Tag: Public Square
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Azimio Protests And The Concept Of Stochastic Terrorism
Watching the mother-of-all-protests and Raila Odinga’s cavalcade traverse Nairobi the other day, I learned a new phrase. Stochastic terrorism is observed where a charismatic leader uses mass media as a platform to incite violence, while simultaneously disclaiming responsibility for the violence. Carefully choosing his words he (the leader) – for it is invariably a ‘he’…
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Kenya, Why We Cannot Afford To Stop
In the Bible, Abraham is referred to as the father of faith. He is the pioneer of all three Abrahamic religions namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One of the hallmarks of his life is that he walked closely with God from the time God called him to migrate from his home city in Ur of…
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New Electoral Cycle, New Commission
And now the work begins on the preparations for the next elections in 2027. The select panel that will pave way for the new appointments to the IEBC has been set up despite the furious engagements between the two main political coalitions during debates in and out of parliament, the vacancies themselves have already been…
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How Political Comedy Derailed The GMO Debate
An interesting thing happened in February. An organisation called the Alliance for Science published a report pointing out that misinformation on genetically modified organisms had been published by news media outlets without being challenged. Some prominent people who made claims include opposition leader Raila Odinga, marijuana maverick George Wajackoyah, industrialisation cabinet secretary Moses Kuria and…
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Workers Of Kenya Unite… Or Not
As you watched the BBC Africa Eye documentary about the endemic sexual abuse of women casual labourers on the plantations Lipton Teas and Infusions and James Finlay owned in Kericho, you may have wondered where is the workers’ union in all of this? It is clear the companies failed to provide their women labourers with…
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Nairobi Should Revisit #WhatIsARoad
Will the day come when Kenya’s urbanites use maps to report potholes and other municipal flare-ups to City Hall? It’s a long- awaited technology milestone that should be at every Kenyan’s fingertips by now. The possibilities at scale were highlighted on 16 July 2016, when a frustrated Ory Okolloh tweeted: “Twitpic your Nairobi road pics.…
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Africa Is A (Sad, Dysfunctional) Country
I watched the outcome of the just-concluded Nigeria election in disbelief, my heart breaking for the millions of Nigerians whose hope for a fresh start have been dashed against the jagged edge of the status quo. That popular Labour Party candidate Peter Obi lost to the establishment must have felt like a slap to the…
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You Can Meet But Not Touch! On The LGBTQ+ Community’s Freedom Of Association
Expectedly, a huge debate emerged from one of the latest decisions from the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCoK). On the 24 February 2023, in settling Eric Gitari V NGO Coordination Board & 4 Others, the SCoK, through a majority decision (3:2), upheld the Court of Appeals (CoA) decision that lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and queer…
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Attacks On LGBTQ+ Community Unwarranted
A judgement by the Supreme Court of Kenya allowing members of the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya to form an association has kicked up a storm, with leaders like National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula condemning the judgement because it did not uphold “public morality”, and Attorney-General Justin Muturi vowing to challenge the judgement on the basis…
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Sympathizing With Ukraine While Calling Out The West’s Hypocrisy
Let me say at the outset that I am no fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin. I believe what he is doing in Ukraine is a war crime. There is no justification for the killing of thousands of civilians, the displacement of millions of men, women and children, and the destruction of entire cities. Putin…