It's an election year, and that means that the usual suspects are jostling for your votes, and ultimately, power. In a lot of my work, I focus on governance and socio-cultural issues, and when it comes to governance, the spotlight is usually on the incumbent government. We are able to measure their effectiveness and performance based on the promises they made and the state of the country as is. But what about the opposition? How may we rate them? We answer this question today. Press play! Resour...
Feb 16, 2017•9 min
Kenya is being ravaged by drought this year - this should not come as a surprise, since we are a drought prone country where 80% of the land is arid and semi arid. Yet, from the reaction of our government, you would think that the drought is indeed a surprise. So, this week, we look at the effects that drought has on our economy, and why our government should take it more seriously. Resources Drought conditions and management strategies in Kenya Hundreds of thousands face hunger in Kenya Drought...
Feb 09, 2017•13 min
If it feels like we’re on the verge of the breakdown of democracy as we know it, it’s because we are. World over, it’s like the rug has been pulled from underneath our feet. Far right nationalism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, classism and other strata are being used to divide us. The word fascism is experiencing a resurgence - it keeps flying around, and not many people know exactly what it is. People are rebelling against it. But for Kenyans, this is nothing new. It’s just more pronounced now th...
Feb 02, 2017•19 min
It's that time of the year again! Election season is upon us, and you know what this comes with - all manner of scaremongering to get you to register to vote, and vote for specific candidates. Some candidates will beg for your vote, others will ask, and others will lie and issue threats. This week, we explore popular myths around elections and voting in Kenya. Is it true that voting is your duty as a citizen? If you don't, do you have a right to complain? Press play! Resources On Voting Politica...
Jan 26, 2017•7 min
Welcome to Kenya, where doctors signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Ministry of Health in 2013, and the employer has yet to register or implement it, yet we have enough money to grant our MPs a KES 36 billion send off package while claiming we have no money to pay the doctors. It has been 45 days since the strike began (however, this episode was recorded on day 43), and the government shows no sign of taking seriously the suffering that Kenyans have undergone because of their...
Jan 19, 2017•52 min
We have 16 more days to the end of 2016 - congratulations on making it this far! Like most people, I am running a countdown, and looking back at the year that has been and taking stock of both the good and the bad times, and what I have learned. This episode, we do the same for Kenya - we take a look at the hilarious, the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is our last episode in 2016, so have a fantastic holiday friends, and see you all (hopefully) again in January! Resources How whistleblower's ...
Dec 15, 2016•24 min
It's official - in what almost surely qualifies as a miracle, Yahya Jammeh, the dictator who has ruled The Gambia for 22 years, was voted out of power in a free and fair election, and Adama Barrow, the opposition coalition candidate, was voted in. What was even more surprising? Jammeh conceded defeat and said he would not be contesting the election result. Given that this happened just before Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola announced that he would not be running for president next year, I was promp...
Dec 08, 2016•13 min
Many Kenyans will tell you that whenever they see our national flag, or hear the national anthem, they feel their hearts swell with pride. Why? Because the flag and our anthem make them feel patriotic - proud to be Kenyan. This is possibly what Boniface Mwangi, a well known activist, felt when he went to the cinema on 27th November 2016, only to look around and see some people not standing for the national anthem. So he yelled at them until they stood. I found this odd - so I decided to dissect ...
Dec 01, 2016•18 min
After the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the USA, many people have remarked that we are living in a post truth economy/post factual world - it doesn't matter what the facts present, it only matters what you believe, and how strongly you can get others to believe it too. It doesn't matter what the truth is. Which is why we have Trump and others denying climate change when it can easily be proven. How does this dynamic play out in Kenya? What does it mean for us in the run up to...
Nov 24, 2016•14 min
Protests are a key part of democracy - they are a way for citizens to act directly to show their support or disapproval regarding a course of action, statement or thing. After Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the USA, protests began, led by citizens who are against what he stands for. In Kenya, on 12th December 2016, we will be having the Take Kenya Back protest against the corruption that is destroying our country. So, I thought, why not talk about the how, when, where, why, who a...
Nov 17, 2016•15 min
I think I speak for many people when I say I'm relieved the US election is over - you couldn't look anywhere and fail to be bombarded by Trump vs Clinton news, and now, the forces of tribalism and prejudice have spoken - the US, and the rest of the world, shall endure a President Trump from next year onward, for four years! At this point, anyone speaking about what happens next will be conjecturing, but I am willing to join in speculating what this means for Kenya, and for Africa. Press play! Re...
Nov 10, 2016•8 min
As you may know by now, we are in the throes of a new national scandal in which it is alleged that KES 5.3 billion was stolen from the Ministry of Health, based on an interim audit report that was obtained by the Nation Media Group. Scandals of this nature are not new to us - we have had the Goldenberg scandal, the Anglo Leasing Scandal and the NYS scandal - however, what is new this time is that we have decided to put our feet down, and hold our leaders accountable. This is a rallying cry. Let ...
Nov 03, 2016•26 min
Pyramid schemes seem to be back in fashion, with Russian fraudster Sergey Mavrodi having brought his Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (or, MMM Global) to Kenya with a serious recruitment offensive. It's as if Kenyans never learn! We've seen this before with Deci, where thousands of people lost billions of shillings. So why are people buying into MMM Global? We dig into it this episode. Press play! Resources Don't Get Caught in a Pyramid Scheme I lost Sh31m and brother to the pyramid schemes How the mast...
Oct 27, 2016•11 min
In what is a rare occurrence in Kenya, the people and their legislators have agreed on something: we have too many elected officials, especially the Members of Parliament (that is, Senators and Members of the National Assembly), and MCAs (Members of the County Assembly). These excess representatives have bloated our wage bill to a point where it is unsustainable – we have to borrow to pay bills, not even to develop. This has to change. This week, we explore the possibilities: how can we reduce t...
Oct 20, 2016•16 min
Everyone's favourite public servant, Ezekiel Mutua, was back in the news this week as he proposed a Bill that would enable him (and his friends at the Kenya Film Classification Board) to regulate, control and censor basically everything in the country. Ezekiel is nothing if not ambitious, we guess. Is he the Kenyan Donald Trump? This week, we take a peek into the (possible) thoughts of Ezekiel - the banner in chief - and see what it means for us as moving forward. Press play! :) Resources #StopT...
Oct 13, 2016•22 min
Road safety has been on the tip of our tongues and the top of our minds after a matatu (KCG 748M) serving the Ongata Rongai route crashed in late September killing four people on the spot and injuring six others. We protested online and offline, the NTSA, Ongata Line Transporters Company and the police engaged in finger pointing, and we yet again found ourselves asking the question we've asked so many times before: what is wrong with Kenyan roads, and can it be fixed? We explore that this week. ...
Oct 06, 2016•19 min
The Federation of Women Lawyers, better known as FIDA Kenya , has been in the news lately for its petition to the courts to have matrimonial property split 50-50 upon the dissolution of a marriage, and to have sections of the Matrimonial Property Act (2013) declared unconstitutional. They have been called malicious and greedy, and been accused of trying to commercialize marriage. This week, we find out whether this is true. Press play! Resources FIDA Kenya's Petition Married Women's Property Act...
Sep 29, 2016•15 min
The ride hailing/taxi app market in Nairobi, and the rest of Kenya, seems to be the in-thing right now for multinational and local organizations, attracting an ever-growing list of players – Uber, Little, Sendy, Mondo Ride, Taxify among others. The most dominant operator at the moment, Uber, seems to be learning the hard way about the peculiarities of this market – they slashed their rates dramatically and now the customer experience has deteriorated. We talk about that this week – should Uber h...
Sep 22, 2016•12 min
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, recently visited Kenya and Nigeria in what was his first visit to the continent. He hung out with start-up founders, spent time at hubs in both countries, walked (and jogged) around without security, ate with his hands, did not post white-saviour-type things on his Facebook page, and caused a media stir for more or less behaving like a normal person. This week, we look at his visit, what it means for African countries, and Facebook's possible agenda for ...
Sep 15, 2016•10 min
After 16 years and three failed attempts at passing a bill to cap interest rates in Kenya, former MP Joe Donde's dream has now become a reality. This week, we take a look at the Banking Amendment Act 2015, what it has changed about our banking and financial industry, the critique that has been leveled against it, and the possible outcomes moving forward. Resources The Banking (Amendment) Bill, 2015 Donde happy after MPs pass bill to cap interest rates Larry Liza's Viral Facebook Post Controlling...
Sep 08, 2016•8 min
The oppression of women in Kenya, and worldwide, has become a frequent topic of discussion, with the advent of universal human rights, and with women being clearly oppressed in their societies via female genital mutilation, lack of education, early childhood marriage, denial of property rights, sexual violence, street and sexual harassment, among many others. Which begs the question: why do we hate our women? And, if we don't (the evidence says otherwise), what can we do about it? We explore tha...
Sep 01, 2016•11 min
Nairobi County Governor, Evans Kidero, recently said that to eliminate the effects of voter importation into the county, people with muddy or dusty shoes would not be allowed into polling stations during the 2017 General Elections. Naturally, this made me want to assess Nairobi under his tenure - are all roads really tarmacked? Are we living in a modern-day metropolis? We find out this episode. Resources Kidero vows to block ‘imported’ voters in city election What Is A Road ? Kenyans On Twitter ...
Aug 25, 2016•15 min
This has been such a cringe worthy Summer Olympics for Kenya - it seems like every other day we get embarrassing news. Why are we like this? Listen to this episode to find out. Resources Julius Yego's Plane Ticket to Rio Goes Missing The Scandal of Kenya's Rio Olympics Rio 2016: Olympics hit by new doping scandal over bribery allegations against Kenya track and field chief Rio 2016: Kenyan coach and 800m runner facing IOC disciplinary proceedings over claims of drug testing scandal Kipchoge Kein...
Aug 18, 2016•8 min
Today on the show we discuss school fires in Kenya - since June 2016 over 120 schools have had their property burned by students. Why? And, what can we do? Resources Students, Arson, and Protest Politics in Kenya: School Fires as Political Action St. Patrick's Iten School On Fire CS Matiang’i presents report on school fires to Senate committee Education Stakeholders Hold Consultative Meetings Over School Fires President Uhuru's message on the ongoing school fires in Kenya's schools...
Aug 11, 2016•6 min
I've always been interested in understanding, and perhaps changing, the nature of Kenya through my work, which until now has consisted of writing and speaking. This has been edifying, but I've come to appreciate how hard it is to keep up with. Every week there is something new to expose, learn or discover, and unless your line of work requires that you keep updated, it becomes difficult to do so. So I thought, what if there was a place we could go and ask whatever we want, and have it explained ...
Aug 05, 2016•15 min
