A reckoning with Baba 0: Requiem Following the passing of a great man, we often race to eulogise him. And as our traditions require, to the sins of the departed we must grant a merciful amnesia. After all, it is an act of kindness to just let mourners grieve. Following the demise of Raila Amolo…
Power does not corrupt, it reveals. As blood stains are drying on the pavements of Nairobi, the current president of Kenya, William Samoei Ruto, stands as the culmination of Kenya’s democratic experiment. Although Ruto is cloaked in electoral democracy, Kenya’s institutional memory of oppression finds expression through him. By tracing Ruto’s despotic journey, we witness…
Waterways (Part 1) For readers unfamiliar with Swahili and Sheng, see the glossary at the end. The matatu announced its arrival with a cacophony of hoots, but as Nairobians confess, this is always unnecessary. Even the deaf would be startled by the stentorian speakers long before the bus came into view. Okra acknowledged the distraction,…
Fulfilment or Survival? This is my take on the raging debate between two professionals from my alma mater. Consider the physician who also sells fish and vends vegetables. What does their condition tell us? What do these side hustles reveal? We know that they wanted to be doctors when they were younger. They may have…
We inhabit a fractured world. Tell me, can you feel it too? I feel it every morning when I emerge into society. I feel it as I endure the breakfast news and podcasts. I feel it throughout the day as I visit the digital platforms I inhabit, and even in the evenings as I plunge…
MACHINES HAVE JUST LEARNT HOW TO THINK The dance between what we can imagine and what is possible is a delicate one. Optimism, no matter how latent in logic, often finds itself wrapped in the shameful garments of hype. Grand ideas appear absurd when measured against what we believe. This is because we comfort ourselves…
This is a response to the article titled Who is an African, written by a dear friend and business partner of mine. You should read his piece first, before relishing mine. Nothing matters more than the present. All we have is now, for it is the only platform upon which we can exercise our agency….
Our souls, like waterways, reveal themselves in gradations of being: there are streams—crystalline and clear, where sunlight shines through to the shimmering stones beneath the surface; and there are rivers—tempestuous in their temperament, and as you traverse their serpentine paths, you can find both rapids that roar and a silent stillness somewhere that, if you…
This article follows directly from Part 1: Understanding Surveillance Oppression in Kenya. However, it can be read on its own as a separate self-contained document. Reccommendations The following are some recommendations, which when followed even in part, will inculcate an attitude of defensive security, not only during political agitation but also as a pre-emptive strategy…
Colonial era Political dissent monitoring via spying operations and subsequent repression via government-sanctioned violence and extrajudicial killings have a tragically rich history in Kenya. It started in the 19th century when the British recruited missionaries and mercenaries as porters and guides as they colonised our territory. As they crept into villages and communes, they planted…