The Enemy-Kikuyus in the Kenyans Poltical Thinking

"It baffles me a lot, and leaves me wondering why kikuyus can never vote for any other tribe in this country! One school of thought say the house of mumbi took an oath while facing mount Kenya, well I don't know how far is that true, but even if, don't we have those born again people? This is not democracy, and it only harms the efforts to contain tribalism in this country. When Raila declared Kibaki tosha, for a while we lived like brothers and sisters, but not until he some clique of guys from mount Kenya started surrounding our beloved president in the name of pumping sense into his head. We all came from Adam and Eve and we all have a common destiny...."from a Facebook's user's wall

From the above opinionated expression,like many others doing rounds in the social media and in groups of individuals' conversation,it appears that the KIKUYU tribe is one big anti-change,anti-good force in Kenya that must be slain.The Kikuyus seem like the enemy of the Kenyan public.But is this true?The accusation leveled against them of not voting for anyone outside central Kenya could be true.However,this has been in the past,and it doesn't mean that the same needs to happen in the upcoming elections.Circumstances in nations and waves of opinions that shape peoples' behaviour are never constant.Things change,and perhaps they have changed too.

Even so,what we are getting from such like above discourse is a pervasive and forcefully maligning statements directed towards one group which has the lethal effect of marginalizing and endangering these group in the public eye.It threatens their mutual interest whose very effect is the protective instinct of making sure by all means that the next president is from amongst them hence fulfilling the adage that they don't vote for any one from outside their tribe.

The assertion that the Kikuyus never vote for anyone outside their  tribe,might be true but to some extent it is a generalized stereotypical statement that is prejudicial in nature and they do us no good rather than destroy the unity and trust we so dearly need to develop amongst the Kenyan masses.

Those peddling these romours need to stop and maybe think of the psycho-social factors that might have prompted the Gikuyus to be the way people allege them to be.When almost in every general elections in kenya,the Kikuyus are the subjected of political discourse and mammoth disposal outcry with all the arsenal gathered and aimed towards their downfall,dont they have a right to be scared?It is a simple fact that the Kikuyus could be a threatened lot.With this fear they might be predisposed to act in a manner to put away all their perceived enemies,for example Raila Odinga.

Some of the Kikuyus might have fear of Raila Odinga,but that does not make them enemies of those who believe Odinga is fit is to become Kenya's fourth president.In the world history,people have rejected many things that have been potentially good due to the fear of the unknown in it since it is new.People fear change,and most of the time people react with fear and violence to change and things they less understand(Parish-The villain in the TV series"Alphas").

What we need to do with Kikuyus is not to corner them with ridicule and tongue lashing but to embrace them and offer them an assurance that all is well and is going to be well whether a Kikuyu or a non-Kikuyu president is in office.

They are not, enemies of Raila or Kenya or change or any other tribe in Kenya as others would want to imply.We are all one people only with slightly subtle differences in concerns,ambitious and expectation that do not necessarily put us worlds apart.Any other diatribe must be ignored.

Haller Park-A Perfect Serene Jewel

A foot path in the Haller Park-so serene,so natural

The coastal strip of Kenya is the surest place to be in Kenya supposing one ever imagines of a place to have time off from the hustles and tussles of life.It is not the the five star tourist hotels with the finest accommodation ,the rich myriad cuisine,the brimming urban night life in the hottest entertainment spots one can ever imagine of;not the tumbling beautiful girls of the towns-for the gents, but the

MOMBASA town-the famous Elephant Tusks

glamour is as a result these and what one has to see:the sceneries.Thesandy magnificent beaches,the landscapes and the wildlife is quite refreshing and amazingly breath taking.The combination of nature's providence and the product of human effort to make the coast a place to be has resulted in one of the most beautiful places to be in the world.I can think of the world's most amazing tourist destinations where the rich and the poor alike would like to be like Miami,the Bermuda or the exotic Dubai fancy city but the  coastal region of Kenya is the place to be.

Arriving in Mombasa town is such a hilarious experience.It is the finest relaxation and fun spot.There are just more than places to be with uncountable things to do worth making you feel like you never have the other side of your life with demands that make your head spin 24/7 .However,this can be a little  deceiving when you have to imagine that there can another  a paradise somewhere in town that is amazingly beautiful,the the Haller Park at Bamburi Nature Trail hidden from the obvious sites and joints you fast take notice of.

Haller park would be my perfect idea of a paradise on earth.The feeling of being at Bamburi Nature trail is one of those feelings that language fails to gives us enough words to describe.It is nature beyond nature's mere providence of artistic labour.It is ecstatic!

Adorned with varied species of wood that feels with the heart with the healthy green which is a symbol of nature's vitality,the heart swells with pleasure on arriving at the place.It is not only the trees but the wild growth on the floor of the wooded park with demarcated paths  winding around this rich greenly growth with towering trees above shielding the sun whose rays fall in beautiful patterns on the ground that makes it touching to the heart.

The varied configured floor of the nature trail,gives it a scenic quality,a mark of an artist curving a beautiful artwork form the land surface just to create that which will be appealing to the eyes.Trees and vegetation jut in on the slopes and raised grounds with water and flowering water plants in the basins below that are scattered through out the area.

The park is quite tranquil land the air more than just fresh.You close your eyes and let it rush in the lungs and the teaming with more than enough species of birds,nature's beautiful music wraps it up you feel like you are feeling your lungs with life itself.You open your eyes and the peace of the park reaches your soul and as the elegant plants from the ponds below,up the competing slopes and raised mounds  dance in the cool breeze wafting through the park hit your eyes,the least you can do is to let your heart loose and feel the serenading touch of nature at play.

The varied animal species kept in the park from fish in large ponds,to giraffes,hippos,snakes and birds is jewel that adds glamour to this already captivating place.It is the finest place to reach out to your inner-self; a perfect moment to hold your loves hand and tell her/him those little things he/she wishes to hear but life's rush never allows you to.It is a palace to experience nature's noble offering.Being here remind you of the value of being alive.It activates your self worth and the need to, like the showering eleganance around,unleash the talented and beautiful you and touch the world in same way as what you experience in the park.

The interplay of nature's beautiful workings at Haller park looks so real beyond nature's mere providence.It has the human touch with finest landscaping job having done.Looking around the park you never get to imagine that this a reclaimed derelict land once robbed of its beauty by marauding heavy quarrying machine in search of limestone for the cement company not so far away from it.This should be a wasteland where no human being would wish to be.It is supposed to be death trap with wide gaping holes filled with water enough to drown souls that trespass here.I would be a perfect reminder human's mindless destruction of what they never created.But it has been turned to be a glorious life-giving joint so welcoming you never think of what it was and the labour given unto to its creation

But the quest of Bamburi Cement company to make the place useful again is an all time proof our other side,the ability to create,nurture and improve what nature has provided us with.Haller who engineered the whole project is an amazing brain worth recognition.Being here is like walking in the trail of his winding vision and imagination.I love paintings,the finest that can ever be made but this is more than the feeling of staring at captured lifeless beauty,but being here is an experience of its,the walk I had on the paths in the shadows of the trees a jewel round my memories that make my existence so rich.

Next time you go to Mombasa,don't miss out to be here;not just as a tourist but also for a wide other functions such a retreats,team building,and above all....WEDDINGS!I can't think of  a perfect place to have a brush with love other than this place;to promise to love while the birds sing and others watch in disbelief.

Satire in Ngugi wa Thiongo's "The River Between"

Ngugi wa Thiongo in the novel  The River Between presents a society on the move to find hope and restoration in the face of a clash of two cultures, that is, the tribes culture and the culture of the white man, which has brought so much confusion and division in the tribe.However,the real threat  is not only the two proud cultures but also institutions and individuals who fail in certain ways.Ngugi,however,points out these failures in a subtle way by mocking them in the way he constructs them and their circumstances.

Ngugi mocks the leadership organ of the tribe, the Kiama. The Kiama being made up of elders would be presumed to be a cluster of wisdom, a source from which the tribe will get its guidance in its attempts  to preserve the  purity of the tribe and proper ways of handling the white man.However,it proves to be a group of ignorant and more confused individuals just like the rest of the people. It becomes a revenge machinery for ensuring that Waiyaki does not achieve his mission. Kabonyi uses it to revenge on Christian converts who are members of the tribe. More critically, Waiyaki is put in the hands of the Kiama to be judged, but  from the foregoing, the situation is awkward since the Kiama too needs to be judged for causing more hatred, harm to its people and creating more confusion in the tribe.

Kabonyi is equally on the spotlight. He parades himself as an alternative leader, somewhat better than Waiyaki who through his evil traps has managed to pull down. He hates Waiyaki for being the one the people sing his name yet he too, Kabonyi ,has provided leadership to the people.However,he is a scum, Since he is a mean individual who is so obsessed with getting power. He is no better position to lead since he has no idea of where he wants to lead the people to and he is ignorant of the fact that people want to be led to a different future different from the past where Kabonyi wants them to stay.

The people of the tribe have been mocked by Ngugi wa Thiongo.They are presented as a people with great respect and love for the young leaders. They love him and sing his praises for his demonstrated commitment to serving their interest like championing foe education expansion and getting more teacher for the created schools. However, this support and love for Waiyaki is a plastic one that does not wait to disappear the moment problems arise. They are first to judge and convict Waiyaki in the court of public opinion for being guilty even before placing him in the hands of the vengeful kiama to be judged. The people are in no better position to point a finger at Waiyaki for they too are responsible for the division,mistrut and hatred that id fast eating the tribe.

Joshua is the ultimate man of God, a faithful servant of God who must triumph in the face of all challenges. He cannot compromise. He is the ideal Christian to serve as a stepping stone to Christianity for the rest of the tribe who worship the “prince of darkness, Murungu”.This a crafty presentation of Joshua by Ngugi.He is no better than anyone yet he parades as a self righteous servant of God. He is a man whose faith and understanding of Christianity is shallow. He preaches Christianity yet he lacks love, compassion and forgiveness as Christ demonstrated to his followers. Joshua is a sycophant of the white man whose misconception and contempt he readily takes up as God inspired assertion. He does not have a mind of his own but is subject to accepting and implement all the white man says; so if the tribe’s culture is sinful, then so be it. It is no wonder when Joshua fails to save his daughter Muthoni from getting the claws of death and her death seem not to move him since she compromises Joshua’s self righteous and image as a “man of God”.

Traditionalism and Christianity are also satirized. These two religions are responsible for the whole mess in the society that has placed the tribe on the brink of destruction. The two are too proud and arrogant to co-exist. Traditionalism and its believers believe that Christianity and Christians led by the white man are responsible for interfering with the tribe and thus responsible for the calamities befalling the tribe such as the unpredictable coming of the much loved season of Njahi. The Christians on the other hand view traditionalism as an ignorant and sinful way of life. The Christians led by Rev.Livingstone and Joshua wage a war against some of the rituals of traditionalism such as circumcision without knowing the harm it can cause the tribe. Little do these two religions do to attempt to critically look at the other and themselves before making judgements.All these two religions have negative aspects and positive aspects and thus could accommodate and tolerate each other on this basis, something they fail to do.

Waiyaki after his father’s death rises to become the leader of the tribe and attempts in his only known way of fulfilling the prophesy, that is, giving the people the magic of the white man, formal education of the white man. As  a leader he is to be in a constant state of analyzing the circumstances of his people and searching for solutions .However, he gets detached from the people in his pursuit to get his only known solution to the problem of the interfering white man. He fails to notice the people’s immediate need of sending away the white man. This is made worse by the fact he himself has no better idea of what he is supposed to do as the savior of his people.Thus,his failure is not any obvious than it is since he has no vision of what to do nor his people’s many problems.

Rev.Livingstone has been satirized too. His conclusion on the tribe’s culture is that it is immoral and sinful. This misconception is based upon the fact that the songs he heard and words he heard people say during the dance on the eve of circumcision were vulgar. He does not understand that there are social codes that only allows such words to be said only during such an occasion; that other than during this event it is a taboo, a forbidden thing to say or dance in the manner people dance.Thus,his notions that injects into people like Joshua who uses the same to mistreat and look down others are a bunch of lies yet for him he holds them to be true. He ought to have looked beyond the song to understand the dynamics behind the performance. He is thus ignorant of the tribes culture without knowing it.

Thus in conclusion,Ngugi manages to point out the shortcomings and their undergoing of the individuals, groups and even religion which in one way or the other pose as the clean, the good and the perfect yet blatantly assuming they have no mistakes or no shortcomings. This he does in clever way that is the hallmark of satire in the novel.

Love is a Concept of Convenience

When a man is interested in a woman why does she play hard to get? Is it because people prefer things that they have worked for rather than things they have got so easily? And is chasing after a woman really worth it? If it is worth it, does it mean that then love is at play? The more one gets deeper into thinking about these questions the  more you get confused given it is not clear what we mean by love; and whether this lack of a clear definition and understanding of love throws doubt into the subject of its existence.

Love has no an acclaimed universal definition. How we have experienced, perceived or conceptualized love and what it represents to us is relative and differs from one person to another and from one context to another. However, in all different discussion of what love is, it emerges that it has to do with feelings.

In proposing my views on what might be the definition of love, I would begin by saying that love exists, but only as an abstract concept outside us. It only jumps into life and becomes real when human beings with feelings and emotions and need to belong come into a mutual coexistence where they share the bond of feelings and acceptance that attracts them to rely on each other for happiness and emotional satisfaction and security.However, this view only make sense when we depart from the abstract sense to its concrete form when individuals feel each other.

Thus love to me is a concept of convenience.Why?Firstly,every man and woman has a preconceived idea of the kind of person they want to relate with, be intimate with, have good time with, depend on emotionally and materially and feel appreciated, cared for and wanted and perhaps live with. All this desire that we put into that idealized situation when we should be happy and life should be sheer fun, full of charm and glamour by virtue of this one amazing person who makes our world stop and turn around  forms the basis of what is the best for us. According to the Long man English dictionary, the ideas of what is best for one form the basis the term convenience.

As a consequence of this preconceived ideas that forms our dreams and expectations, we go out meeting people and judge them to find out that person who, based what they have and are, meet our already formed criteria of who they should be and what they should have. These preconceptions are deeply buried in our subconscious we barely take note of their continued existence and operation in our lives but they are there sorting, classifying and judging. At the same time, during our interactions, the people we meet are always making a statement of themselves though unconsciously in their talk, attitude, beliefs, dressing style, educational, social and economic achievement and class and physique. The hallmark of these aspects which form the people personality is projected into our minds and then is interpreted on the basis of the ideas we already want. When these projections are not concurrent with our desires and idea of what is the best for us. These people are rejected and that is why women and men alike are not falling in love everyday though they meet many people who are great in many ways.

However, when the right person comes along, what they project is taken in, analyzed and readily accepted. Given the person has what we desire in a ,then it seems we are operating on the same frequency and so we connect, that is get attracted to the person through appreciation and desire to have them in our lives. This connection embodies the acceptance of the other person hence a strong feeling of attraction to the other. Thus we desire and want to be with the person because we like them and feel special bonding. It is this connection, acceptance and liking that now combines to form that wonderful feeling of an involuntary attachment to their person such that make us feel nice and elated. But even so choice comes into play as we decide whether to make the connection mutual by letting the other know that we have connected with them and make them too get connected with us. When the connection becomes mutual the love ceases to be an abstract term and become real though we cannot touch it but many would profess the feel it.

However, this definition might seem so idealistic in a world where our perceived world and the real world are incompletely incongruous. The building up of the idea of what one’s life should be is in itself an idealization. The preconception of what is the best for one such as a lot of love, happiness, peace and tranquility in a stable relationship is an ideal construct.However, these ideals we prop up do not last when we get into the real world where different forces in life pull heart breaking stunts on us we get disappointed and disillusioned. But the good news is that people adjust in all situations. Thus in the real world we would still judge things base on our ideals but we settle for that which is still the best for us though not the actual thing we ever dreamt of. We go for that which will work for us.Unfortunately,some people never accept the reality and learn to live within the limitations of the real world where the interplay of so many factors makes it hard to find that which we ever wanted.Such individuals get tired with waiting for that which they cannot find and they conclude that love does not exist.

Most of the time we go for people who share a lot of things with us. These are people in who, like the mirror, we see the reflections of ourselves in them. Before we find these people love is there but only it exists outside us but once we find that person whom we want and have connected and decided to be with them, then love is conceived in us

This is how I see love to be. How is it for you?

A Letter to My Son 8:Kenya’s Blockbuster Intrigues: No Guilt, so Much Freedom

The kenya's Man-eat-man system:The Tragedy of Education

Being in school and painstakingly withstanding long hours of learning many subjects from primary to high school in Kenya is an experience to reckon with.You pass through the JAB's axe after Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and you feel excited.The future flashes  before you and you feel the scent of the promised honey and the taste of the flowing milk of the promised land.Canaan looks so close till you never imagine that the red sea lies just meters away and you have not tested how deep its water runs,and whether  you need a canoe if not Moses' rod to to split the water and find away to cross over.You get to university and you realize that the many subjects you took,worked hard in and got your passes while in secondary school will not be of importance but just a painful reminder of "have been there and done that"but the thought of the anxiety and disappointment at wasted grades and accompanying wasted time never sets in with a force since the future charmed with success marked by a good job,lots of money to spend,a good car and a good house looks so promising.

The hours spent reading the "jargonized " lingo of the course material at the university or college level makes your mind bloom and burst with a spectacle of this great gentleman or lady making the headlines after school.You become invincible and you imagine the world will be at your mercy.Yet it is the perfect opposite.Many surprises await you on being out of college,waiting like vampires ready to suck hope,enthusiasm,blood and youth out of your system.

An obvious setback that you first face is the "brown envelope syndrome".Since getting a job is not easy not unless you are favoured by the "who you know "society syndrome,you dismount your pride of being one of the learned many to start chasing the hard-to-find  jobs around.It is the same society which has kept you intact in a school system for sixteen years but it is the same to demand 3 plus years of experience in order to qualify for paltry salaried job yet no one is ready to offer you even a place to get that very experience in the first place.Your certificates and their copies become a mockery,a reminder of your misery.Every morning you wake up and get to carry it around like some kind of tumor,something a kin to the dehumanizing infamous kipande our grandfathers carried in the 50s when the vile white colonial boss muscled manhood and womanhood out of our nation founder's bodies.You even feel embarrassed to think of yourself as an educated person since you have nothing to show for the papers,more so the fact that the system fed you with  with garbage of obsolete and impractical theory and no skills to make you fit in the hands-on-job aspect of the economy.A sympathetic good Samaritan asks you what you can do and you blink a thousand times because you have no idea and because you feel the level you have got,the job might be below your caliber.

But this isn't just yet enough.No one ever teaches you about the exploitative job market.It is a noted factor in the job market in Kenya today that we suffer the problem of excess educated and talented young Kenyans for the limited jobs.So what happens?Because you have no job,no money and exasperatingly searching for something to hang on,you are offered a job but with unsaid grueling terms of condition of work.You work under pressure with the management clawing results out of you by all means.You put in long hours of work and a great deal of commitment for a staggering meager pay.A person seems to be soaring high in the cloud on getting a job but a few months into it and one looks so tired,twice older than before,broken and wielding a faded smile that struggles to hide frustration and the near hopeless level one has got to.At that time,profit margins go high at the pleasure of the bosses who brag of the human capital manipulation skills but your stake in it is wonder,pain and frustrations.After all,is this not what our good banks are doing to our graduates:putting them in the sales section to sell some non-competitive  products that fetch little attraction from potential clients yet expected to work miracles and have awesome sales!And at the end of the day for what?This is just one of the ways the society is misusing its expensively got brains,fast sucking them dry and injecting pessimism that works against the nations discourse of progress.

The worst of it all is that no one ever prepares you to fairly participate in this man-eat-man circus neither does any one bother to restore sanity since after,it is our way of living dangerously:no accepting liabilities and living dangerously even if it means over speeding over zebra crossing meant slow vehicles down to allow pedestrians also have their way.

Bamburi Nature Walk-Mombasa

the tranquil breath taking scenery at Bamburi Nature Walk