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Is the Mau Mau compensation lawsuit worth the trouble?
Is Mau Mau compensation lawsuit worth the trouble?
The so-called, "Mau Mau compensation lawsuit" had led a ghost-like existence since at least 1999 in the Kenyan and international press, now and then re-materialising like a ghost-light over the large and bleak swamps of history that hold the bones and the rotten flesh of tens of thousands of victims on both sides of what was known as Manjeneti (the "Emergency").
Somalia: the case for intervention
Somalia: the case for Intervention

Corrupt, pathetic, hopeless, basket case, failed state, pirate haven - these are some of the nouns and adjectives used, with different degrees of accuracy, to describe Somalia. Regarding our war-ravaged, bandit-infested eastern neighbour, Kenyans appear to agree on one thing: something ought to be done. But as Capt. Collins Wanderi Munyiri's essay, Let Somalis be illustrates, discord emerges only on the issue of what exactly we should do to help and how we should go about it.

The Revolution in Winter
The Revolution in Winter
If the Iranian Revolution was middle-aged when Stephanie last wrote about it on KI, it has since decisively entered decrepit old age. As in Kenya, a disputed election was the cause.
Senate resolution on Slavery
Senate Resolution on Slavery
The Senate of the United States has unanimously passed a formal resolution apologising to African Americans for historic slavery and racial discrimination.
Age shall not wither him
Age shall not wither him

In recent press photographs and TV images of President Kibaki-the primary modes through which most citizens see the president-one notices his obvious pained fatigue. Also unmistakable is the blankness of an elderly man contemplating a world beyond the cameras, as if to project the boredom he finds in the terrible tedium of the formalities his job sometimes requires him to perform.

Catholics, the Holy Spirit and recent discontent
Catholics, the Holy Spirit and recent discontent
After a few weeks off from active writing, I returned to the news that my Catholic friends were fighting an even bigger battle than my own mental block. The faithful, media reports indicate, are protesting John Cardinal Njue's decision to temporarily ban a faith-healing group within the Church.
Son et lumiere
Son et lumičre

The Chinese philosopher, Confucius (551-478) once proposed nine cardinal rules for anyone aspiring to high office. The first of these nine is cultivating personal conduct. The second is honoring worthy men and women. One of the most enduring legacies of Prof. Wangari Mathai is saving Uhuru Park from being grabbed during the Nyayo Era. For this, she was always harassed and brutalised by state security agents.

When in 2002 she was sent to Parliament, the new administration denied her...
Kiambaa debate should continue
Kiambaa debate should continue
I had my first encounter with institutional injustice almost 40 years. Two friends and I took the ferry and headed off to London for summer employment. We eventually found jobs in kitchens and toilets of one of the city's most famous hotels in Oxford Street.
That monster, single-cause ethnic explanation, who doth eat all sense
That monster who doth eat all sense
Despite their prolixity, the heart of Maina Kiai and Paul Muite's piece is a small set of claims about Gikuyu political behaviour. 
Demystifying public perceptions on historical injustices around land
Demystifying public perceptions on historical injustices around land

As we know, one of the central explanations for the violence in the Rift Valley was land; more precisely, disputes about ownership and access, and the ethnicity of those who did have them.

The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has patiently researched the history of land ownership in some of the most hotly-disputed parts of the Rift; its findings are guaranteed to surprise. 

On the Sex Boycott
On the Sex Boycott
Bring me wet porridge on the eve of my wedding day, and i will be a man...
Kenya: land of the lion no longer?
Kenya: land of the Lion no longer?

Kenya’s national symbol is the lion – the pride of Africa. Our Vision 2030 imagines 10% growth in the tourism sector as one of the main pillars to support the nation's economic growth. Kenya’s attraction is the safari destination; the most sought-after species is the lion; every lion in Kenya, it is estimated, is worth US $ 1 million in tourism revenues.

Reality check: today Kenya’s lion population stands at a mere 2,100 individuals -- that’s fewer th...
Sometime in April
Sometime in April

Three important events occurred on the faith front in Kenya this week.

My Anglican friends now have a new Archbishop, the Right Reverend Eliud Wabukala. It was an exciting process, with the Daily Nation telling us ethnic and regional realpolitik weighed in some, and the Standard insinuating some money might have been 'poured'.

The Handcart Puller (Part II)
The Handcart Puller (Part I)
Arap Moi Street was the only street in Wendo Township that actually had a name. It was the street where the second Kenyan president, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, once passed on his way to Uganda. That was before they built the tarmac road that went through Busia. Then the president no longer needed to travel through the dust roads of Wendo. Since no other ‘significant' person had traveled through the township, the other streets were identified by the name of the most popular business on it,
...
The Handcart Puller (Part I)
The Handcart Puller (Part I)
Arap Moi Street was the only street in Wendo Township that actually had a name. It was the street where the second Kenyan president, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, once passed on his way to Uganda. That was before they built the tarmac road that went through Busia. Then the president no longer needed to travel through the dust roads of Wendo. Since no other ‘significant' person had traveled through the township, the other streets were identified by the name of the most popular business on it,
...
Malaria control: a new method
Malaria control: a new method

A study by Dimopoulos et al. has revealed a novel way to eradicate the malaria parasite. The scientists from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that by using a gene silencing technique, the Anopheles mosquito's immune response to the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is increased, enabling resistance to this parasite.

A Tale of Two Lawyers
A Tale of Two Lawyers
I bow before all the illustrious people who taught me the law, and who instructed me in the conduct, business and ways of the lawyer. My respect for them is unconditional, voluntary, earnest and everlasting.
The Dalai Lama. And Unconstitutional Helicopters
The Dalai Lama. And Unconstitutional Helicopters
It is interesting how every country positions itself as a champion of liberty, ratifying this and that Statute, Convention, joining this and that ideologically progressive bloc. Yet when the time comes to really show their stand, they all seem morally analgesic, ideologically amnesic and, therefore, publicly schizophrenic! And Kenya, though it does its best, is not among the worst of these hypocritical clown nations, mainly because our interests and policies are miniscule. Sometimes, havi...
Horror to Hopelessness: our forgotten Somali refugee crisis
From Horror to Hopelessness: Our Forgotten Somali Refugee Crisis

Human Rights Watch has released a new report with evidence that the Kenyan government is failing its obligations to Somali refugees (and, almost certainly, Kenyans of Somali origin) resident in Kenya.  From the summary: 

...Kenya has the right to regulate the presence of non-nationals in its territory and may, therefore, prevent certain people from entering or remaining in Kenya, including those deemed a threat to its national interests. However, international and Kenyan la
...
Democracy is Expensive
Democracy is Expensive.
That is the media and/or public's assessment of the recent University of Nairobi student demonstration. Yes, the thing did not go as well as they promised, yes there was looting and yes, a legal demonstration is not the sort of thing that should necessitate teargas but, listening to the feedback, you would think that no one has any right to stage a protest over anything, least of all the inexplicable and apparently politically-motivated murder of the two men who worked for the Oscar Founda...
The Bio Safety Bill vs Organic Farming
The Bio-safety Bill vs Organic Farming
Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Atta Annan once said that Africa should embrace biotechnology in food production. He even said that GM foods would alleviate the problem of hunger in the continent. Late last year, Kenya's parliament passed the Bio-safety Bill with a little push by the US producers of genetically modified corn (USGC).
Over My Shoulder: Remembering Atieno-Odhiambo
Over My Shoulder: Remembering Atieno Odhiambo

  David William Cohen
 Lemuel A. Johnson Collegiate Professor of African Anthropology and History at the University of Michigan

 February 26, 2009

Yesterday, February 25, 2009, I learned the very sad news of the passing in Kisumu, Kenya of dear colleague Prof. E. S. Atieno Odhiambo, following an extended illness.  I was not able to grasp the nature of this illness but I recognized that this illness was constituting an immense gap in a world of learning, ...
Could GMOs Turn Kenyans into Bioserfs?
Could GMOs Turn Kenyans into Bioserfs?
With the Biosafety Act having gained presidential assent earlier this month, all that remains to be done is the establishment of a National Biosafety Authority before large-scale cultivation of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). One matter that has not been settled, however, is whether GMO crops will be appropriate for Kenya and her farmers.
A tribute to E.S. Atieno-Odhiambo
A tribute to E.S Atieno-Odhiambo
Atieno was my friend ever since he was completing his DPhil in Oxford in the 1960s.  In letters I used to call him 'ruoth'; he used to call me 'wuod ajuoga'.  In the days of e-mail we were always asking each other questions about the facts and ideas of Kenya's history.  It is terrible to think that I can never again turn to him for advice.  Atieno was a man with whom one could immediately feel at home.  If we had not seen each other for a year or more we could pick...
A plea for partisans
A plea for partisans
Looking to the United States and President Obama's humiliatingly failed attempts to forge a bipartisanship on the fiscal stimulus, I find myself thinking back to the heady euphoria of 2003 and the post-Moi government that was NARC. The C was for Coalition; the Kenyan people, it was supposed, voted for the union, the compromise and hence the bind that we later found ourselves in.
Uhuru and the CMA
Uhuru and the CMA
Will Uhuru's direction to reconstitute the CMA's board get to the root cause of rowdy brokers and 'investment banks'? I don't think so.
From Citizens to Strangers
From Citizens to Strangers
The National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act describes the rights of sitting members of parliament. It also redefines the relationship between members of parliament and the citizen-constituents who elect them. As with other constitutional documents, the Act opens with a list of definitions, and these guide how our parliamentarians view and respond to our concerns as citizen-constituents.
Miller versus Muli
Miller versus Muli
She certainly has name recognition. She is civil society. She gets plenty of airplay when matters democratic, free and fair are concerned. She got it in 2005 during the referendum, and in 2007 during the election. She led the Kenyan domestic observers at that fraught time.
Uwezo
Uwezo
Everyone takes advantage of Giriamas. "Even an Indian will ask, 'are you Charo or Katana?' He doesn't want to employ people like me of another tribe because he knows Giriamas will work like donkeys and not complain about money." This was said to me by the Taita man who works in our house in Watamu. The genesis of his heartfelt tirade was the discovery that his Giriama colleague's plot had been sold without his knowledge through the seeming machinations of a Kikuyu man. It surpri...
Institutionalism and its Limits
Institutionalism and its Limits
You often hear it said that the problem - or, at any rate, one of the key problems - with Kenya is that we haven't got the institutions to make democracy work. That's true. It's then supposed to follow that once we have the right institutions, we're a long way to sorting the matter out. That's probably not true.
On Femmes
On Femmes

I make no spurious claims to speaking on behalf of Kenyan feminism as a whole. I can barely lay claim to speaking about the perception of Kenyan feminism in my generation-- women in their mid 20s. So. I speak only for myself, and (if they'll permit me to quote them) the fabulous group of women I am privileged to call my friends.

Getting down with the Teachers
On getting Down With The Teachers
I'm mad. Livid. Angry beyond words. I will have to be secreted to a facility to prevent serious embarrassment to myself and those around me; I'm on the warpath, armed with the jaw of an ass, bent on Samsonite accomplishment. Let me tell you why. 
Impunity, Take Two
Impunity, Take Two
Kenyans like to get off. Repeatedly. Impunity is a habit, a practice, a fetish, and, seemingly, a requirement for national belonging. Indeed, it lies at the heart of our civil and political engagements, and is one of our main impediments to realizing a truly progressive, liberated State. The aftermath of the post-election violence offers a particularly vivid case study on the important role of impunity in present-day Kenya.
Cooperation and Kenyan NGOs
For Kenya’s NGOs, a Need to Cooperate

NAIROBI, Kenya: Kenya's National Council of NGOs is located in an old bungalow in Hurlingham, a Nairobi suburb. At the gate, a white panel proclaims the council's mission, to provide "leadership to the NGO sector." But the gate opens onto a more threadbare reality. A slight air of exhaustion hangs over the institution, which officially represents the country's non-governmental sector.

Breaking News: Uhuru to Finance, Kimunya returns
Breaking News
An announcement from State House Nairobi says that President Kibaki has appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Gatundu South MP Uhuru Kenyatta Minister for Finance.
A flagging nation
A flagging nation

You'll have seen Keguro's latest. I don't buy it. I'll be upfront about my prejudices: I think Kenyatta and Mboya made substantially correct choices at the founding of the post-colonial state; for brains and influence, they're the two most important Kenyans ever.

The Ugali Saga: A Better Perspective
The Ugali Saga: A Better Perspective
The cost and shortage of ugali flour has captured the attention of Kenyans - and rightly so - in recent days. Now, the question: have we been discussing the real issues? No, because many Kenyans are simply unaware of them - this includes our politicians and journalists.  (I will not discuss hoarding, much as we know it is an issue).
Parris' Wager
Parris' Wager

Conservatives, careless Christians and Blaise Pascal have offered instrumental reasons for Christian belief. Parris' wager is the most recent contribution to this distinguished tradition. Familiarity having bred boredom, the plot is varied by the atheism of our author and his choice of Africans for the wager's bettors.

 

Land Reform in Zimbabwe and Kenya
Land Reform in Zimbabwe
The January 1 2009 issue of the London Review of Books has a second round of letters responding to Mahmood Mamdani's Lessons of Zimbabwe. A central point of dispute is the proper characterisation of the conflict in Zimbabwe: Mamdani's opponents see it primarily as a conflict between the state and its people; his view is that the central conflict concerns land ownership, and that the Mugabe regime is almost incidental.
Politics and Race: A Left Wing Summary of the Howard Years
Politics and Race: A Left Wing Summary of the Howard Years

John Howard was in power for 11 years (1996-2007) making him Australia's second longest serving Prime Minister. Australian democracy has no set terms, so leaders can keep ruling if they keep winning elections. Another quirk of our democracy allows incumbents to decide the date of the election within an approximately 3 month window. Until Kevin Rudd was elected in November 2007, there were many Australians who had no political consciousness without John Howard.

Monday Puzzle VI: Meno
Monday Puzzle VI: Meno
Meno. And how will you enquire, Socrates, into that which you do not know? What will you put forth as the subject of enquiry? And if you find what you want, how will you ever know that this is the thing which you did not know?

 

Socrates. I know, Meno, what you mean; but just see what a tiresome dispute you are introducing. You argue that man cannot enquire either about that which he knows, or about that which he does not know; for if he knows, he has no need to en
...
Solo 7: a Kenyan story for Independence Day
Solo 7: a Kenyan story for Independence Day
Maybe there is a Kenyan public, with some sort of shared moral understanding (Corruption Is Bad). Why, then, don't the appeals resonate? Apathy? Despair about the effectiveness of political action?
Jamhuri Day is meaningless: Kenyans are not yet free
Jamhuri Day is meaningless: Kenyans are not yet free
In 1888 the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA) was granted a royal charter to administer and commercially exploit British territory in East Africa on behalf of the British monarch. The company was eventually responsible for managing the production and exportation of raw materials; (a substantial chunk of) its sphere of influence ...
Knowledge and the Kenyan University
Knowledge and the Kenyan University

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education demonstrates that African universities face a crisis in hiring and retaining new Ph.D. holders, many of whom choose to go into industry or NGOs. Fewer than half of University-based academics have doctorates in their respective disciplines. As the piece points out, "most institutions have focused on raising student numbers rather than on improving the quality of education and research."

The Impending Return of Amos Kimunya
The Impending Return of Amos Kimunya

The Cockar Commission into the sale of the Grand Regency Hotel (as was) has completed its work and handed its report to the President. Since not a single witness, among them his erstwhile accusers, mentioned the Kipipiri MP adversely, it is expected to absolve him of any wrongdoing, either of omission or commission, in this matter.

Taking Dick Seriously, Or the Erotics of Circumcision
Taking Dick Seriously, Or, the Erotics of Circumcision

Sometimes I hold

my warm seed

up to my mouth

and kiss it.

-Essex Hemphill

Assigning Responsibility for the Violence
Assigning responsibility for the violence
The assignments of moral responsibility in play are entirely ridiculous
Waki report: Findings
Waki report into the Post-Election Violence in Kenya

The report appears to have been released earlier today. You can find it here . Key findings below.

  

Dedan Kimathi and Me IV: The Lion in Winter
Dedan Kimathi and Me IV: The Lion in the Winter
The initial guard over Dedan Kimathi was myself, a police corporal, and two constables at the Nyeri Hospital; for a couple of day we were considered adequate. 
Peter Marsh. In Memoriam
Peter Marsh. In Memoriam
The poem is dedicated to the memory of Peter Marsh, who was born in Blantyre in 1926, and recently passed away in Devon. He moved to Kenya in 1951 and served East African Railways and Harbours as an engineer in various capacities, latterly as Acting Chief Civil Engineer, until he left in 1976. He loved Kenya as his own.
Mungatana Resigns
Mungatana Resigns
A day after Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua resigned from her post in the coalition government, her NARC-Kenya colleague, the Medical Services Assistant Minister Mr. Danson Mungatana, has also resigned.

Let Somalis be
Let Let's not be tempted to invade Somalia
Al-Shabaab is essentially an internal issue for Somalia and Somalis. Kenya has no business interfering or intervening in the current fighting in Mogadishu. 

 


Mental health in Kenya: a prognosis
Mental health in Kenya: a prognosis Mental health in Kenya: a prognosis
The Kenyan budget allocates less than 10 per cent of financial resources to the health sector despite the government’s stated commitment to the Abuja Declaration promising at least 15 per cent of its budget allocations to the health sector.

 
Tribute to the King of Pop
Tribute to the King of Pop Tribute to the King of Pop
Michael Jackson died on June 25th, 2009 after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his LA residence. Jackson was arguably the most influential inter-generational musician who broke race, and cultural lines across the world. His 1982 album, Thriller, is to date the best selling album with an estimated over 100 million copies sold worldwide.
Soundtracks
Soundtracks Soundtracks

I was not a happy child, but many of the scattered happy moments that I remember of my younger days had some random MJ track playing in the background, and that's why I feel like a distant relative has died.

 
Servants of the People, Accountability and Impunity
Servants of the People, Accountability and Impunity Servants of the People, Accountability and Impunity
Nothing amuses me more than the oft repeated mantra by politicians that they are servants of the people. They are our representatives who ensure that government keeps its side of the bargain in the social contract with the people in which supposedly, government is tasked with ensuring a prosperous commonwealth.
In fraud we trust?
In Fraud we Trust? In Fraud we Trust?
Douter de tout ou tout croire, ce sont deux solutions également commodes, qui l'une et l'autre nous dispensent de réfléchir.
On the Table and Off the Map
On The Table and Off The Map On The Table and Off The Map
Eight days after Barack Obama delivered his much-touted speech in Cairo, Iranians are going to the polls to vote for their own president. Although reelection for incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seemed to be guaranteed just a few weeks ago, there now appears to be growing potential for an upset victory by challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been running a campaign as the candidate of change.
Fatherhood Blues
Fatherhood Blues
27 years ago I promised myself that I would write a book when I turned 50. I am 4 years late and not quite ready to write an entire book. Here I am though, sitting down with a pen and paper because my son-in-law asked me a question the day before he lawfully wedded my daughter. "What was it like, raising her?"
A growing refugee crisis in Kenya
A growing refugee crisis in Kenya
Saturday is World Refugee Day, a day set aside to raise awareness on the status of refugees around the world.  IRIN News reports. Ever-worsening security in Somalia is prompting large numbers of civilians to flee into Kenya, where facilities to host them are stretched to bursting point, raising fears of a major refugee crisis. 

Dadaab in eastern Kenya, is home to an estimated 279,000 mainly Somali refugees - triple its designated capacity. Its Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo camps toge

...
Deja vu, Budget, Airport, Coffee
Deja vu: Budget, Airport, Coffee Deja vu: Budget, Airport, Coffee
In March 2009, a riot broke out at Kenya's second largest University because students were not allowed to sit their final examinations unless and until they came up with the year's fees - One Hundred Thousand Shillings (US$1,250). 
How does the greatest bull run of all times end?
How does the greatest bull run of all times end? How does the greatest bull run of all times end?
Contrary to what the general public thinks, the most remarkable bull market in our times has not been that of that stocks, or even of real estate, but rather that of bonds. The chart below (via Yahoo) shows yields on 10-year Treasuries, the most traditional, safest long term bond. Yields are the net interest you'd get from buying such a bond on the secondary market today and holding it: they go down when bond prices go up: ...
Reflections on the Budget
Reflections on the Budget Speech Reflections on the Budget Speech
Yesterday, 11th June 2009, the current Finance Minister, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta read his maiden budget to a packed House. The initial indications are that the budget has been quite well-received. But what does this budget really mean for Kenyans?
Budget Speech 2009
The Budget Speech 2009 The Budget Speech 2009
Presented below is the full text of the Budget Speech the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta read out before parliament yesterday. It is presented in Scribd format for easy searching and scrolling through.
Revisioning Kenya
Revisioning Kenya Revisioning Kenya
Nation Media CEO Linus Gitahi will challenge our notions of giving back to the community at the forthcoming Revisioning Kenya forum.
Food prices will rise again, says report
Food prices will rise again, says report Food prices will rise again, says report
Food prices will rise again by 2015, when economies are expected to have recovered from the global recession, pushing up demand once more, says a recent UN report.

2008 is seen as the year of food crises, prompted in part by high fuel prices, but these started declining as the global recession got underway in late 2008 and eventually returned to 2006 levels, though food prices in many developing countries are still higher than they were then.


Naivasha MP to Push for Furadan Ban
Naivasha MP to Push for Furadan Ban Naivasha MP to Push for Furadan Ban
Naivasha Member of Parliament, John Matutho, is expected to ask the Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources to immediately ban the pesticide Furadan during Thursday’s session of the tenth parliament. Hon. Matutho is also expected to ask the Minister whether he is aware of a documentary about lion deaths in Kenya aired in March 2009 by American broadcaster, CBS, and is potentially damaging to Kenya’s image. ...
Depression & Suicide Among College Students
Depression & Suicide Among College Students Depression & Suicide Among College Students
“I just thought it was sadness… I could not function, life had no meaning at all, I felt like the only way out would be to kill myself.“  These are the exact words used by one of the college students featured in a new documentary ‘The Truth about Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College’  by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This documentary was made by families who have lost their children through suicide. Most of the participants in ...
Bar & Bakery: NGO made in Heaven
Bar & Bakery: NGO made in Heaven Bar & Bakery: NGO made in Heaven
At a Bar & Bakery in a mid-west town, a man I had just met declared, "Well, Kenyans like to form altruistic organizations with a money making agenda, I decided to form a money making organization with an altruistic agenda."
The Mara in Crisis
The Mara in Crisis The Mara in Crisis
A new study has found that the Masai Mara is in crisis.
Tajudeen Abdul Raheem: a giant is lost on African Liberation Day
Tajudeen Abdul Raheem: a giant is lost on African Liberation Day Tajudeen Abdul Raheem: a giant is lost on African Liberation Day

25 May is Africa Liberation Day. What a day to be woken in the early hours of the morning with the terrible news that one of the leading proponents of Africa's liberation – Tajudeen Abdul Raheem should be so tragically lost in a senseless car accident in Nairobi. Messages have been pouring in from across the world as we all fail to hold back our tears at this loss.




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