Dispatch from Mombasa

Source: Standard Media Eight members of parliament   had their day in court  where they were charged with incitement to violence. The eight had been languishing in police cells since Tuesday when the magistrate ordered that they be incarcerated pending completion of investigations into their case by the Director of Public Prosecutions. As I reflect about the plight of the six, a question that keeps coming to my mind is aren’t we all haters? Shouldn’t all of us have our day in court? Shouldn’t all of us be locked in the filthiest of police cells so as to reflect on the amount of hate that we spew whether online or socially? While the eight may have been open in their alleged divisive rhetoric, a good number of us are closet tribalists (I borrow the term from Miguna Miguna’s Peeling off the Mask). We hate, divide people send signals of hate, we polarise, we just do anything that would justify our hate of other people but hiding under the freedom of expression and othe...

I cannot fully recall how the debate started but all I can remember is that we were having a debate about the communicative power of silence. I found the debate intellectually stimulating and decided to on my own learn a few facts about silence and communication. Of course I had to try and see how it links to my two pet areas of preoccupation –politics and internal organisational communication. Meaningful silence as advanced by Johannsen (1974) and Jaworski (1993) is where thought processes are involved and the hearer of the message intentionally withholds a response to the speaker. The speaker is left to use his/her own means to find out the response which more often is gotten from the nonverbal cues. Now, the 2017 general elections are just around the corner. Aspirants and incumbents in equal measure are running like headless chicken in early campaigns earnestly  trying to convince voters that they are the best choices. For incumbents, anything that seems to oppose or spea...

The location is the Chief’s office Likoni. The time is 11.00a.m. The sweltering Mombasa heat makes you feel like you want to go topless. *wink. Being a Monday, a crowd has already built at the office waiting to be served by the Chief. And he does not disappoint. His office keeps spitting out client after client. However, the number of service seekers doesn’t seem to dwindle and are increasing by the minute. When it is my turn to be served, I cheerfully greet the chief who responds with an air of indifference. He already looks tired. He momentarily puts his hands behind his head and yawns. Behind him is an open window from where not less than three metres away is a roadside hotel. Whenever the lazy wind changes it direction, smoke mixed with the smell of chapatti wafts into the Chief’s office distracting his attention. His office, a residential house turned office must be the most uninspiring place to work in. The last time it saw a coat of paint must have been when it was occupi...

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...