The number of con people out there also is troubling. I have seen houses, which I later found out, were not available for rent, or which the owner was unknown, or out of the country

Keguro has an interesting take on muscled toned bodies … is there really a difference between one achieved through manual labour and one from several visits to the gym?

The Mad Kenyan Woman reflects on age as a fetish in Kenyan politics, where the older politicians are accorded almost god-like status on account of their age, and are therefore seldom questioned. She then goes on to indicate why this is beginning to unravel

According to most senior officials in Kenyan government, in this administration or any other, anybody under fifty is a mere “kijana.” (Kijana is a young boy or girl in Kiswahili)

Charles at Kenya Beyond 2005 analyses the recent resignations of Kenya’s Finance, Energy and Education Ministers, and asks what next.

In the crackdown yesterday on the vendors (free subscription) and proprietors of a weekly daily over allegations that some of its content inappropriately touched on the President and First Family, the Kenyan Analyst takes the Government Spokesman to task.

In recollection of  all the allegations and denials from State House over the president having two wives, he observes:

The moment Kibaki turned his family woes into a national issue he invited journalists to not only write about his personal life but also speculate about it in the days that have followed.

Mama JunkYard remembers Lynden David Hall

Mshari is urging everyone to eschew unpaid overtime and work their proper hours

Adrian shares pictures of his Safari Walk

Rombo questions the ideal of the beautiful woman

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First off there was the bombshell dropped by John Githongo, the anti-graft czar who fled to London for his safety after getting too close to the truth. He finally released the painstakingly crafted dossier that implicated three ministers in the Kibaki Government and the vice president in corrupt dealings with ghost companies that cost the public billions of shillings. Naturally this report is the talk of the town and is flying around the Internet like wildfire.

Then there was the collapse of the half -finished building at Nyamakima market

Whispering Inn points out that the blame can be laid at the Minister for Local Government and his former assistant minister, since a report detailing the failures had been at their disposal for almost a year, and the owner of the building enjoyed their patronage.

Irena bemoans the inability of the Kenyan Government to react to disasters as the Israelis fly in to aid the rescue efforts as the Kenyan officials on the ground are clearly floundering

Then there was the generous donation of dog food from a kindly benefactor in New Zealand

Whispering Inn is of the opinion that it belies a Government that has failed in its responsibilities.

Mshairi voices her opinion in poetry, with an emphatic no to the donation of the dog food.

The Kenyan Pundit ruminates on moving back home, with some hard hitting advice:

In my experience, you first have to commit to the idea of going back. Like really commit. No ten year plans. No once I make this much money. Cut the crap. Wake up and say I’m moving back. Then make a plan. Then a plan B and C. You’ll need them

The Mad Kenyan Woman has some interesting commentary on the myth that is the Strong Black Woman

Raymond lands back in Kenya and is dismayed at the state of the infrastructure, notably the Nakuru-Nairobi road, and urges the youth to step up to the plate of leadership

Brother Jero pays tribute to Coretta Scott King

Curious is tired of the proliferation of rhetoric masquerading as initiatives to aid Africa and stumbles upon a paper by a kindred spirit

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Mama JunkYard opens the new year with the shocking information that someone has been sending email in her name, another victim of the unsavoury practice of email spoofing by spammers.

The perils of travel and the reliance on the goodwill and efficiency of airlines during transit came painfully to the fore for Mental Acrobatics who found himself marooned in transit sans passport and ticket, coupled with decidedly unhelpful airline staff who confined him to a very hard, very uncomfortable lounge

Prousette’s, while confessing that she is a tad bit superstitions, feels the hairs prickle on the back of her neck as a superstitions friend gives a surprising revelation:

you should never give someone money because they might take it to the mganga and pray (or whatever it is that waganga do) for it and you will have financial trouble.

*for the uninitiated mganga is a voodoo man*

The ever controversial topic of the slave trade, its participants and the issue of reparation rears its head once again. Keguro probes at the involvement of Africans, and their attempts to excuse it. African Bullets And Honey wonders how to apportion the blame, and questions why it still exists in some countries today.

KenyanMusings enumerates a few of the qualities of the man that she will marry. The only quality that was in bold and caps was that he MUST LOVE BOOKS

With the knowledge of the somersaulting and jumping through hoops most Africans have to go through to be able to travel ‘Westwards’ the Kenyan Pundit has little sympathy when the shoe is on the other foot, as was the case when someone needed to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Wangari is unsure to react to the news that a grown woman, presumably in full control of her faculties, has tied the not with a tall dark and – er — blue dolphin

Deno at Virtual Insanity lands in Nairobi and almost immediately finds it starkly obvious that Nairobi is clearly demarcated between the haves and the have-notes

Gishungwa posts a poetic dialogue between brother and sister

Fresh from holiday, Guessaurus recounts her experiences with delays at the airport — some from mechanical difficulties and others from passengers under the influence of barley products

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It seems that everything sad or disheartening or whatever bad thing that is happening on in the world is bunched up in the Yahoo Africa news section

For example today’s page (10.21.2005) contains headlines such as:
- US wants action against Syria in Lebanese killing
- Bush Calls for U.N. Action Against Syria
- Bush calls UN report on Hariri “deeply disturbing”
- NATO to Send Engineers, Medics to Pakistan
- U.S. Diplomat Defends Iraq War
- North Korea Could Return to Nuclear Talks
- NATO commander says drugs Afghanistan's top threat
- Iraqi, U.S. Courts Bear Some Resemblance
- Bush Confident of Arab-Israeli Peace

These headlines CLEARLY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH AFRICA

The automated reply from Yahoo news makes some interesting, though pointless, reading

Africa Bullets & Honey decides to take a break from ranting about the ills of AID and offers an idea how to grow rich off the Nairobi Stock Exchange

Bankelele reflects on the Kenyan Government’s wealth declaration exercise, and like many Kenyans, finds it about as useful as the proverbial chocolate teapot.

Returns of senior officials are sealed and can’t be opened e.g. a minister could have submitted a blank return and no one will ever know or check

After reading a notice mentioning “feminine hygiene products” Mama Junkyard wonders why perfectly natural processes have to be sanitized

I am sure the people who came up with the “blue liquid” idea would say that decency and television licensing standards dictate they use blue as opposed to red. This to me however is bullshit especially when one thinks of the countless times blood and gore are depicted on television

The Kenyan Prodigal Daughter finally ends up home in Nairobi, and speaks blogs about her first impressions

its crazy how much has changed since i was home. less than three years ago. there are so many people on the road. so many cars. so many cyclists. so many pedestrians. and its a public holiday!

MentalAcrobatics gets a sense of deja vu with the impending referendum on the constitution that will be held on the 21st of November, and wonders if there has really been any change in the political climate.

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Murungaru’s star has been on the wane after first getting tangled in the infamous Anglo Leasing scandal, a series of Government tenders that degenerated into an affair of lining pockets, grossly inflating costs and kickbacks between powerful figures in the past and present governments and shadowy figures that have never come to light. At the time Murungaru was the Minister of State for Internal Security which was at the heart of the controversy.

Under growing pressure both from within and without the borders President Mwai Kibaki transferred him, assigning him the less glamorous portfolio of Transport in a move widely seen as straddling the thin line between sacrificing one of his lieutenants and placating a public baying for blood in the oft touted war on corruption, one that the public is unconvinced the Government is committed to.

Murungaru’s bitter cup is far from overflowing. Close on the heels of the American ban is reports that the European Union as well is about to assert “Management reserves the right of admission”.

Ms K paints a heartfelt tapestry of her desire to get married and have kids that is  just the right mix between fantasy and reality.

Bankelele is more enthusiastic about the traffic disruption caused by the annual Standard Chartered Nairobi International Marathon and cheers on the participants, especially those who were actually running.

Udi has a very fitting, very hilarious tribute to a very special, and very famous lady that used to be in his life that has a fitting twist in the tale.

Fishtears, blogging from Botswana, reminisces on friends gone and the difficult task of coping afterwards.

Mutimua comes to the realization that she is another unwitting victim to a powerful addiction — blogging

Wanjiru wonders whatever became of Winnie Mandela, former wife of the towering colossus that is Nelson Mandela

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Mutumia is inspired by the example of wedded bliss given by her grandparents who have been married for some 75 years and wonders about the traditional notions of romance in African culture.

The Mad Kenyan Woman is acutely puzzled as to the rationale behind an article in the local press that defends the contribution of white authors to African literature, wondering why they need to be defended in the first place.

Bankelele highlights the entry of  Pesa Point,a new player into the Automated Teller Machine field, that will introduce a network of independent ATMs, making it the second largest player. 

Kenyan Pundit briefly returns to the US after moving to Kenya and is blogging on the PopTech conference in Camden Maine along with other young leaders of Africa, bloggers, politicians and activists. On the first day she realises that there are a FEW things she is missing living in Kenya.

“It’s left me floundering a bit as I try and find people who can relate to my “eclecticness” and who see it as a plus rather than a symptom of still not knowing what I want to do when I grow up. It’s one of the (few) things I miss about the U.S., the ability to reinvent yourself constantly and to explore the path less traveled without being (heavily) penalized”.

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