance that he is going to win. Otherwise if you want to quit your job to become the CEO of a state corporation or a PS, then the time to lick boots is now!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

technology is talent

the sweet chinese lady takes my digital foto, removes the memory card and puts it in the family foto lab, edits the picture, adds background, frame, captions, brightness, removes red eye etc. then prints. takes about 5-10 minutes. perfect thats the same amount of time taken by an emiratee to caricature me! free hand plus add a few funny things in the background. i wonder how long it would take our own Gathara to do the same

but AMD probably took longer time to research and come up with the worlds first true quod core processor. the gaming experience including FIFA 2006 is perfect. the chip is for high end servers, so if you are still not at the mind range level then you must wait to grow up first. whats more, it doubles your server performance without necessarily requiring more power (electricity) even your data center size remains pretty much the same.

ou etes vous intel?

shows galore

ever heard of smart city? as in you can 'browse' or to use a similar term , tour the whole of the city in 3-D from the comfort of your chair! works in the same way as touring a planned house the way arthitects do it. you will be able to see, in correct dimensions and scale, all the parts of the city and that way plan your shortest route from point A-B.

more shows, the new OLED TV (organic light emiting diode display ) on show plus the on demand TV image procesing. your camera processes images immediately! this TV is connected to your other applicances eg phone via bluetooth and you can even 'TV' call your wife (or significant other)and see her on TV as you talk.

on the other end, oracle poineering Fusion middleware with its state of the art identity management.

shock: these technologies are not only used by big cooporates, but also by the dubai police service! to add salt, police patrol vehicles are top of the range, BMWs etc. and to brag a little from my hotel, am taken around by a lexus. my first time in a new model lexus stretch and am back left!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Gitex

am currently representing my company and the country (grin!) in this years global conference on emerging technologies ( yes thats the league where i play (wider grin))

to say the least its amazing. fast quick lesson: kenya is doing well so far, but we need to fix just two things for further quick gains

1. infrastructure (namely roads first)
2. security . Its bliss being in a rich country and not having to worry that any of your possesions will be lost and knowing that you wont be mugged, or robbed, or even conned!


shock on me! i meet very many kenyans working as expatriates here mostly in hospitality industry. ( i know bad press would call them life gaurds, cooks, waiters or even sex workers. stupid press!) am reliably told they are making loads of money and most drive at least BMWs or are chauffeur driven.

quick embarassment: these guys have made an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree, in the violent waters of the ocean. the island has about 500,000 extremely high networth individuals as its tenants who include David Beckam. back at home we cant even tame a seasonal ndhoya (river Nzoia)


economy shock! i go to this mall touted as the second largest in the world. first shop, i see a beautiful blazer, price tag? 9135 in their country or about 180,000 kenya shillings. ils sont fous ces gens!

Friday, September 07, 2007

of TV and shocks on me

sometimes people really shock me, nay TV really shocks me. And just yesterday, TV showed me the ever green Julie Gichuru confront the minister for finance with the tough question on the Kroll report. the man who has won my respect over time denied on camera that he knew anything about it. shock! julie then said but its all over, the man said well am not the author. we know that. so what? he went on : "i didn't receive it . i didn't even commission it" so? it was commissioned by your government sir! the fact that it was commissioned before you became minister for finance doesn't make a difference. he then said he hadn't even seen it. good old Julie had the report in her hand and promptly handed it over to the cornered minister. he declined to even take a look! he said he wants to receive it officially, from the KACC.

But Julie was wasting her breath since the same TV said that the MPs had 'horse traded' and got 333 million golden handshake in place of forgiving all past economic criminals. thats all economic crimes commited before 2004 were all forgiven! that means, goldenberg, anglo leasing, ndungu land report , etc were all trashed.

but TV was not done with me, more shocks awaited me. the PS for transport a mr. Ikiara, said on camera that "....only 30 Kenyans were dying every week in road accidents ..." that is a senior government official! yet we all know that these deaths can be avoided. michuki showed us that in 2003-2004. Kenyans don't have to put their lives at risk each time they get out to look for the daily bread.

then TV went on to say that 11 kenyans were killed as they went to rob a bank in TZ. TV mentioned that they were innocent robbers

further TV also said that Jirongo, the man who almost took kenya to Zimbabwe some time back will become our president since Mudavadi was not nominated ODM candidate. there were more shocks that TV gave me yesterday, but again i remember it always does that!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

business lessons from thugland/cops

My primary school football hero Bakari used to tell us one thing, if you miss the ball , never miss the man. he used this belief with lots of success. but when i came of age i thought it was rather cruel so i decided to change the second part to '...never miss the lesson'.

there were many lessons to be learnt from first, the thugs and second the cops.

1. Know your customer: the thugs did a good job profiling me, they asked about my place of work, level of education, number of kids etc. that way they would easily tell what to expect and how to treat me

2. train your customers: there were several things i did not know. they first of all asked me whether i knew what a gun was and how it was used. they then went on to teach me that if i cooperated and they got what they wanted , no one would be hurt.

3. efficiency: i still marvel at the efficiency with which these guys bundled us into the car. it was so fast and neat. even when i got the car , i marveled at how they had removed the stereo without damaging the ignition, EFI system, lamps etc. only the dome lights and central locking were affected. and they also left the wires neatly cut and folded

4. leadership and order: the other two thugs obediently followed their leader. and there was a clear pecking order as well. the leader, the deputy and the third who seemed like a "mtu wa mkono". i also saw utmost order and respect at the police station

5. core business: these thugs stuck to the goal of robbery. they never tried funny things that others do these days such as sodomy and rape. they also never hit any one of us at all. they never stole the lights or the wheels

6. bureaucracy never works: i suspect the police would have been more efficient had they abandoned the process of saying that boundaries must be respected and that they cannot do someones elses job. also the time we spent waiting for the duty officer was too much. it gave the thugs enough time to escape had they wanted.

7. Always deliver on your promise: those guys promised not to harm me and they didn't. they also promised to dump my car that very day and they did!


in other news, Mumias and EABL have both declared handsome bonuses. MSC may have wanted to cover up the reduced profitability but still it was a good show. they effectively reduced the initial cost of the share. but remember you don't benefit until after the register is closed. if you sell now you lose out on the bonus and dividend.

what lessons do we learn from these two? that kenyan firms will be looking at greater expansion as opposed to dividend payout. kengen has 2 billion issued shares. and they are at 30 /= that means most firms with less than a billion shares may decide to go on a split, bonus issue spree until they have at least 1 billion shares issued.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

adventures of economic boom

about a week ago Friday, i experienced what would put the reality TV programs to shame. It just started after i decided it was time to benefit from the kibaki economy and acquire an image boosting state of the art automobile with superior road handling, performance, comfort et al (ok am pushing that a little...) Well, so i come home after spending a few more Kenyan shillings and while am waiting for the gate to be oppened, what do i hear? a metallic tap on the drivers window, before i can breathe i hear another on the left and am being asked if i know what those tools are for. i nod and mumble yes to both questions and i can also see our guard being man handled. before i know it, i have been bundled in the back seat next to the watchie and the car is zooming on the rough stretch that went to our estate. interestingly, i had passed two armed policemen about 50 meters from where i was robbed of the car, and now again the thugs have driven past them without even a flinch. they are warning me against pressing any button or screaming or doing anything related to raising alarms. the watchie has been asked how many they are, whether there are alarms etc. i am trying not to do anything to offend these enterprising young men of kibaki administration. they are simply reaping the benefits of improved economic environment. we turn onto tarmac, drive a few metres then onto another rough road, they are going fast. in fact they are simply demonstrating to me how good this machine is. i got value for my money! after a long, rough drive where my thoughts have gone from my lovely kids, to my wife , my funeral and the pain of seeing this new car take such a beating, we stop and they declare that they have nothing to do with the watchie. its me they want. they have already asked about my marital status, number of kids, job description,level of education, salary and allowances,when do we get paid,the cost of car and mode of acquisition

At the bush where we have stopped, my pockets have been emptied.my ATM cards taken and i have been forced to jot down my PIN number at gun point. then one of the young men has given me a torch and asked me to look for more money in the car and hand over to them. no more. but now they look at my fingers and order me to remove the wedding ring with my wife's name on it. these guys can easily see gold. so the leader tells me he is now going to withdraw the money , the other two thugs guard us in the coffee plantation. meanwhile they are communicating with each other thanks to safaricom; confirming if everything is alright and the money has been withdrawn.


after what seems like eons, the guy is back and we start off again to God knows where. twists, turns, high speed, reversing. hills, gulleys, mounds, rough road, smooth road...! we stop again and they are now removing my original kenwood stereo. they have no screw driver. funny thugs. by this time both the guard and myself have been bundled in the boot of the car. after some struggle they ask me for a screw driver which i helpfully give to them. they then remove my stereo and we are on again. back to tarmac and we drive for eons. we are meanwhile in the boot with the old man. i never knew my six-foot-two figure could fit in the boot but the gun just showed me it was possible. actually the boot ride was rather comfortable. the car must have very good suspension. again we stop. am thinking this must be somewhere in nyeri of thika. since we have been driving for nearly two hours at top speed and the car has been handling the ride well. two of them step out. there is one of them who keeps on being bullied by the other two. he is not allowed to be near them and they keep ordering him about. i can pick a few words of the thug tongue. we lie in the boot for like donkey years. each time i try to turn, i hear warning that i will be shot!

well then all of a sudden the boot opens rudely and we are told to get out. "Walk that way straight on and you will reach the road" they offer. "and mzee, we dont really want your car, we will give it back to you. dont look for it too much. we will leave it at Limuru golf club"

we start off and realize we are in deep inside a forest with very tall trees. we are thanking the Lord all along for our lives. we dont know where we are going or where we are. straight on. we get a gate secured with a padlock. so we go round and climb the fence. further on we meet another fence and climb only to end up at a fast flowing river. after much struggle and search we get a make shift bridge and use it across. finally we end up at another tall fence this time unsurmountable. we trace our steps again and get another fence , lower than the other. we have been walking for about 45 minutes. we climb this fence and land into a home. Hell! the curse of Murphy. from the pan unto the fire. 4 ferocious dogs come charging. their loud backs alone have turned me into jelly. they are very big. but the guard tells me that the dogs wont attack if we slouch and remain still. i couldn't believe that but upon doing like the guard said. the dogs stop at their 'paws' but continue backing like their life depends on it. finally the watchie in the home comes slowly and asks who we are, we tell the guy our story but he doesn't believe us. he goes back and presses the alarm. before long, the patrol has come. we tell our story again and they take us to the police.

The police station is empty. do we knock shout or what? we wait and finally one officer comes and asks us our problem. we tell our story. the guy takes about 1 hour recording the incidence. but he says he cannot 'circulate' the car because he is not the duty officer. that thing can only be done by the duty officer who is out at the moment we must wait for him. its now going to 6AM. the guy aint coming. the car hasn't been circulated and i can imagine that if the thugs wanted to take the car to tanzania, they must be in namanga by now. the guards who had been good samaritans to us declare that their limit of their kindness has arrived and they can no longer wait with us. they had wanted to take us home once we report the crime. so they leave us at the station where we wait for one more hour and the duty officer is still not arrived yet. finally i decide to get 911 to take me home so that i can tell my family whats up and come back later (by the way 911 is very handy in case of trouble) just at that time the duty officer comes and starts asking me the questions all over again. after listening to our story, he declares that the area where we were car jacked in not in his jurisdiction and so he cannot take any action! am speechless. i stare at the man blankly but he intones that i must go to the police station near my place of residence where the crime took place and report. i don't reply and i just stare blankly at him like a fool. he then tells me he will just help anyway and he then talks onto the radio to the other policemen to tell them about he robbery. after that am told to come later for the police abstract.
after just an hour, i go to my friends house near the station, we get a call that my car is at the traffic headquarters. i go there and they even give me the description of the thugs who took my car. the police tells me even where to get my stereo. where it will be sold etc. but they want chai for the chief who found the car in park road. another chai is needed for the police who went for it. and a third chai for the wazee who are going to sit after work! well thats after paying for towing. i thought i told these guys that i was robbed of the money i had plus some from two banks?

anyway am happy to be re-united with my car and all i want is get home and rest. its now 12 midday. retrieving the car from the police took about 4 hours. bureaucracy. no sooner do i get into the car than i realize that i am very very hungry!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

road trips

It was two weeks ago that i had to take the dreaded road trip to the west of the country. that part of the country which is both the grain basket and thorn in the flesh for kenya. well to be political the grain comes from the northern west and the thorn has always come from the southern west. the trip was necessary even though the roads are presently lunar landscape. i had to deliver a van to a client in k-city. I was clever so i took the narok detour,going all the way to narok, then kisii, oyugis, ahero and finaly kisumu.

The journey was smooth until mai mahiu, then branching to the ODM infested areas of narok all the way was as rough as can be. i met very many tourist vans coming from the mara. they were being driven at very high speed in spite of the rough terrain. i wonder why we cant sort out even a road to a seven wonder of the world. anyway from narok all the way to kisii is smooth sailing. the road is so good you can go to sleep. and its closed to heavy trucks and buses are very few and far between, secondly you can see more than a kilometer ahead given the open fields.

I stoped at bomet for a quick bite. i quickly located a hotel called Western Comfort. a 24 hour travelers cafe according to the sign. went in and ordered the days special. the days special wasn't ready. ok then, roasted chicken and chips, not ready, ok rice and vegie stew, not ready! what then is ready? tea. ok bring tea and mandazi. mandazi was displayed on the counter boss utangonja tu dakika kama kumi ndio chai iive! so much for the 24 hour economy of bomet.

Kisii was a cool town, rather sleepy but green and comfy.

on reaching oyugis i was rudely awaken by the change of populace. on the road side i could see the real life models! beautiful people with the coveted figure eight that i see my oblong colleagues struggling to achieve in the gymn back in Nai. only difference was the packaging. i couldn't help but imagine my office neighbor's new hairstyle on the lady on the left or our managers new skirt suite on the one ahead of me. but even oyugis beauty did not deter me and soon i was riding high speed to kisumu once more. no major incidence till the city of the lake. the van was in a state so i decided i would wash it first then deliver it next day. i went ahead to the hotel to rest. the following day i was at lwangni beach at about 11am. This beach is a one stop shop and you can get mostly anything. to wash the whole van in the great lake, i was charged only 100 bob (thats in and out!) the van is driven right into the water, i thought for a moment it would drown. and boy there were plenty of activities for those waiting for their vehicles to be washed. among them was swimming in the murky water, or taking a camel ride. or even a boat ride. the boat were actually the old wood canoes that had been fitted with a juakali engine. the boat was obviously leaking since there was a small boy constantly scooping the water with a tin and pouring it back to the lake. a 200 metre circle in the lake cost just about 10 bob. even though people were being fitted with life jackets and there were many enthusiastic families waiting their turn,(langni beach is a great spot for family rendez vous over the weekend) i decided, i was not that kind of swimmer and simply watched the excited faces. but its not only humans who frequent the beach, even harders brought their cattle to browse and drink water.

well then you can also enjoy what this beach is best known for. the makeshift kiosks where fish is sold the same way goat meat is sold at olepolos. when you walk in, you are taken to the 'karai' where all the fish are. you then point at the one which whets your appetite most after that you sit and wait for it to be deep fried. when it comes, it actually ambushes you. a large helping of fish, steaming and covered in your favorite local vegetable, and kachumbari is thrust right in front of you with an equal generous potion of ugali. the aroma itself is enough to drown you in your own saliva. ok lwangni hotel is not where you bring your everyday chips-and-sausage-eating sweetheart. here you bring someone who wants to eat and eat hard! but i saw many expensive looking people all over. even big SUVs with red plates and white occupants kept on driving in and out. its simply an experience

by the time the fish disappears from your tray (they actually serve you on a tray. its a very big fish) the van is ready for your collection it has been wiped so well you feel like coming here everyday. only that you work in Nairobi.

well then i delivered the vehicle with neither ceremony nor funfair and headed to the airport to take a flight (i promised myself that i would not use that road on the way back. in any case there were no vacancies in the buses) the Kisumu airport was packed like a normal bus stop and even though there were security checks, it was only being done on those who were traveling. otherwise to buy a ticket you just pass the security without much questioning. but there were no tickets for flight that evening. not in any of the airlines, KQ, jet link, east African or even 540. i only managed to get one for the following day.

as long as the west remains in opposition, the country's leadership remains myopic and paranoid, the roads will remain the same and the airlines will laugh all the way to the bank! buy KQ shares pronto.

but one thing you get in Kisumu that i have never been able to get anywhere else is the warmth, the respect for guests and the richness of culture!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

oversubscribed .... again

Its now official, every IPO in kenya will have more takers than there are shares. even kenya re which had so much mystery has been oversubscribed. but like i thought, the number of shares were few and you saw that coming. in fact the demand was more than that of kengen. its disappointing though that investors may end up with only 100 shares or about 1000 shillings worth of investment meaning they will be refunded at least some 18K shillings! what a waste of time and oportunity!

if this then how about safaricom? how will they ensure that these little money refund headaches dont happen?

elsewhere i discovered that nakumatt actually did their homework about the 24 hour thing. i went to the late night shop to get some light bulbs and to my shock and awe, i found that there was absolutely no parking! even the new pavements that nakumatt constructed the other day were packed with cars and some were on the road. there was no space all the way up to the new westgate. so there are shopers at night as well!

Friday, August 10, 2007

of the 24 hour economy

There has been lots of talk lately about the need or lack of for a 24hour economy. i thought the economy was always 24 hour anyway. maybe they meaning business operations around the clock. like the matutus that ply route kariobangi south or kahawa west. meaning that the 24hour economy has been around. but the place where i shockingly saw the real deal was at isich and gikomba. most of the shops in isich operate normally at night and the streets are full of people. unfortunately the roads are pathetic and streets lights dont work. however at gikomba market, i saw that the activity is very much alive and fortunately there is some bit of good light as well. but probably the place where the 24hour thing is most required is at the port of Mombasa! clearing a cargo at the port the other day took me a whole one week because of congestion, confusion and sheer numbers. by the second day, there were 1000 people ahead of me. then at the end of it all i still had to pay charges for the delay in the form of storage charges!

there is so much work yet these guys only work till 5pm after which they chase everyone away. how much better would it be if they worked in shifts even at the customs and container terminals with operations going on around the clock?

actually there are some businesses that are better after hours like supermarkets, banks, etc. when i used to work for this company in my first job, i never understood why it the bosses used to close during lunch hour. yet that was the time some people who are busy in offices would have gotten time to make a quick purchase or a quick inquiry

Monday, August 06, 2007

Business Oportunities

these scenarios:

1 a dilapidated road network between nakuru and busia
2. a huge commuter population plying a route on a daily basis
3. large business opportunities in food transits
4. collapse of the largest public transport company
5. airfare still too higher for a good majority

well these are what has fueled the expansion of Easy coach bus services. i only saw this last saturday when i escorted someone to take a 'flight' to the lakeside town. the easy coach offices were full to the brim and there was no parking inside. in the compound they had laid out benches where commuters sat as they waited for their buses. i saw that each bus carried 38 people and each passenger paid no less than 800/=. doing quick arithmatic made me very jalous. if each bus does one round trip a day, it makes no less than 2.1 million shillings a month on this route.

this is because, kenya bus colapsed and akamba bus service is literaly on its knees with old rickety buses breaking down all the time in very lonely and dangerous places and at night!

because of the bad road in the 'opposition' areas of between nakuru and kisumu, most motorists would not risk using their private cars so buses are the in thing. come the high season of december this route will be raining money!

but another interesting thing i noticed on the Kenyan roads; i wonder why Kenyans buy powerful and fast cars. the roads are very narrow and they are not dual carriage so over taking is not possible most times. another thing is that the slim roads are shared with old slow cars as well as overloaded trailers and trucks. so the fast cars are forced to move as slowly as the slow cars hence surely there is no need investing in a 3 litre engine car!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

two sides of the kenyan coin

This morning i had a rather interesting encounter at the posta sarit. first, i thought they opened at 8:30; well i gave them the benefit of being a state corporation. when i went, i found that they actually open at 9:00. (truly i never knew in this day and age there are still people who start work at 9:00) with this booming economy why cant u take the advantage and catch customers early. anyway so i hovered around, waiting for time, i even went upstairs to uchumi to browse. i saw a nice collection of old Kenyan music of the likes of kaikai kilonzo, goerge omolo, Guta Lie Bobo, Baraka Mwinshehe etc. i am told this collection is there courtesy of Mr. Makali. the CDs are going for quite a good price. the most being only 800 bob. well then i got back to posta and noticed it was only remaining 2 minutes to nine however the cleaner walked out of the door and left it slightly open and i went in. to my shock and horror the employees shouted at me to go back out since it was not yet time! i adamantly ignored them and went straight to posta pay. after filling the form and waiting for the 2 minutes (the lady refused to look at her computer only pointing at the old clock hang on the wall) when she finally did, she discovered the software wasn't working. tried several times an even restarted the machine to no avail. so i wasted all that time waiting for a service which was down! i wish they had used the waiting time to make sure all their equipment was in order!!!!

but on the other side of the coin, other Kenyans are maximizing on the boom, nakumatt holding have opened the first ever 24/7 shopping mall in kenya. the convenience! and more things from nakumatt and equity now you can withdraw your cash from a nakumat till if you are an equity customer. the only thing is the the riders are rather confusing. you can only withdraw 10,000 if your shopping was worth 1000 and so on.

Meanwhile, kenyans are ahead of others and are wondering how safaricom will hold their AGMs. i suggest they set up a 0900 number where shareholders can call up and listen to deliberations. if you want to vote for Mr. X press 1 else press 2 . how about that?

the price of safaricom shares? will definitely depend on how many. if they decide to issue 4b shares then it will be about 9 /= per share and they may go the route of Kenya Re and insist on batches of say 1000 or even 10,000.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Freedoms et al

the events of the past weekend really shook me to reality as far as freedom and related issues are concerned. starting last Friday, i was broke but my Congolese friend insisted that he takes me out. he suggested that we could go to a relatively affordable joint and take strictly two beers then rush home by 11. sounded plausible so we chose amaica, that lovely classy joint. amaica normally doesn't have too many people. but what i saw there shocked me. there was this young lady who was quite decently dressed. smart black trouser suite. (could have been blue or a close shade) she was in the company of some grayed men. we could see those men doing orders and dancing with her and making merry. but towards the end there seemed to be disagreements and eventually the chick acrimoniously left the two men and joined another one. the man who seemed to be the 'friend' struggled to contain his anger and injured ego but could not manage, they simply walked out in disgust. Hey men the shoe is in the other foot women have taken that freedom of choice thing a notch higher!

well then we left amaica coz they close at midnight, we went to hillbreeze for a few, when it was time to leave, i found a couple at 'it' in the parking. i could place them since they had been in the next table back in the pub. the lady had appeared hopelessly drunk. thats another freedom i found disgusting. before , ladies were not expected to get this drunk especially in public. now they can but if the consequences are such as what i saw in the car park that night then i wonder at the freedom. am sure that lady wouldn't have agreed to do that had she been sober.

Well that was the night, the following day, Sunday i went to my 'favorite' church for Sunday mass. i always get fulfilled at this church but this Sunday was going to be diff. no sooner had i taken my position at the pew than i noticed that in front of me were two seemingly young women in rather small tops and low waist jeans trousers. the trousers were so low that their B-cracks were always exposed. i wondered where the pantys were. i thought that when there is low waist trouser, at least there should be a panty to cover that part of the body. i wonder whether B-crack is a pleasant sight in church. so for the next 2 hours i struggled with concentrating on the sermons, the adoration, the consecration and the nice church songs. we men are hopelessly visual and such a scene was very distracting. when i was younger, women didn't have freedom to be this exposed. now they got the freedom!

and finally The Young Kenyan man just tagged me but thank God for small mercies, al simply copy and paste my earlier tag post!

1. I am actually an IT professional, and i have done IT all my life! have got several years experience in major enterprise systems, ERP systems, major databases including Oracle and SAP. I also have major industry certifications. but my absolute favorite flavors are HP-UX , AIX etc. basically UNIX
2. I believe am good at what i do since i have bagged some major industry awards of excellence
3. I am multi lingual, i speak 4 major international languages: Luo;- spoken in kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and parts of west Africa, Kiswahili;- spoken in most of east and central africa, English;- the official language of business and bureaucracy the world over and finally French;- the language of love , peace romance and fun! (my wish language is luhya the language of culture, laughter, arts and faith, i hope to learn it soon)

4. i love blogging finance, investment and economy related issues because of my passion. (anyway i also have a masters in finance) but my pet discipline is mathematics and all its relatives

5. I believe the only necessary ingredient for success in any field of choice is passion. if you have a goal , all you have to calculate is a passion for what you want to do and go get it done.

6. i am a poet and an actor. i was also once a choir teacher( i still hope to get back to it some day i love choral music) i also once acted with phoenix players theater under the great jamo (James Falkland)
Am a failed fine artist, though i once used to do some great portraits and landscapes.

7. I am tall and of athletic build. people who see me often suppose i would be a great footballer or basket baller. there is this time we had an inter-departmental soccer tournament, i took a strikers position. the opponents gave me two markers. they thought from my physique, that i would be lethal. needless to say it took them only 5 minutes to realize they didn't even need to mark me! i was benched after only 10 minutes. ( i have no passion for sports)