Dispatch from Mombasa

MOVE TO JOIN JUBILEE PRESSURES GOVT TO DELIVER IN ORDER TO SECURE POLITICAL LIVES OF THE MUNG’ARO GROUP. Mung'aro with Deputy President William Ruto. Source: www.nation.coke Two major political happenings took place in Coast within the last one week. One, the media reported that six MPs from Kwale and Kilifi Counties had expressed their desire to work with the Jubilee Government and if need be decamp to the party so that they can be “part and parcel” of Government.  Two, efforts by Likoni MP Masudi Mwalimu Mwahima to have residents allocated the Waitiki land bore fruits when it was reported that finally they would formally possess the land because they were to be issued with title deeds. The two happenings though political can be seen and interpreted differently. In the first happening, the six Mps Gunga Mwinga (Kaloleni, Kadu Asili), Peter Shehe (Ganze Federal Party (CORD), Harrsion Kombe (Magarini, Jubilee ), William Kamoti (Rabai ODM), Mustaffa Iddi (Kilifi South ...

Trust me if Mr. Eutychus Ndirangu was the discipline master in one of the Nyeri and Kirinyaga schools in which students were found in a bus with all manner of contraband, he would have been in that bus. Source: Standard Media Let me introduce you to Mr. Eutychus Ndirangu. He was the no nonsense discipline master at Michinda Secondary school Elburgon during its heydays. Mr. Ndirangu was a shiny black, seven foot plus, straight as a ruler, impeccably dressed male who also doubled up as the English Literature master. He walked with the grace of a cat, ready to pounce on any misbehaving student. His arrival was always unnoticed and students believed that even if there were rats around, they would not notice his arrival. Mr. Ndirangu nicknamed Simmer by students was as mythical as he was real. Students’ spurn yarns and yarns of stories about him that it was difficult to know who the real Mr. Ndirangu was. For example it was believed that besides God, the only other omnipresent ind...

Mandera Senator: Hon. Billow Kerrow Source:www.kenya-today.com On Tuesday 7 th July 2015, the country woke up to news of the cold blood murder of 14 people in Soko Mbuzi area in Mandera County by the Alshabab  militia group. An MCA who was interviewed by the BBC said the attackers may have exploited some simmering inter clan conflict in the area to conduct the attack. Later in the day, leaders from the area were to address a Press Conference in which they blamed the government for the ever deteriorating state of security in the area. The leaders were led by Senator Billow Kerrow whom I must admit I have too much respect and admiration for especially when it comes to his understanding of public finance matters and his incisive contribution during the government’s budgeting cycle. However, Senator Kerrow let me down by his lack of understanding of what needs to be done to resolve the insecurity issue in Mandera and the entire NFD.  Senator Kerrow, and other leaders ...

Just a thought: The World Press Freedom day was celebrated on March 3 rd 2015 in the backlight of the attack on three journalists from the Nation and Royal Media Services at Galana Kulalu Ranch in Tana River County. The three were said to be in the company of Tana River County officials who had gone to seek for the release of cattle that had “trespassed” into the ranch. Outrage and condemnation greeted the attack on the “team” in equal measure but there was less probing of what may have led to the attack. Is there anything that the journalists did wrong which warranted the attack? Did the officers just descend on them the very moment they saw cameras trained on them? Were the journalists independent messengers or they had already taken a position in regard to the unfolding story? So far only the journalist’s side has been told and any attempt by security officers to tell their side of the story is half-hearted as the media has already taken a position on the issue. I must...

Phyllis Mwema KECOSCE Executive Director  Thursday 6 th November 2014 Mombasa Kenya: Mombasa based Civil Society Organizations have expressed their displeasure with the rising cases of insecurity in Mombasa that has seen close to twenty community leaders killed for their effort in containing radicalism and violent extremism. Led by the Executive Director of the Kenya Community Support Centre Ms Phyllis Mwema, the group noted that the murders have been committed using illegal firearms whose numbers seems to be on the increase. The group urged the Government to protect and facilitate community leaders who despite their loyalty and commitment have remained vulnerable to the attacks which are perpetrated by people who adhere to extremist ideologies. The latest killing is that of Sheikh Mwarangi of Bilal Mosque who was shot and killed after Tuesday's evening prayer. “Community leaders are soft targets because they are helpless, they have no weapon or any other protect...

Last week #KOT and Facebook exploded over claims by American tele-evangelist   Pat Robertson that one could contract Aids through the use of towels and especially here in Kenya. The popular presenter Pat Robertson even warned that water in Africa was the most unhygienic and therefore the most unsafe to drink. Although Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) retracted the utterance from the octogenarian right wing preacher, I must admit that his view represents the views of many people in the North largely because of the influence of the western Media and the way we in Africa project ourselves. Ask any political leader or development advocate who went to the west for a mission. If they can be honest with you, they would tell you that they went to market Africa as the ultimate place of suffering. It’s a place where all children have protruding bellies because of suffering the ravages of a combination of kwashiorkor, marasmus and beri beri. They will carry with them photographs of ...

I do not hold any brief for the Hon. Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir Mvita MP and this assessment is based purely on the instincts of a communicator. As an old journalist, the last time I covered Nassir was in 2003 in an interview that was organized by Tobby Otum, the then Coast Province Basketball Executive. Otum who popularized basketball in the Coast the nineties is now a journalist and is popularly referred to as “Chairman” because he now advocates for the “interests” of journalists to news sources. Since then we have never crossed paths with Abdulswamad except when he gave dates to be given to people in my former workplace Baraka FM. However, I have closely followed his political path and I believe this is the new kid on the block and he is the man to watch as he rises to become the new coast political supremo. Like a chip off the old block, Nassir a scion of the late long serving cabinet minister Shariff Nassir Taib, the young Nassir seems to carrying the same bag of tricks that wa...