Author: Stanley Gazemba
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Passing the Dutchie in Lukenya Hills
It is a Friday afternoon and we are parking our bags on the roof rack of a tour bus outside The Heron Hotel in Milimani, preparing to go spend the weekend in the bush like proper tourists sans the ‘Hakuna Matata’ t-shirts and tan Safari boots. I am excited because we are leaving the city…
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Leaving Binyavanga in Lamu to Go Drink Busaa in Eregi
Pole, Binya, but my ancestral village was calling.
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Leaving Binyavanga to Go Eat Fried Shrimp in Lamu
From the small crowd of writers and literary-types present, we selected ourselves by the eyes without talking, and one by one we slinked off and assembled in the hotel lobby downstairs.
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Remembering Grandmaster Masese, King of the Obokano
He was in essence Grandmaster Bullets . . . or Grandmaster Sparks . . . I will never know.
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Safari Rally, Where Nostalgia and Evolution Meet
The recently concluded World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally has yet again lived up to its billing as one of the toughest rallies on earth. This is due in part to the unpredictable weather conditions in which the competitors did battle for the four days of the 350-kilometre action. On some stretches, like Hell’s Gate…
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The Frightening Bliss of Traveling Phoneless
Left in my own private world, temporarily relieved of my everyday encumbrances…naked, frightening, thrilling.
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Kenyans Aren’t Making Love Anymore, Mr. President
“Wanawake saa hizi hata kushuka hatushuki . . . Hatuna muda hata wa kuenjoy na kina baba nyumbani, kwa ajili kila siku unawaza watoto watakula nini . . . kama baba ni dereva, mwenye gari ameuza (gari) kwa sababu mafuta imepanda bei. Kwa hivyo wewe mama ukabangaize ulete mboga, ukaokote mahindi yanayotoka border ya Tanzania…
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A Santuri and Nyama Fest At Jimmy Rugami’s
It was the fifth year in a row that Jimmy Rugami, Nairobi’s famous record man, was hosting vinyl buffs at his store at Kenyatta Market. It was Record Store Day (RSD), a global event that is the equivalent of Christmas Day for vinyl lovers, celebrated on Saturday 22 April this year. It was a feast…
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James Rugami. Nairobi’s Vinyl King
Like the story of vinyl, the story of James ‘Jimmy’ Rugami never gets old. An equivalent of a music curator, the merchandise in Jimmy’s store is the kind to be treasured, priceless relics if you appreciate the fine things in life but a pile of old junk if you are on the other side of…
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Debunk Speaks To Gakunju Kaigwa
Gakunju Kaigwa is a Kenyan sculptor with a Master’s degree in Public Art from the University of Dundee in Scotland. Although he began his career painting, Kaigwa discovered his real passion in the early ‘80s as a sculptor. He works with wood, glass, steel, resin, bronze and many other materials, using each medium to express…