The (needless) panic scenarios
Kap Kirwok February 23 2013 It is only one week to the historic elections. It is panic time, big time – evidently. The dial on the panic barometer is off the charts – for some. This week I had a chance to discuss the coming elections with a broad spectrum of Kenyans – from a […]
The Dilemma of Decisions and Consequences
Now that this is going down to the wire, the country must now reckon with the prospect of a Jubilee Coalition win. And in that that reckoning, it is down to meanings. In his statement on Kenya’s elections, President Obama said, “The United States does not endorse any candidate for office, but we do support […]
Cats and Dogs Top Job Debate
Shs! Keep your voice down. Do not let the contestants know about this letter until after the Presidential Debate, scheduled for Monday February 11, 2013. The reflections and questions in this letter are only meant for Julie Gichuru and Linus Kakai, the moderators of the debate. We know the contestants are hunkered down right now, […]
The March to March Madness
Are we on the march to madness in March? Will there be chaos and violence during March 4th and soon after the result is announced? After the chaos of the political primaries, these questions have taken on new urgency. Your life – indeed the life of the nation – may depend on the answers. But […]
How bad is a UhuRuto win?
According to sections of the commentariat – very, very bad. Indeed, the dominant narrative being pushed by the chattering classes goes something like this: an election victory by the UhuRuto ticket will spell doom for the country. Several reasons are offered: foreign aid will dry up as the United States and some countries in Europe […]
Of Bulletproof Vests and Mindsets
I have written many times –sometimes with barely suppressed disdain, sometimes with dispassion, but always with intensity of conviction – on the topic of national leadership. I have mourned the loss of opportunity – year after year – due to what I have decried as a combination of leadership myopia, greed and incompetence. I have […]
Of Pots, Politics and Paradox
If Ngong Road could speak, it would, as I found out the other day, speak the language of pots, politics and paradox. Here is the little story –a microcosm, and hopefully a parable of life in Kenya today. But first, about Ngong Road. It starts off where Kenyatta Avenue and Valley Road meet and snakes […]
Of heartbeats, sneezes and the stars
This is the year of heartbeats, sneezes and the stars. It is the year of anxiety and uncertainty. Which means it is also the year of ecstasy – potentially. There are many moments that will quicken your pulse but let us just review two and explore hypothetical scenarios. It is the day of the ruling. […]
Musalia, the alphabet and the mirror
It has been two weeks, but it must feel like two long years for one Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi. The last time I checked some of the more popular Kenyan social media sites, the invectives and cruel jokes were still flowing freely. The adjectives that have been used to describe Musalia Mudavadi run the entire spectrum […]
2013 Here I come
2012 was, by any standards, quite a personal literay success: two books published and launched and a manuscript for a novel submitted. I expect to have the the novel – The Heart is a Willing/Reluctant Nomad published and launched in 2013. I also expect to submit a novella – the universe willing. Meanwhile, I hope to […]
