As we consider our choices at the next election, and ponder the utility of elections in promoting good governance. What also of the specific pledges that politicians are making now?
Read here as Bertil Mketu assesses the political growth or lackthereof in Kenya and watch a slide show detailing Kenyan newsmedia coverage of the previous elections.
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20:36
Unchanged; Kenya after the last election
» Kenya Imagine -
Kibaki Needs a Miracle
» Kenya Imagine President Mwai Kibaki trails his fierce rival Raila Odinga in Kenya's latest electioral opinion polls. Even this early in the game, the margin seems unassailable as Raila moves into a position of dominance across the regions.
George Nyangweso wonders how President Kibaki will make a case for his re-election. Read more here. -
Are there any good apples?
» Kenya Imagine Even as they go into the elections in strong support of one side of the other, few Kenyans will have been impressed by the delivery of most of their politicians. In our question of the week this time, we offer an opportunity for the exoneration from blanket guilt of any politician who has proved himself worthy of the tag, leader.
Please give a specific reason here for your backing of this particular politician whether in parliament or at the local government level, and the reasons for which he can be distinguished from the prevalent view that all politicians are greedy, selfish and self-seeking charlatans.
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17:38
Tribal Bigotry: Nazi Eugenics Kenyan Style
» You Missed This 
That Adolf Hitler epitomizes ethnic cleansing in recorded history is indisputable. But even to the Germans in whose name he fought and sought purity for, Hitler smeared them with blemish that will be carried forward by generation to come and probably into eternity. Most history students outside Germany and Israel marvel at the murderous heroics of Hitler oblivious of the irreparable damage he caused the human species. He is simply a case study of how ruinous the idd (animal) in us can be given a trace of chance.
But why all the rant about Hitler in this blog, you may ask? Well, the answer sits pretty in that very question. Our nation is undergoing that five-year painful and divisive ritual christened election. Painful because electioneering inflicts such obtuse emotional and personal harm to a majority of Kenyans than any other period in their lives. And divisive to an extent that even people whom one previously thought would have mellowed intellectually from exposure to other cultures and continents all over a sudden start spewing such acidic tribal vitriol without parallel.
An outsider visiting Kumekucha for the first time would imagine that its bloggers are permanently at war albeit without guns. God forbid prospects of inventing e-guns. The tone of posts in this blog have changed dramatically for the worse. The pretence to civility has vanished and the gloves are off. But the evil bit comes in comments dressed in ethnic gabs.
The earlier civilized and unwritten agreement to respect divergence in views has suddenly evaporated and in its place hatred and war mongering shamelessly taken residence. And where does this leave us as the future of Kenya and our motherland herself? At the risk of being branded a judge, I put it to readers here that we have been cleverly roped into tribal jingoism by our selfish politicians. We have perfected the art of being hate peddlers to unfathomable proportions. Consequently the scoundrels answering to the name of 'our leaders' must be laughing their heads off as we shadow box each other inside the maze they have weaved for us.
Politicians and polls come and go but the country is there to stay. With one finger we vilify Moi for perfecting ethnic division of Kenyans while what our own practice makes him look a saint. Until we resolve to rise about our cheap leaders and see the forest for the trees, we will continue riding our respective horses down a steep slope to oblivion. We must STOP and PRESS Kenya. She is bigger than any of us and until we accept that we all equally belong together, we are all engaging in nothing short of self-deception.
My dear country people, we must accept being biological accidents populating geographical accident (forget colonialism) called Kenya. Hitler thought of Aryan’s superiority and people are still paying the price almost a century later. Stop imagining that you are more Kenyan than your neighbour. Never mistake bigotry for superiority. We must not talk at each other but rather to each other. Support your candidate if you must but don’t transform political campaign into grandstanding and brinkmanship. It is unity in diversity, stupid. May the real Kenyans please stand up? God bless Kenya
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17:13 Vanity Fair & Kenya (Bring on the hateration)
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com I subscribe to Vanity Fair and I’ve noticed that they very often have articles on Kenya (it seems like every other month). If it’s not a full fledged article, it will usually be a blurb in the travel section. As I’m flipping through this months magazine, I notice this blurb by a travel writer called [...] -
17:12
Is Kibaki Going Down?
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com I predicted Kibaki would win, but they’re these things called polls that are getting in the way of my prediction. I tend to believe polls because they are generally right. I have no reason to believe that the polls in Kenya are being manipulated (why do people believe that?). So, what’s happening to Kibaki (if these [...]
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14:14
3 Localized Ideas for African Web Developers
» White African There is a group of Kenyan techies, called Skunkworks, that talk on a Skype channel regularly. It’s an interesting mix of developers who share news and talk passionately about the potential of the web and mobile market in Kenya. In our conversation last week, the discussion of local content for specific regions kept popping up.
A fine example of local content would be MyStocks, a website for the Kenyan stock market. It is hyperlocal content designed only for people interested in a specific area, in this case Kenya.
So, going off of my last post on what types of applications are you developing - which is really a foundational question that each developer should ask themselves before starting on anything - I decided to share a couple of ideas for web apps that could work on the local level. The caveat here is that ideas are just ideas, it’s the execution on anything that makes something work.
1) A Country-wide Real Estate Site
After building eppraisal.com, this is a natural one for me to think of. The keys to this kind of application are the property data (land size, cost history, building size, owner info, etc.) and mapping. At first glance mapping seems like the Achilles heal of this idea. Visualization of data is important, and each country has a different level of mapping. That variable can be taken care of on a couple different levels. First, Google is hiring for that position, so it’ll get easier everywhere soon enough. Second, crowdsourced alternatives and/or working with your own tools are a real possibility.
The reality is that though mapping is really nice to have, it only becomes useful when you have a lot of people with enough bandwidth to handle it. More important is the need for someone to digitize the data that is currently gathering dust in offices throughout Africa. The key here is the property data, even if you never created a web application and just had that data, it could be licensed out.
Cities are the biggest target for this type of application, but as mapping and bandwidth increase rural areas become more interesting. A mobile application that feeds certain data fields to interested parties is a natural fit as well.
2) Business-focused File Transfer Application
File transfer speeds within a country are much faster than international, especially in most African countries that don’t have a large pipe connecting them internationally. Many file sharing services, like DropSend or YouSendIt, just don’t make sense to use in some areas of Africa. However, a local alternative that allows local businesses to easily share large files could be very useful. A nominal charge for use of this service would be accepted. After all, it’s a lot faster and more reliable than burning a CD/DVD and then sending it across a traffic congested town with a guy on a motorcycle.
3) A Local Shopping/Pricing Website
The concept here is built around the idea of people being able to get alerts (SMS or email), or be able to check prices of goods via their mobile phone or using a website. You would need to be able to build a database of products with their corresponding prices. The closest example of an idea like this is MamaMikes, where you can buy vouchers for goods in Kenya online. Imagine that concept, but with a larger database of goods compared across multiple merchants. The trick in getting something like this to work is having the stores realize that they sell more goods when people can find them online.
Just as there is a business built up around pricing, reviewing and selling products online elsewhere in the world, this can work on the local level in many parts of Africa as well.
Own the Data
One last point worth mentioning is to try and be the owner of the data that you collect for your application. If you are creating a local shopping/pricing site, then try to create the best database of business information, location and ownership in the area. This data is valuable and can be licensed to others, or made available through an API that brings you more traffic or revenue.This point can’t be driven home enough. There is very little data/content on Africa available on the web. Whoever captures and creates a database of that information will have an incredibly lucrative product. By the way, this isn’t always easy to do, but then if it was it would already have been done.
The payoff comes to he who has the most complete and accessible local data.
[Update: The day after this post was written and we have an excellent case study. Nokia is buying up NAVTEQ, the mapping/GIS data provider for Google Maps, Microsoft and Yahoo for $8 Billion.]
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Why Are The Diplomatic Corps So Worried About Election Violence?
» You Missed This Diplomacy is the art of lying creatively while maintaining a straight face.
Today all the major western power’s representative talked to the press about the looming mother of all general elections emphasizing that they were not backing any “horse”. Actually the diplomats addressed a number of issues, but the purpose of this post is to try and see through their diplomatic pronouncements to their real concerns and objectives on the ground.
Firstly all western powers share one deep concern—to ensure that Kenya remains peaceful. If anything were to happen to disturb the peace in Kenya a lot of their operations would be badly disrupted. For example did you know that Nairobi has an enviable reputation with donor organizations as one city in black Africa where you will find anything you need. This is in sharp contrast to many other African capitals where certain vital supplies have to be imported and this makes operations very difficult when moving relief food and other supplies to war torn or disaster areas on the continent.
But let’s get back to today’s press conference.
I predicted here over a year ago that this year’s general elections would be the most violent in history. My conclusions were based on...
Read on -
Election Violence: Gitobu Imanyara’s Brother Died Because Of A Piece Of Meat
» You Missed This Election violence is always very closely linked to the distribution of cash gifts or bribes to voters.
Elias Mugambi, the late brother of former MP for Central Imenti, Gitobu Imanyara was attacked and killed by his assailant who accused him of failing to buy meat with the campaign funds that he had allegedly been given by his brother.
Mugambi died in the scuffle that ensued after this accusation over campaign funds. The incident took place on September 21st and Elias was buried last Friday (28th September) in Mariene Village Central Imenti.
The suspect is in police custody and will appear in court soon to face murder charges.
Secretly Investigate Unfaithful cheating spouse in Kenya
Why married women cheat -
Kenya Betrayed (Kumekucha Exclusive)
» You Missed This 
In the true Kumekucha tradition we begin today to publish information that has never been published anywhere before.
Marianne Briner’s raw no-holds-barred tale of her encounter with Kenya and her people from all walks of life including the high and mighty. Visit Kumekucha daily and read this amazing tale for yourself. If you have read a Shinning Star In Darkness, you will still find a lot of information that you never saw in that earlier watered down version of this amazing tale.
ENJOY.
Prologue
“Please fasten your seat-belts, we are approaching Nairobi Airport and will be landing in about. 30 minutes,”
The voice of the Swiss Pilot clings in my ears - it is November 19, 2004.
I had received a Summon by the Kenyan Government to give evidence in front of a Parliamentary Committee which had been set up to investigate the killing of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Robert Ouko.
I recall the anxious eyes of my daughter at the Airport in Zurich and her pleading voice before I passed the Check-in, “Please, Mami, don’t go.”
But then appears in front of me the sincere and smiling face of another person:
Dr. Robert Ouko - brutally killed on February 13, 1990 - unforgotten not only by his immediate family and me but also by so many who had put their hope in him that he could change their lives, erase the corruption and lead Kenya into a better future.
Then I know that it had been right to take the risk and that I owed this not only to Dr. Ouko and his family but also to myself.
I then wonder if I will also see the former President Daniel arap Moi. I am sure he knows about my arrival since it had been announced in the Media already since weeks.
There are so many questions to answer - so many gaps to close - so many doubts to erase which only he would be able to do.
One of the Swiss Pilot comes and tells me that I will have to stay in the plane until all the other passengers have left. He had been informed by the Nairobi-Flight-Control that a Kenyan Delegation and some Security People will come directly to the plane to receive me.
Finally the plane is landing and I realize that this may be the last time that I will ever be allowed to enter Kenya.
I close my eyes and my thoughts go back in time.
I am trying to remember when and how it all started.
Read more
Secretly Investigate Unfaithful cheating spouse in Kenya
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12:52
Celebrating Diversity? Nigeria’s Speak Up Campaign
» Black Looks Today is Nigeria’s 47th anniversary but I am not celebrating - see below! Omodudu IS celebrating and as a member of the newly formed Nigerian Lighthouse he asked all Nigerian bloggers to write a letter to Nigeria as part of the “Speak Up Campaign”. There are five finalists including yours truly. I am [...]
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9:29
More Monday Moanings
» My part of the world....... It's been a minute since I posted, like I said when ennui strikes; it strikes hard!
Reason #2138 - Why Acolyte will go to Hell
At work there is this chic who has a close to fanatical commitment to the job. You know the kind of person who actually spouts for you the crap they put in the training manual to make you feel like the job you are doing makes the sun rise and help stop global warming as oppossed to making the Members of the Board richer as you rot in your cubicle.
Anyway some day this chic came to the cube of someone I know and asked him to train someone new and they said no, she then went of on a spiel about how he was one of the leaders of tomorrow and should show the new dudes how it's done so as to make the difference for the company. So he told me this and one thing that got me to wondering about her super commitment to the company is when I found out her age, you see she is 36 so moving somewhere new and trying to make a mark the same way she has where she is now is much harder. We came to that conclusion and I ended the conversation with this quote, " I understand her staying here and making her mark and not wanting to go anywhere else; after all you can't teach an old bitch new tricks..."
Moving on, I went for an interview the other day and I remembered one important thing. It's not what you know but how you say it. The last time I fibbed so convincingly and smoothly, a pair of panties and a bra were taken off. But seriously many interviewers especially here at times will actually put a candidate they feel more of a connection to than one who is more qualified.
Unless you live in a hole I'm sure most of you are aware that there has been a much hyped chart war between Kanye West and 50 Cent. The battle was over who would sell the most units and at the moment Kanye West is in the lead. To be honest, I did listen to both albums and they are both nothing to write home about. But I guess the "beef" did what it was meant to do, sell more cds. I was on-line when I came across this funny video featuring Kanye West making fun of his tantrums whenever he doesn't win an award.
PS: I know there is a post that I owe people, so that one's coming soon.
PPS: When you are "courting" or "buttering up" or whatever you call it when a dude is trying to get to know a woman better with the end result being a relationship or a
semblance of eventually culminating in adult relations (wink, wink); how many women
would be too many unethically for a dude to be talking to at the same time? Just curious.....
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7:23
Forgiveness
» Farmgal He who can’t forgive another, breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself. George Herbert
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Weekend violence in Kibera
» You Missed This 
I do agree with Phil’s comments on Kibera and being well conversant with Kibera residents, I was very disappointed with the violence that erupted again in Kibera when Mr. Money bags Livondo decided to move with his entourage of vijana na Kibaki to Kibera after holding a rally at Uhuru Park.
I do not support political violence in any form or from supporters of anyone even my favorite Presidential candidate. I also agree that it is every ones constitutional right to vie for a civic or parliamentary seat anywhere in this Country. Freedom of movement is also every Citizen’s right.
On the other hand, I believe that all political rallies or demonstration should be licensed. ODM was not allowed to hold their rally at Uhuru Park because the authorities claimed it was not licensed (even with all the papers from City Council allowing them to hold the function) and two other groups in favor of the government were approved.
Approved or not the Livondo group got the go ahead to hold their rally, but were they allowed to hold a demonstration to Kibera and another rally? Obviously this was a move to create tension in the area and cause ethnic animosity.
I had a meeting in Kibera the next day and was debating whether I should go or not, I thought there was ethnic tension amongst groups supporting Livondo and ODM Presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
I went to my meeting anyway and the area was as peaceful as ever. The only commotion was at the Dos office (people call the place DC), people waiting to be ferried to Nyayo Stadium to attend the Presidential launch. In fact some touts told his friends endeni DC watu wanapewa pesa.
I later enquired from my friends what happened the previous day. They told me most of those throwing stones where Livondo’s supporters and not Kibera residents. Earlier in the morning Kibera residents were told to go to Ngong Hills hotel to be given money by Livondo’s people, they got the money but men snatched all the money from women.
Livondo addressed a crowd in Kibera and decided to introduce his wife, he told the crowd that his wife is called Ida. Immediately he said that, he was jeered and booed by the crowd saying ana tumia jina la shemeji wetu (he is using our in-laws name), referring to Raila’s wife Ida, I was amused by this and wondered if his wife is really Ida or he thinks he can get more sympathy from Kibera by baptizing his wife Ida. Some of Livondo’s supporters removed T-shirts when they reached Kibera for fear of being seen in that group.
As much as it is Livondo’s constitutional right to vie for a seat anywhere he likes, he should not interfere with peaceful loving Kibera residents by using abusive language in the name of acquiring votes. Then claim it is his opponent inciting his supporters to stop his bid.
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2:18
Nana Kwodo Amoa I (August 5, 1947-September 29, 2007)
» The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }
Nana Kwodo Amoa I, originally uploaded by beninmwangi.
Dr. Charles S. BrownDr. Charles S. Brown grew up at a pivotal time for Black America. As a young student at Morehouse College he was able to witness and be a part of America's civil rights movement. After reading books written by Dr. W.E.B. Dubois and Kwame Nkrumah Dr. Brown began to become exposed to a wider perspective. Afterwards, he gradually gained an appreciation for African history. Over time this appreciation would continue to grow and less than ten years after obtaining his PhD in physics he began to research ancient African civilizations. His study was so intense that over a three year time span, he became an authority on the subject.
For Dr. Brown, learning about ancient African civilizations meant more than just being able to quote a few abstract facts, he believed that if he could help African American youth become aware of their true heritage it would be easier for them to dream big. Integrating scientific finds on these ancient civilizations into mathematics or physics curricula for his university classes would later become one of Dr. Brown's most recognizable hallmarks.
But the event that would later shape his outlook on modern Africa continent took place when he attended the First Edward Bouchet International Conference on Physics and Technology on June 11, 1988 in Trieste, Italy. The Edward Bouchet Institute is today called the Edward Bouchet Abdus Salaam Institute. One of its aims is to foster scientific and technical collaborations between African and American scientists and engineers. Prof Charles S .Brown's first trip to the African continent occurred in 1990 when he attended the second Edward Bouchet Institute Conference in Ghana. It is through the Edward Bouchet Institute that Professor Brown met the internationally renowned Professor Francis K. Allotey. In the fall of 1991, Prof. F. K. A. Allotey of Ghana visited with Prof. Charles S. Brown, who at that time was the Chairman of the Physics Department at Clark Atlanta University (CAU). The collaboration between Prof. Allotey, Prof. A. E. Bak, and Prof. C. S. Brown resulted in two published papers.
Prof. Allotey, four years later arranged the visit of Prof. Charles S. Brown to Cape Coast, Ghana, where he worked as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar (December 1995 – May 1996) and an ICTP Visiting Scholar (June 1996 – December 1996). Prof. Brown helped to develop the University’s graduate curriculum, served as a research advisor for a physics doctoral candidate, and collaborated on a research paper with Prof. S. Y. Mensah, Chairman of the Physics Department and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University. The work that Prof. Brown did in Ghana did not go unnoticed; in fact it was instrumental in his enstoolment as a traditional ruler in the Assin Manso district of Ghana.To elders and other traditional rulers in this district Prof. Brown was known as Nana Kwodo Amoah I. It is a role that he took very seriously, even until his passing.
I love you Dad. I know you are in a better place.
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0:06
CHECK YOUR VOTER'S CARD STATUS.
» assidous We are nearing the 10th General Election and as it were, its important that you verify that indeed you are in the voter's roll and that your voter's particulars are correct.
Just key in your ID or Voter's card number and check your voter status from the comfort of your desk.Or rather grab a colleagues ID card and log just to know.
Check where you will vote in December now and confirm if it is correct!!
You can now confirm voter registration on the ECK website by entering your ID or voter card number in the top right hand corner of the web page.. Click on the following link:
http://www.eck. or.ke/component/ option,com_ frontpage/ Itemid,1
If you are captured as a double registered voter, go and sought out it out at Nyayo house 7th floor room 13. -
CHECK YOUR VOTER'S CARD STATUS.
» assidous We are nearing the 10th General Election and as it were, its important that you verify that indeed you are in the voter's roll and that your voter's particulars are correct.
Just key in your ID or Voter's card number and check your voter status from the comfort of your desk.Or rather grab a colleagues ID card and log just to know.
Check where you will vote in December now and confirm if it is correct!!
You can now confirm voter registration on the ECK website by entering your ID or voter card number in the top right hand corner of the web page.. Click on the following link:
http://www.eck. or.ke/component/ option,com_ frontpage/ Itemid,1
If you are captured as a double registered voter, go and sought out it out at Nyayo house 7th floor room 13.
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