I was reading a copy of a magazine that I have emailed to me every month and it contained some interesting business idea’s that might be of interest to people in Kenya or people thinking of moving back to Kenya to work for themselves. The first idea is this company that has developed a single-use [...]

Over the last 5 years, Equity Bank’s rise has created a sleuth of cinderall stories for many development “experts” who had begun touting it as the super model of banking from many third world countries. The Cinderall stories however, often conveniently fail to mention the background of Equity Bank’s CEO James Mwangi and his [...]

I was watching this video last night of an artist in Kibera (or was it Mathare?) who is using left over animal bones to create handicrafts and artwork. It’s really a must see video because this guy is using his creativity, innovation and business acumen to create unique products that are also environmentally adaptable. In [...]

I want to use this post to talk about the process of wealth accumulation and as I compose this article they are a couple of thoughts running through my mind. The first thought on this topic was brought about as I read yet another article in the Nation about the blatant corruption in Kenya, which involves [...]

Has anyone noticed just how much money and power this fellow Njoroge is accumulating lately? This guy’s name is appearing every. freaking.where. MD of Kengen Shareholder in this shadowy company called Transcentury New chairman of the Nairobi Stock Exchange When I first saw all the responsibilities that this new oinker has on his plate, I wondered how anyone would have [...]

You know, sometimes, I want to feel sorry for Uhuru Kenyatta because I think that he’s been thrust into a life which he neither desired nor wanted and because of this,  he’s never really prepared himself for the situation he is in today.  He spent his youth drinking, womanizing and partying, not reading books on [...]

This jive artist, Dr. David Owuour is giving me migraines, which should not surprise me because most religious extremists give me thrust pounding headaches. However, I know what Dr. Oh.Wow is trying to do with all his jive.  He’s trying to make some money.  Alright, I get it.  I’m just disappointed that he’s not being more [...]

I was reading this story in the Daily Nation about the spate of murders that have been taking place in and around the city.  Most victims appeared to have been shot while driving home either late at night or very early in the morning. So, I was thinking to myself as I read this article, that [...]

It appears that ever since Safaricom introduced M-pesa, many companies have been trying to get on board with their electronic transfer money business ideas. BD Africa has one such story on PostaPay, the online money transfer business offered by the Postal Service.  From reading the story (which is always a chore for me because they are [...]

I’ve said here before that the Kenyan economy does not make sense to me.  However, I will reverse that statement by saying that it does in fact make sense.  It makes sense if I define it not as a capitalistic society, but rather, as a society that has fooled itself into believing that crony capitalism [...]

I am beginning to read about more and more IT start-up companies in Kenya that are trying to build up data storage sites and other forms of e-storage solutions for private individuals, companies and governments. So, I was reading about this company in BD Africa called East African Handlers, which is launching a solution that would [...]

A few readers have left comments here talking about Kenya’s demographic problems, which essentially involve an exploding population that will put pressure on Kenya’s limited resources coupled with a very large segment of the country being under the age of 30. I myself have mentioned here, time and time again, that the economy in Kenya is [...]

I was reading this article in BD Africa with special interest because it’s on the advertising industry in Kenya and it’s move towards trying to incorporate technology as a way of measuring the effectiveness of these ad’s.  According to the article: “Consumer market research firm Synovate has launched a new tool that measures the impact and [...]

What is going on at the NSSF is very bad.  A lot of people may not know this, but Nicholas Biwott stole a lot of money from the NSSF when he was in power and by doing that, he essentially left a lot of older people broke. Now, it appears that these wayward politicians are once [...]

I just came across this site, which I had never heard of before called breakingnewskenya.com.  The site had an interesting article, which was posted last year on the sheenanigans at Merali’s company and why it’s short-term MD, Eric Kimani was fired. Anyway, they were some revealing comments posted on the site and I want to highlight [...]

I said here a year ago that the grand coalition “government” , which I termed the grand coalition illusion was never going to work. I got a lot of flack for saying it because for some strange reason, people thought that this illusion would actually bring about peace.  It hasn’t and it won’t. I also said that [...]

“I was always a good housekeeper. Whenever I divorced I always kept the house”. - Zsa Zsa Gabor I’ve become fascinated by this train wreck starring Akinyi and her ex-Nigerian husband, Chinedu.  This hot mess has all the elements needed for a great soap opera, like:? Lots of money, lots of real estate, drugs, an affair [...]

I was reading a very interesting blog written by an expat British wife currently living in Kenya.  She has a post about the global economic crisis and how it has affected (or not affected) her financial situation in Kenya. The following is a quote taken from her  site about her expenses in Kenya and what she [...]

There is an interesting piece on 60 minutes, a popular prime time television show on CBS, about Kenya’s lions being poisoned by  Maasai herdsmen in the Mara.  You can watch the entire clip on-line by clicking on this link. So, the piece states that the Maasai herdsmen have discovered that an imported pesticide called Furdana, is [...]

I just thought of one benefit that high speed internet services will bring to Kenyans on both sides of the Atlantic: Free internet calling using medium’s like Skype. Right now, if I want to talk to someone in Kenya using Skype, I have to pay a fee on my end.  However, if that person in Kenya acquires [...]

Someone emailed me the link to this video and asked me to post it on my blog as a way to send out a message of Kenya’s descent into lawlessness and disorder. I will warn you that this video is extremely graphic, so don’t watch this at work and beware. ** The video takes some time to [...]

I was reading this opinion piece in the Nation written by Mathimu Mati and he begins his opinion piece by quoting the PS in the ministry of finance who says the following: “Government can never get broke, it’s people like you and me who can get broke.” — Joseph Kinyua, permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance I’ve said here [...]

What are those orange stars on their foreheads?

Oh Stella.  Dear, dear Stella.  What were you thinking when you left Chicago to join the Nairobbery Stock Exchange? I know Chicago has one of the highest crime rates in America, but girl please — gangs in Chicago are not like gangs in Nairobi. In Chicago, they wear Fubu, they speak Ebonics and they listen [...]

There’s no way Uhuru Kenyatta is running the ministry of finance.  I was watching him at a news conference and he looked beaten down. His eyes were bulging red from excessive drinking, his mouth has the black outlayer seen on people who smoke excessively, the bags under his eyes make him look worn out and [...]

I was going through my site, cleaning out spam and checking the comments when I noticed that someone had left a link to a site called Horizon Contact Centers.  They said it was a new call center that was coming into the market and was founded by some former Kencall employee’s. So, of course, I googled [...]

Finally, the Nation has a story out on a topic we have been discussing here for a while and that topic was about how this grand coalition illusion government was going to end up bankrupting the country.  Hello? I’ve been saying this here for months. It was clear very early on that there was going to [...]

Someone’s going to have to deal with this rising problem: angry, unemployed, youthful men. You can’t kill them all. That doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked for the Israeli’s in Palestine and it won’t work with the police in Kenya. The more death you create, the more anger you breed and the more anger you [...]

Who are the three men in this new family saga? Lucy Kibaki, Paul Muite and Wambui “Kibaki”. Who is the mistress? Mwai Kibaki I watched this video of Lucy at the press conference with a combination of shock and sadness.  Here is the first lady of a country, threatening once again to go to a television studio [...]

Interesting video from one of the founders of Java House.  He says the business, which includes ten coffee houses, is now a $15 million dollar a year business and they’ve grown that with no borrowing and no money spent on advertising., To do that without borrowing is very impressive and it brings me to a point [...]

So, it looks like this under-sea cable is finally going to get to Kenya and people are excited about it.  According to the SEACOM site, it will own 65% of the company while a local partner (who might that be?) will own 35% of the company. Everyone thinks this cable line is going to drastically [...]

I occassionally like to drop in and listen to Alan Keyes for some internet comedy hour.  Here he is claiming that Obama is still not the legitimate president of America because he was born in Nairobi, Ki-nya, not Hawaii. He does make one good point in this rambling video when he wonders how a bankrupt government [...]

I don’t quite understand the appointment of Micah Cheserem as the new CMA Chairman.  Like I’ve said before, the NSE is operating in a country that has no respect for the rule of law.  Therefore, until this fundamental flaw of the system is changed, no amount of continuous appointments is really going to make a [...]

There’s an article in BD Africa this week about the staff changes at Telkom Kenya ever since France Telecom bought a 51% stake in the company.  To make a long story short, most of the Kenyan managers at the company are now being replaced by expatriates. This story caught my attention because it was in stark [...]

Since I can no longer figure out what the heck these journalists at the Kenyan newspapers are saying, I’d like someone here to click on the links below, read them and then come back and explain to us what exactly is happening at the Nairobi stock-jivers exchange. Please make an effort to explain how all of [...]

I was reading this interview that Githongo gave to the Standard and I started thinking about Githongo’s vision for Kenya.  On one level, it is the right vision because it espouses a Kenya that is non-tribal, fair and just — a Kenya that will be (at it’s core) defined by the rule of law. However, as [...]

I’m sorry.  I lied.  I have to get back to discussing politics because my favorite person in the world is back to his old antics.  Yes, once again, Will-Kill Router (that’s his nickname on this blog because he likes to “willingly“  “kill” people and “route” them from their farms). Let’s continue on… Now, you see, old [...]

Can someone please tell me who the fuck is giving zombie Kibaki public relations advise??? Ten million people are starving and the government decides to use your money to pay for a conference to talk about the Kenya you want. No. Excuse me.  To talk about the Kenya they have and the one you’ll never get. They [...]

My dear Kenyan people –  I’m not even going to front.  I think the CBK governor has turned into a magician. I think there’s some trickeration going down at the governor’s office. So, from now on ( and in deference to Njuguna’s unique form of monetary trickeration) I will now be referring to him as [...]

Someone please give me an answer because I was watching this video about the fire at Nakumatt and the reporter mentioned that the city council fire trucks run out of water and had to go back and refill their trucks. Then, an employee at the city council mentions that they have 5 trucks (for a [...]

This picture says everything about a political system that has completely and utterly failed. No country has ever achieved real economic growth without first achieving food security for it’s citizens.  India and China both achieved food security in the 1970’s.  Africa is the only continent left, that has yet to achieve this. You can talk about the [...]

I was attempting to read this story in BD Africa about new rules that are going to affect the ownership of some of these investment banks and quite frankly, it didn’t make sense to me.  Essentially, the government has decided to limit the ownership of these banks to 25% each per individual (family?).  However, an [...]

I was reading an interview that Muthaura gave to the Standard and as I was reading it, I began to think about this issue of benchmarks and measurements.  The reason I began to think about these two issues is because Muthaura does describe the various functions of his job during that interview and I thought [...]

A couple of years ago, I did a post on who were the richest thieves politicians in Kenya.  I had an anecdotal list of people and I tried to guess what their NTE’s (i.e. Net thievery expenditures) were.  It was a list I just made up since obviously, I had no hard core evidence. Anyway, I [...]

That Uhuru Kenyatta is now Kenya’s finance minister tells me only one thing:  Kibaki is failing and the reason he is failing is because he is running out of ideas’.  The reason he is running out of idea’s is because he has never formed a core set of values that defined him, the person; or [...]

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I was reading an article in the Economist magazine about the state of Kerala in India. Now, Kerala, has often been described as a model state in India because unlike other parts of that country, Kerala has a very high literacy rate, it’s residents live as long as those in more developed countries and the [...]

I’ve been saying for almost a year now, that the grand coalition (illusion) government would never work.  People who like power, don’t like to share it.  So, I will repeat it here again — this illusion government is trending down a path of failure.  The Kikuyu’s and Kamba’s in government and now increasingly in the [...]

I’ve talked about the problems of running a gangster government below and related them to a raise in corruption, especially as it affects business.  However, when a country’s rule of law system breaks down, this environment of lawlessness will eventually permeate all the other sectors of the country. We’ve all known that Mombasa has always been [...]

How would you like your machete panga tikka masala? hot? medium or spicy? maybe raw, with the blood still dripping…. Did you guys see this video? Watch Raila Odinga and William Ruto standing in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s house in India, talking about their admiration for his non-violent philosophy. well…fuck me…. I don’t know why Raila is courting [...]

I don’t know when Kenyan politicians will stop getting fooled by these Indian barron Robbers.  This time, an Indian by the name of Yagnesh Devani is behind the Triton/KPC/KCB theft.  Then, as is the case with all these Indians, Devani has fled the country and this is where the story begins to become hilarious. Kiraitu Murungi [...]

I was trying to read an article in the Standard yesterday and I just couldn’t figure out what the hell the author of the article was trying to say.  So, I switched to the Nation, hoping that I’d find better written articles there and I ran into the same problem — I couldn’t figure out [...]

Well, I guess we should talk about this “controversial” media bill.  I haven’t read the entire bill because I don’t want to fall asleep.  So, the information I am getting is coming from the Kenyan newspapers.   According to the Nation, the law will do the following things: Give the government the power to raid media houses [...]

I think we’ve talked about this issue on this blog before and the issue is the coalition illusions growing budget deficit.  I’ve said it is going to slowly bankrupt the treasury.  However, others have disputed this notion and don’t think that it’s costing that much (I believe the figure I used was that it was [...]

Who said you can’t make money being an artist? This is an interesting video of a couple of entrepreneurial artists who design all that artwork you see painted on matatu’s.  Their artwork was noticed (isn’t that a great marketing tool? having your art on all the matatus?) and they were hired by a website to do [...]

I’m sure many of you who read this title will probably be thinking the following…..”oh gee…is KE going to talk about some American farmer using science and technology and ask us why Kenyans are starving again’? sigh. Oh no my dear  Kenyan people. No mas. Not today. Today, I am here to inform you that the most [...]

I got this link from reading bankelele’s blog where he had a link to an article Jimnah Mbaru had written on what Kenya needs to do inorder to avoid a severe recession, which Mbaru believes is coming. I had to read the article a couple of times because some of the sections were difficult to follow.  [...]

What these MP’s are doing is now becoming comical. Did I not tell you people almost a year ago, that Africa was not ready for democracy? Did I not tell you people that the coalition government was an illusion that would do nothing else, but bankrupt the national treasury? I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but [...]

Bankelele has an interesting post on brokers dwindling fortunes in light of this market slump. The main thrust of the article is that those brokerage companies that have not been able to obtain investment banking licenses are the one’s who are going to suffer the most — mainly because all their commissions depend upon people buying [...]

In this world, people who complain about paying taxes can be divided into two classes: Men and Women. I must say, that after the former MP’s were voted outed in such large numbers, I thought these new set of MP’s would become more attuned to the overwhelming public pulse about this issue of taxes, but it [...]

There’s an interesting story in BD Africa today about the resignation of the CEO at the NSE.  Mwebesa hasn’t been at that job for a long time (about 3 years) — so why is he running away? Does he want to use the connections his made to make more more money? Who knows. Every time I read about these supposed [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_anjGPLCD4 I am surprised that this story about a couple of Italian nuns who were abducted from El-Wak in northeastern province, is not on the front pages of the Kenyan dailies (continuously). What these Somali Islamist group did is very dangerous.  They essentially crossed the border into Kenya, abducted these nuns and took them back to Somalia.  [...]

I must say that I was in a state of euphoric shock last night as I was watching Barrack Obama’s elevation to becoming the most powerful man in the world. I told someone yesterday (as I was watching his acceptance speech) that I felt like I was going through both a physical and spiritual [...]

Ah Safaricom. Safaricom, Safaricom, Safaricom. Bankelele is freaking out because the shares of Safaricom keep a tumbling. Didn’t we not disclose here (oh..about 2 weeks ago) that Safaricom had failed to reveal a huge debt on it’s books? But don’t mind me because the funny-mentals fundamentals are always strong and since the shareholders attend annual meetings where they get [...]

There’s an interesting article in BD Africa about the growing demand of the MBA degree in Kenya, which is now being fueled largely by part-time students. I can see why the MBA has become such a popular degree to puruse: it’s the easiest option for those who want to get the high paying career. Let’s face [...]

Here they go again.  This time it’s the stockbrokers who are hyperventilitating about the bearish stock market. They want people to start buying those stocks, darn it! Remember how these brokers make money:  By charging you (the consumer) exorbitant commissions to buy and sell shares.  Whether you make or lose money is irrelevant to them.  [...]

This summer, a friend of mine was visiting from Kenya and we got into a discussion about the booming real estate market and the growing economy.  During this discussion, she said that her observation was that a lot of people were living off loans because she just couldn’t figure out where they were getting the [...]

So, someone on this blog called “working stiff” left a comment where he/she predicted that this global financial crisis would have an impact on the Kenyan and he/she gave the example of remittances (he/she predicted that they would go down). This week, the chairman of the NSE, in talking about the recent slump at the exchange, [...]

This video is making the rounds on the internet. It’s “pastor” Thomas Muthe.he.he. blessing Sarah Pain-me and praying to the “lord” to help them rebuke witchcraft. Pailin shows up towards the end of the video to receive her blessing and to allow pastor muu-muu to cleanse away those witches from… I don’t know. Her head? or [...]

William Ruto is now telling the people in the Mau Forest not to leave even if they’re forced to by the government.  He has also agreed to take personal responsibility for their non-eviction.  What does he mean? is he going to buy them guns and tell them to fight the army? Who does this guy think [...]

So, I was visiting a friend this weekend and she started talking about Safaricom’s share price.  Apparently, her brother is a member of this investment group that has bought Safaricom shares and they’re getting nervous because the share price isn’t moving up and they aren’t making any money.  According to an article in BD Africa: “Despite [...]

Well, it looks like Kenya will feature prominently in this year’s U.S. presidential election.  First, we got Obama and his Kenyan roots and now, the Vice -presidential nightmare, Sarah Pain-me, is attributing her selection as VP, to a preacher in Kenya who founded his ministry  based on a story about a witchhunt.  The story? He [...]

Did anyone catch this story in the Daily Nation?  Apparently, the “economists” at the Infant Mortality Fund, oh sorry, I meant to say the IMF, are now telling us that Kenya’s economy is set for boom times.  Yes, people.  The rest of the world’s economies maybe crashing, but not Kenya’s.  Am I crazy or are [...]

In reading the newspapers this month, it’s becoming quite obvious (and perhaps even scary) that this man Muthaura is increasingly taking on roles that the president should be performing.  What’s happening to Kibaki’s brain? has it finally relented? Usually, to succeed in government, you need to surround yourself with people who possess two unique skill sets.  [...]

During Moi and Biwott’s time, the NSSF was used as a personal piggy bank to finance their political operations and in the case of Biwott, to fund his various private businesses. The worst thing about this, is that the NSSF contains people’s retirement funds - money that people are hoping to rely on when they [...]

I was perusing the BD Africa Technology section and they’re a whole bunch of companies that are trying to strategically place themselves in the right place in order to take advantage of this high speed cable line that is supposedly coming. Now, I know a lot of Kenyans are still hung up on “old” industries like [...]

Yes, you know who I’m referring to here: Will-kill Router and William “I’m gonna eat your mama” Ntimama. Looks like the names of those people linked to the post-election violence has finally been leaked out. I’m surprised by how short the list of names is because I think they’re a lot more Kalenjin MP’s who should [...]

You have to watch this video. The Nairobi City Council apparently has a list of houses that are built on illegal road structures, which they say have to come down, but if this is how they are going to “attack” this problem, then they are down right crazy! They almost demolished this family’s house, [...]

Once again, I want to get back to this topic about the coming undersea fiber optic cable that is supposed to finally deliver high speed internet services to the East African shoreline. White African has a good summary post on this cable line and I got this image from his blog. The white [...]

I was watching Pamela Jelimo’s win online (because I can never figure out what time these events are happening on tv). Anyway, Jelimo just killed it and she’s only 18! Maybe one day someone will figure out what these Kalenjins are drinking and they’ll package it and sell it to future runners. Is [...]

Have you guys seen this video? The slaughter houses in Dagoretti were closed for failing to comply with health codes and of course, Beth Mugo isn’t happy about it because these are her constituents. So, here she is arguing with the head of NEMA about why he was wrong and the guy stands his [...]

I wrote a post last year on Kencall after someone left a comment here about them not paying their employee’s. Anyway, as I was cleaning out my spam, I noticed that people were still continuing to comment on that post and they’re providing quite a bit of insider information. hmmmm…apparently, people don’t seem to like [...]

The Nation has an interesting article on this new company that is trying to enter the Kenyan beer market and succeed where Castle did not by attempting to compete with EABL. What I found interesting about this article is that while EABL gets it’s barley from local farmers, this new company is going to import it’s [...]

We’ve often heard of NRI’s (non-resident Indians) - These are Indians who who left their country in the 60’s and 70’s when the economy in India was closed and in the doldrums. However, as the years went by, this group began to thrive and they became an important link between India and the west, [...]

Uhuru gets tripped up here when he is asked about his family’s massive land holdings (how can you defend theft?). He gets tripped up again when he is asked about Mugabe. How can you defend Mugabe? Uhuru says land reform is not about a person.  I don’t know what he meant by that.  In [...]

What a pathetic performance by Stephen Sarkur of hardtalk. I’m glad Uhuru Kenyatta corrected him when he said the following: “that the greatest violence was perpetrated by the Mungiki militia”! WTF? half a million Kikuyu’s were displaced from their homes in two days and this idiot Sarkur (or whatever the hell his name is) [...]

I wasn’t going to write a piece on these high school students in Kenya behaving like hooligans, but this video caught my attention because now the girls are behaving badly. They even torched a school. Whaaaat? Women don’t tend to behave like this, so this suggests that something very wrong is taking place [...]

I’ve been observing this war of the roses feud between William “I”m gonna eat your mama” Ntimama and William “will-kill router”. Isn’t this an interesting feud? I must say that I am surprised that no reporter in Kenya has approached Ntimama and asked him what he meant when he delivered that harrowing statement. [...]

Is anyone surprised that there is an ongoing military shake-up taking place? you shouldn’t be because we talked about this extensively during last years election violence. Like I said numerous times (& I got a lot of flack for saying it) - Kibaki has got to get rid of the Kalenjins in the army before [...]

Okay, so, I was trying to get through this article in BD Africa, but I just couldn’t make sense of it. Hello? Did someone forget to edit again? Can somebody here read the above article and tell me what the hell the writer is trying to say? Anyway, I want to move on to [...]

Someone was telling me about this new autobiography by Peter Kuguru. He is the founder of Softa, the soda company in Kenya that gave Coca-Cola a run for it’s money. He’s written an autobiography about his life and about his experiences as an entrepreneur in Kenya. I haven’t read the book yet. However, [...]

It looks like Business Daily Africa is going to start charging it’s on-line customers to read some of their articles. In doing this, they are going against the current trend in on-line journalism where everything is becoming free. Heck, even the Wall Street Journal is heading towards making all the content on their site [...]

Well, Well, looks like Otieno Kajwang has just had a relapse. He’s gone back to his bad habits (Patel? You likey workey?). Kajwang should never have been in the cabinet especially after he got disbarred for stealing a clients reward money and then refusing to pay it back!! This man is a crook. Now, Kajwang is [...]

I’ve had long arguments with my friends about the role of corruption in propping up many wealthy business owners in Kenya. Some of my friends believe that they are many successful business people in Kenya who I’m just not willing to give credit for who have achieved their wealth through sheer genius and hard [...]

Well, Kimunya did himself in. He really did. He got cocky and he didn’t think he’d get caught. I don’t understand why he would even attempt to do something like this at a time when 50% of the country is still pissed off about the election results and then, not expect to [...]

Here is Raila Odinga calling for the resignation of the following people: The minister of finance, the CBK governor and the head of Kenya’s Intelligence unit, the NSIS. Um….Does anyone honestly believe that Kibaki is going to fire some of the most powerful men in the country? and even if Kibaki did, they’d [...]

If there is one civil servant in Kenya whose job is entirely and completely irrelevant, it is that of the Attorney General. Can somebody please tell me what good Amos Wako has ever done for the country? There is no scandal he has ever prevented, there is no important prosecution he has ever [...]

What can I say? The Grand Regency Larceny hotel has been sold for 2 Billion shillings and Orengo was caught unawares. Poor Orengo. Did he actually believe the grand coalition illusion was real? (Did Ghosts buy this hotel?) Like I’ve said before, Kibaki is now a dictator and at the presidential and executive level, [...]

I want to get back to this issue of call centers in Kenya because I believe it’s still a virgin industry and one that has potential for growth. (also, I just can’t spend time talking about Safaricom shares. I mean, how many ways can you talk about whether a stock price is going [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXzoroC5Wdc Forward this video to minute 1:00. I’ was watching this video and I was astounded. If Raila Odinga (as much as I dislike him) is the prime minister and if he has a security detail supplied to him from Kenya’s elite Reece squad, his security men should have the right to accompany him everywhere he [...]

This company continues to amaze. The IPO raised $800 million dollars. That’s a whole lot of mucha-cha. So, what do you think? Who were the biggest winners and who do you think were the biggest losers? I’ll try and answer my own questions: Biggest Winners: The brokers and the millions of dollars in fee’s that they’ll collect from this [...]

Merali’s two companies have issued profit warnings.  He is blaming it on post-election violence, but why do I think it’s more than that?  The CEO of his Sameer Group of companies has effectively been fired and because Merali is an astute businessman, he quickly replaced him with another Kikuyu. Now, I don’t want people here to [...]

I have often wondered whether Raila Odinga has a never ending political curse hanging around his head.  The idea that Kibaki will release suspects responsible for the murder, rape and burning of people’s homes is simply crazy. I don’t know how others are viewing this amnesty issue, but this is my reading of it: Raila Odinga aligned [...]

Every time Samuel “Jesus help me” Kivuitu opens his mouth, I burst out laughing.  I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I don’t know how I forgot to add him to my “funny man’s” list.  This poor man was caught between a rock and a hard place.  On one side was Michuki threatening him with GSU guards [...]

I don’t understand why people are giving James Orengo a hard time about this new land policy that he is trying to enact.  I think it actually has a basis in law and it relates to this concept called “adverse posssession”, which essentially states that the state or even private individuals, do have the right [...]

“A ruling political party cannot also be in the opposition. You are either in Government or out of Government. The role of the backbench is to check the front bench,’’ said Raila in an interview with KTN. Raila Odinga is truly an amazing specimen.  I wonder if he felt the same way when he was [...]

I must say, BDAfrica is becoming one of my favorite reads (who edits that newspaper? they deserve a big clap for doing a good job with their reporting). So, they have another interesting story about this guy called John Kiarie who is suing Dyer & Blair, claiming that they did not give him a return on [...]

I’m becoming increasingly curious about this guy Patrick Gakiavih, the owner/founder of Nyagan’ya Nyagah Stock-”biters”.   The Nation has an interesting story about where he ”invested” all that stolen money: He loves his hometown of Embu because he bought a lot of land there. According to the Nation article, he stole a total of about Ksh. 885 million or the [...]

Someone just emailed me this article that appeared in the British Magazine, the Spectator.  The article is written by a Kenyan based journalist name Aidan Hartley.  The article begins like this: ” I want to say Kenya is a victim of negative press. Shady characters called bloggers are nicknaming the President’s new Peace cabinet of ministers [...]

This is an interview that Will-Kill Router gave on Kenya’s looming food crisis.  He seems to have some of his facts memorized (x amount of maize was planted, x amounted is needed, etc, etc) - but at the end of the day, Africa’s inability to achieve food security is mainly due to it’s inability to [...]

The Nation and the Standard finally have similar stories on the procession of this grand coalition illusion.  From what I read, they’re basically going to try and get along and blah, blah, blah….. The roles however, about who is number one or number two (is it Kibaki or Raila?) are still left undefined.   And you [...]

I’m intrigued by this publicly listed company mainly because of it’s owners/founders.  I read somewhere that the Somen’s are Israeli Jews and their father immigrated to Kenya in the 1960’s or 1970’s (he apparently owns the Fairview Hotel).  Anyway, his sons are now running this company called (Access Kenya). I looked at their website  and it [...]

I am in the process of compiling a list of funny men (public figures who, when they open their mouths, leave me in stitches). So far, the following individuals have made my list: Kalembe Ndile Kamlesh Pattni Otieno Kajwaaaaaaang And now, I’m going to have to add the one and only, Francis Atwoli (this man may actually walk away [...]

I was having a short, but interesting conversation with someone late last night and the topic of Equity Banks’ rapid rise to the top came up (apparently, it now holds 41% of all bank accounts in the country). Anyway, during this short conversation, this guy told me that he attended a speech given by Equity’s MD at the Harvard [...]

My Dear Kenyans: The government does not have enough money to support it’s own oink, hiccup, oink. Um..excuse me for a minute. This picture is distracting me. Is this pig eating a chicken or is it eating a piece of itself? What was I saying earlier? Ah yes, the government has no money to support it’s own [...]

I am continually amused by how much press time the U.S. ambassador to Kenya is given because here in America, he is really a nobody.  If you asked any American to name the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, they would think you were high on something. The president of the United States offers ambassadorial appointments to many [...]

Fast forward the video below to minute 2:30. Saitoti walks over to Raila and tells him that he will get to introduce Kalonzo and then Kalonzo {as the VP} will get to introduce the president. Well, Raila didn’t like this at all because he thinks he has more seniority than Kalonzo and when [...]

If you listened to some of these Kalenjins, you’d think they were the only tribal group in Kenya that has had land stolen from them. You’d also think they were the only tribe in Kenya that is suffering economically.  I was watching the video below and could not believe what I was hearing. Kalenjin MP’s [...]

It appears like there’s been another incident with Kenya Airways. This time they just over-shot the runway at Entebbe. I had a piece on the crash in Cameron and I said then that if Kenya Airways had another fatal accident, it would be a public relations disaster for them. It hasn’t happened yet, [...]

The Nation finally has an article on the intelligence failure that preceded this election violence. We’ve been talking about the NSIS here for months now (I’m surprised it took the Nation this long to write an article on the NSIS). The article points out what two commentators said here two days ago: That [...]

The Standard newspaper is really becoming a joke in terms of it’s blatant ass kissing of Raila Odinga. I mean, please, please, please… As I’m checking the headlines I see this title: “Raila Bounces Back”. Huh? Wait. It gets worse. Look at this quote from the straaaange article above: “Raila, the Orange Democratic Movement [...]

There’s an interesting article in BD Africa about Kenya finally moving towards opening up a commodities exchange where farmers and others (I presume) will eventually be able to trade agricultural commodities just as they trade Safaricom shares. I’ve written articles about this before and wondered why an agricultural country like Kenya did not have an exchange [...]

The Mars group has studied the financial obligations that will come with this new bloated government and they’ve determined that 80% of Kenya’s national budget will go into buying more mercedez benz’s and range rovers for these greedy, greedy, politicians. Yes, my friends, the cabinet will now cost the Kenyan taxpayer $1 billion [...]

Can somebody email Michael Gichangi (the head of the NSIS) and tell him to wake up. A new year has dawned and we are three months into it. The government is now admitting to being outwitted by Mungiki. The pattern of intelligence failures can no longer be ignored. Witness: The Sabaot Land Defense Force was operating long [...]

So, I’m reading a couple of articles in the Standard about what appears to be a coming liquidity crunch with the banks and with the government. In other words, they appear to be running low on hard, cold cash (or at least that’s what I deduced from reading this article here).  I’ve said before that [...]

I was trying to read the list of all the newly appointed ministers, but I got tired. Even the Nation and Standard were having a hard time listing them all, ending their sentences with phrases like, “….and others”. It makes no sense to me. I mean, ministry of northern Kenya development? [...]

Someone ought to give Kamlesh Pattni his own reality show. This man is a total comedian and why do these Indians who’ve been born and raised in Kenya sound like they just flew in from Kolkata? Anyway, why is the government getting into the hotel business? And that Central Bank Governor is one arrogant man. [...]

Well, I guess there’s no surprise here that the talks have collapsed.  Like I said in a previous piece, Mutula Kilonzo and Martha Karua are very smart lawyers.  They simply outwitted James Orengo when it came to drafting that agreement.  Isn’t that the first thing they teach you in a contracts class?  never, ever, write generalized contracts [...]

I know Na-jihadi Bawawa is threatening more violence against the Kikuyu’s, but after watching this news clip of what the army is doing in Mt. Elgon, the so called warriors should not heed Najib “Mullah Omar’s” advice. Look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppyDws4vBc0 I was waiting for the cabinet list to be announced, but it appears that [...]

Well, well….looks like ODM’s self-grown insurgent has just issued another Fatwah. He is now threatening a new round of violence if his “peeps” don’t get the hook up on the crook up. From the Nation: “We are giving a warning that if this issue is not addressed properly, we risk the eruption of a new round [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBNB7JGTl6Q   I was watching this video of the new traffic directive and I don’t quite get it.  It looks like Uhuru Kenyatta put this plan in place hapharzadly and it doesn’t look like it’s going to work in the long-term.  I don’t know why these ministers and MP’s aren’t able to acknowledge their lack of expertise [...]

In a fair world, Anyang Nyongo would and should be Kenya’s finance minister.  I think he is smarter than Kimunya, I think he has more experience than Kimunya and I think he has a better grasp of the global economy and the world in general, than Kimunya.  I’ve criticized Nyongo on his politics, but I [...]

I was reading the PNU proposals on the division of ministries and I actually fell down and banged my head on the table because I was laughing so hard. I knew this strange coalition would bring about bloated government, but this is beyond even what I would have expected. From the Standard: The new ministries proposed [...]

I’ve said before that this so called “peace deal” is totally confusing and nobody seems to quite know what it’s modalities entail. Today, as I was reading the Standard, it became clear that this “deal” was put together hastily and now ODM wants Koffi Annan to come back and essentially help them negotiate the ministry [...]

Jackson Kibor has given an interview to Reuters professing his innocence.  The only problem is, he was heard talking about war on a BBC radio broadcast.  According to the Standard, he claims he is too old and too poor to be engaging in that kind of thuggery.  However, both articles mention that he owns three farms with [...]

The French refer to it as L’Addiction d’Afrique (The Addiction of Africa) - it’s the draw and addiction that foreigners develop for Africa inspite of all of it’s problems.  An addiction they cannot seem to rationally explain. I was thinking about this phrase as I read {once again} this blog piece written by an American journalist [...]

That’s what I’m experiencing right now.  I was trying to listen to the analysis of his speech last night, but after about 5 minutes, I switched off all the news channels.  I couldn’t take it. I heard someone say that it was the: “greatest political speech on race in his lifetime”! eh? Obama did what he always does; [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntvMoxb3iiU Ruto has to be feeling “dissed”.  I don’t care what he says publicly, his face is beguiled with disappointment and you can see it (he believes he deserved the deputy PM job because he believes he did more to secure ODM’s win than Mudavadi). It was amusing to see all these politicians accusing Kalonzo of being [...]

I guess there’s going to be an annoucement tomorrow by Kimunya on the modalities of this IPO. The investment banks who get this business are going to be smiling all the way to Tahiti when they start adding up their humongous fee’s from this transaction (These brokers are making a killing). If this article [...]

So, I’m reading this piece in the Nation where Mr. Matharau Muthaura is essentially telling Mr. Ojinga Odinga that his Executive Prime Ministerial position is basically useless. According to Muthaura: “The PM will come in handy in setting up inter-ministerial committees, following up on policy, sometimes developing the policy and ensuring ministries are kept in [...]

I’ve been trying to read pieces about the land issue in Kenya because it’s at the heart of the countries continuos violence and I must say, that the more I read and the more I learn, the more I’m beginning to realize that that Kalenjin elders have no clue about the history of their so [...]

Here is a short (30 minute) documentary about the genesis and growth of the violence. It is somewhat outdated because it was made before this “peace” deal was signed, but the stories from the people caught up in it are still interesting (especially the claim by a Kikuyu woman in the rift valley who [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TgWPaX-k7k I must say, this man has an amazing knack: He can lie with a straight face (is there a school one can attend where they teach you how to do that?). I’d like us to come up with names that would best describe William Ruto. I suggest Will-kill Ruto. Do you have any other [...]

I haven’t been able to catch all the details, but from what I’ve heard, it looks like more bloated government is coming.  I pity the taxpayers of Kenya.  A president An executive prime minister A Vice President 2 deputy prime ministers More ministries coming (they all have to eat) The worst, worst thing here is that none of these prime ministers [...]

I can’t keep up with ODM’s continuous flip flopping.  According to the BBC, they have now called off the planned mass protests that were to take place this Thursday. I think Kenyans are tired of the hooliganism and violence.  When all is said and done, Raila Odinga should look back on history and connect his falling [...]

As predicted, the Annan negotiations have pretty much collapsed. Annan is fed up and exhausted and I’m glad he’s finally realized that his time is being wasted (the guy isn’t getting paid for this. Why would he put up with it when he can be making $50,000 dollars a pop giving speeches around [...]

Looks like Mr. Balalaaaa has been watching his boyhood pirate movies. He’s threatening to turn central province into an island like Lesotho: “We are pressurised by our people, if the negotiations are not working, then we change the terms of reference of the negotiations to discuss boundaries then we reduce them to an Island like [...]

I said here a month ago that the Kalenjins who planned the violence in the rift valley were going to pay a price for their actions. You can’t kill 1000 people, displace half a million of them and get away with it. Now, it appears like the retaliation has begun with the arrest [...]

There’s an interesting profile on Barack Obama in this month’s Vanity Fair Magazine. Check it out here. The question for me is, can he beat John Mccain in November. I’m rarely if ever inspired by politicians speeches. As a voter, I just want my side to win. And, and, and….. I’m not sure if he can beat [...]

Finally, some news is beginning to trickle out about what ODM is looking for in it’s talks with the government. There’s no way in hell Kibaki is going to agree to these stipulations, which are: An Executive Prime Minister who’d be the head of government and share power with the president A two-year period to review [...]

There’s nothing major happening on the ground in Kenya at the moment.  I know Condoleeza Rice was there on Monday, but I doubt much will come from her trip.  These guys (Bush et al.) are leaving office in one year’s time and they are downright exhausted.  How do I know this? I’ve read about 8 [...]

This is an old article I posted a while ago, but I am re-posting it here again because I think it underscores why Kenya has become such an important link to the west’s war on terror and why America & Britain cannot afford for it to descend into chaos. The contents of this post are [...]

This is the second part of the article I received: Again, come to your own conclusions about your own country. Observers of the Kenya scene always have preferred to emphasise the positive over the negative. After all, Kenya’s first multi-party election in 2002 was peaceful. The expanded political freedoms of speech, press, and association are a [...]

This article was forwarded to me. It’s got a lot of historical information on the genesis of the land problem in Kenya, which I don’t think a lot of people know about. So, look at it as an opportunity to brush up on your knowledge of Kenya’s history. On the night of 13 August [...]

I just read this piece from Kenyanpundit: “Bishop report from Bungoma – Kalenjin in the area are not just killing, but are mutilating their victims, cutting legs, arms, private parts, then beheading Luyha and Kikuyu. They are dying in painful de-humanised way. This is being funded by a parliamentarian, who is currently in the peace talks. [...]

I’m looking for Koffi Annan. He’s supposed to be hiding at a “secret” location, working on a “secret” deal that will deliver I don’t know what, to I don’t know who. I’ve never understood Koffi Annan. I view him as an uncreative bureaucrat who has spent his entire career at an organization that has largely [...]

I was perusing the Standard and came across this story on yet another stock broker that is engaging in funny business (same problem, different name). This time it’s Nyaganya Nyagah Stock Brokers who, according to the Standard: “…. are being investigated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) over misappropriation of clients’ money and unauthorised sale [...]

I was trying to figure out why Michuki keeps telling Kibaki to give him the ministry of roads. Afterall, isn’t the ministry of internal security a more powerful post? A friend of mine suggested that maybe Michuki had been demoted because he may be too “polarizing” . Kibaki and Michuki are comrades in arms (together [...]

Who’s this guy Mohammed Adow? I know he’s Somali, but I’m not sure if he grew up in Kenya or Somalia. Anyway, he’s done a good job with his reporting on kenya. How in God’s name do you move up financially in Kenya? There’s virtually no upward mobility! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQu4Z3GpxF0

I was watching a BBC interview last night and they had Kalonzo on to talk about what was happening in Kenya.  I must say, I’m not impressed by him.  I wasn’t impressed by him during his campaign either, but I ignored it since I never thought he’d end up being the vice-president.  However, now that [...]

Imanyara says the first lady smacked him.  I believe him. Afterall, she has done it before.  However, I am beginning to feel sorry for this woman.  She clearly has some kind of mental illness and that must be difficult to deal with for a number of reasons. First, the complexities of mental illness is not appreciated [...]

I continue to wonder why Kibaki is pretending to go along with these Annan hot talks. I suppose it’s because he didn’t want to embarrass President Kufuor? And now he doesn’t want to embarrass Kofi? (I had to re-read this sentence because so manyGhanian names begin with the letter “K” & I didn’t want to [...]

The death of these two MP’s has once again brought up this issue of political assassinations. While the death of Mellitsus Were remains a mystery, the circumstances surrounding the murder of David Kimutai appear to be related to a love triangle gone bad. People like Moi and Kenyatta were able to carry out their assassinations, without [...]

This is absolutely organized. What are these Kalenjins trying to do? Kill all 4 million Kenyans who voted for Kibaki?  If they keep doing this, people are going to retaliate.  This is simple human nature.

70 people were killed over the weekened and I can no longer tell if the violence has remained at the same level that it was, if it’s gotten worse or if it’s stabilizing. What do you think? All kinds of weapons are being used to kill - primarily the machete and these poisonous arrows. It’s a [...]

So, Ban-Ki Moon is on his way to Kenya. Frump, frump. I honestly don’t know why the United Nations continues to exist. What is it they do again?? The truth of the matter is, the power of the UN lies with the five permanent members of the security council, who are: The [...]

So, I’m watching this video and I see Raila at the home of the Libyan Ambassador to Kenya (forward video to minute 1:31). Why is Raila so close to the Libyans? This is a rhetorical question because the answer is obvious: It’s all about the money. However, I want to talk about why this alliance is [...]

A second MP has been shot.  This time, the murder is being attributed to a lovers spat.  He was having an affair with a policeman’s wife and according to the New York Times: “Mr. Too was driving in his car with a female police officer whose boyfriend was also a police officer. The boyfriend drove [...]

I’m always interested in learning about different cultures and I came upon this video of Kalenjin “Morans”. If the video hadn’t specified that they were Kalenjins, I would have assumed they were Maasai’s. I don’t know what year this video was taken, but it must have been a while ago because only Maasai’s [...]

I have said before that I did not think Koffi Annan would achieve anything and I will stick to that prediction. Now, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa has declared what went on in the rift valley this way: “Ms Frazer described the forced removal of members of Mr Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe, which she [...]

Look at them smiling with each other in their freshly pressed suits and full stomachs! I was particularly perturbed when I saw William Ruto shaking hands with Kibaki and smiling with Kalonzo (does Ruto know what is going to happen to him?) **Article with great commentary (How Kenya Lost it’s way) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhur2W4v2Y

From Reuters: “It starts with five deaths, then 10, then 50, shortly it grows to 100, then it goes to thousands … By the time you realise, it has a dimension that is wiping out life in villages and communities and is getting out of control and the whole political situation is in a mess.” (Bring [...]

A guy by the name of Mugabe Were. I’d never heard of him before (had you?). Dandora is part of his constituency and they’re now saying it’s also a stronghold of the Mungiki sect, but Embakasi has a lot of dangerous neighborhoods (Kayole, Mukuru kwa Njenga, Kariobangi) Mugabe Were beat David Mwenje in the [...]

What’s happening in Nakuru and Naivasha is exactly what happened in 1992 and 1997 with the tribal clashes.  The Kikuyu are exacting revenge against the Kalenjin and some Luo’s.  This is human nature and it was bound to happen.  The difference in ‘92 and ‘97 is that not that many people were displaced and the attacks [...]

As I’ve been thinking about Kenya these past few months, one thing has become clear to me and perhaps to all of you: At the heart of the problem is the question of extreme poverty. Regardless of what side you are taking in the midst of this political crisis, one thing is clear: They are [...]

I don’t want to talk about Koffi Annan’s trip because nothing will come of it and what more evidence is there of this than the words of Kibaki and Raila right after their press conference. From Kibaki: “As the duly elected president, etc, etc……(these guys are not going to negotiate with Raila). From Raila: “Mr Odinga said the [...]

I used to admire Anyang Nyongo, but ever since he decided to become Raila’s houseboy his independent thoughts have been pushed aside in favor of Raila’s flip flopping radicalism and recklessness. I’m watching this video (fast forward to minute 1:00) and I can’t believe what I’m hearing coming out of Nyongo’s mouth - that the [...]

I’m trying to move away from these political discussions, but people here don’t seem to want to do that. I suppose I’ve just come to the conclusion that Kibaki is not going to resign, they will be no coalition government (can anyone honestly see Kibaki and Raila working together?) and Raila is just going to [...]

From the Nation: A Catholic priest in the district had sent out a distress call to the police after the monastery he runs was surrounded by armed youths. “As I speak to you, I can see about 1,500 people armed with bows, arrows and spears,” Fr Dominic Vincent Nkoyoyo told the Sunday Nation. The priest said [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjOCAkIU4Mg Wuu-wee…Odinga is a smooth talker. I almost swallowed some of his kool-aid until the end where he said he won the election “overwhelmingly”. Haiya, haiya…hold on a minute there, dear African brutha. Kibaki got 4 million votes! Raila also got 4 million votes. These two men were separated by a few [...]

Things just don’t seem to be working out for ODM.  Did you see those “mass” protests that were supposed to paralyze the country for three days? Not that many people showed up (you can view the clips here: drip, drip drip). : Now, they’ve come up with yet another plan to “paralyze” the country.  This time, it’s economic [...]

So, this guy Mama Kayai ..ooops…I’m sorry. What’s his name again? Maina. Yes. So, Maina decides to go visit these displaced people in order to offer them {& please bear with me here}..”a message of hope, of sympathy, of empathy and of listening”. Can somebody please tell me what the fukc Maina is smoking? These people have nothing left.  Their [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVi6v1pCeVg James Orengo should become a law school professor.  He seems to have a knack for esoteric legal minutae that is often disconnected from the practical realities of the real world.  On the first day of parliament he’s trying to argue (in 5 minutes) really dense constitutional issues.  Watching him and the other lawyers (Karua & [...]

Why do these people even bother? That guy Kufuor had absolutely no charisma. He looked like a kid who was being forced to eat his vegetables (totally disinterested and wishing he could wiggle out of it). Now, they are sending another Ghanian, our friend Koffi Annan (can I get a resolution? and another and another [...]

It is becoming clear to anyone watching the unfolding violence in Kenya that the question of land is at the heart of the issue (especially with the violence between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu in the rift valley). It does not appear to be an issue in Kisumu (they just want Raila to become the president). I’ve [...]

I was watching this video and just shaking my head. Why? Kibaki paid a visit to the victims (okay, okay,…let me stop speaking in code). Start over. Kibaki paid a visit to a camp in the Rift Valley that is now home to thousands of Kikuyu’s that have been displaced. In the middle of his speech, [...]

“Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive” - William F. Buckley I know the idealists are still talking about things like peace and justice and they’re all waiting for Kibaki to resign and all that, but I am going to move on from these pie in sky ideals because I’ve pretty [...]

Someone sent me an email about a confidential memo that ODM had written way back in September. I can’t vouch for the document’s authenticity, so I will simply post it here and let you make up your own minds. I will first copy the statement accompanying the email and the ODM Memo will be attached at the [...]

I had a post earlier (”The Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur”) where I mentioned the Kikuyu/Kamba alliance that was now forming in the army. I also said Kalonzo Musyoka knew exactly what was going on and that was why he was in with Kibaki. The idealists came out of their caves and called me [...]

I was watching this guy William Ruto throughout the campaign and thinking that there was something very eery about him. There he was talking about change and human rights as if nobody in the country knew what his background was. So, who is William Ruto? Let’s see: Before 1992, Ruto used to idle around the Hilton [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2uUKy7sOCc I was watching this video and seeing all these young men and wondering why they’re couldn’t arm themselves and fight back (and this is not an evil statement because people who are being attacked have every right to defend themselves). The hooligans and thugs are armed with simple rungus and pangas, why couldn’t they fight [...]

Something is happening with the kalenjins in the rift valley. They’re anger is coming from somewhere and they’re violence is not spontaneous. I know Raila Odinga wants people to believe that (& maybe in Kisumu it was spontaneous, but in the rift valley, someone is funding and organizing these Kalenjin warriors). I think these Kalenjins have [...]

I admire many of the things Museveni has done in reviving and stabilizing Uganda. Now, of course, the west is pressuring him to step down and asking him to give democracy a chance, but Museveni’s arguments against imposing fast paced democracy in Africa are quiet right. Museveni has argued that Africa is still too poor [...]

Even if these people believed Kibaki rigged himself in, there is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Click on the link and watch this video: After seeing this, I want Michuki to fight them till the end and bring them down. I’m tired of reading all these Kenyan blogs where people are intellectualizing the problem. (”Pray for [...]

We have to talk about the impact that this violence will have on the overrall economy (I’m sorry, this is not a blog for idealists.  At the end of the day, people have to eat and for many, if they don’t work and they don’t get paid, they won’t eat). It now looks like the violence [...]

Has anyone here ever worked for an NGO in Africa? Isn’t it your job to prepare for disasters at all times? I’m saying this because I”m watching this video and wondering why the red cross official is saying he can’t fly food and other necessities out to the people stuck in Burnt Forest (he’s saying [...]

I just heard him on the BBC trying to compare the situation in Kenya to the genocide in Rwanda. Please, please, please! Kenya is not Rwanda. Kenya has a well educated middle class, Rwanda did not have this. Kenya has a high literacy rate, currently standing at about 75%, Rwanda did not have this [...]

The first crazy, Raila sits in his mansion in Karen and lets those poor jobless men in Kibera take the bullets on his behalf (ati “we will not be intimidated”! Really Raila? why don’t you join those young men on the streets then?) The second crazy is Michuki. He too sits in his mansion in [...]

Do these people who are rioting actually believe that they’ll be able to defeat the security forces with their machete’s and wooden sticks? it’s a losing battle and Odinga needs to make another appeal for calm.  Let him take his case to court because now I am reading that they were irregularities with the vote [...]

I said before that I view Michuki as a cold, heartless man (yes, he’s brought a level of law and order to the matatu business and perhaps he’s even dealt with the mungiki menace, but at what cost?

First, let’s begin with the most important newspaper in America, The NYT: “At the sound of the copter blades, a thousand Masai tribesmen crane their necks upward. It is as if their savior is dropping from the sky. Railaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” they yell. The tribesmen turn into a stampede, hollering and poking their gnarled wooden clubs in [...]

A few months ago, Kenya was forced to close it’s border with Somalia when too many refugee’s started streaming in. Now, more Somali refugee’s are streaming in from the Ogaden region in Eastern Ethiopia. How many wars are these Ethiopians going to fight? They’re fighting in Somalia, they’re fighting rebels in the Ogaden, they’re fighting [...]

Many months ago I had a post on the topic of asset-backed securities. The post was prompted by experiences told to me by someone who had moved back to kenya about two years ago to work for a private bank that wanted to shore up their asset-backed security division. Things didn’t work out [...]

You can go here and watch all the youtube links about nomination troubles occurring all over the place. I picked this video out because it was the most bizarre - the presiding officer was actually abducted and roughed up; oh…and the ballot papers were stolen. I’ve said before that I wish Kibaki was a lot [...]

I love the story behind the founding of this community radio station. It was started by a woman named Helen Wanjiku who grew up in Korogocho, but was able to leave and get her education when an aunt helped her out financially. She returned to Korogocho and started this station as a way [...]

Everyone knows that if you are going to use foreign political consultants, you must, must, must, keep them in the background. They’ve been doing this in the former Soviet Republics for the last few years(hiring American lobbyists, but making them sign strict confidentiality agreements). Does Raila not have confidence in the Kenyan politicians on his team? When [...]

That’s what the United Nations wants Kenyans to have and by God, they’re going to help us become more like them.  Absolutely. They are going to create more faceless beaurucrats who sit in cubicles the whole day pushing paper and writing reports. Oh yes, my dear friends, UNDP has commissioned yet another “report” from academics all the [...]

I watched a documentary last night on the CIA’s program called “extraordinary rendition”. We’ve been reading about it in the Nation lately - Kenyans (accused of being terrorist sympathizers) and who are usually of Muslim or Arab descent, being picked up in Mombasa and flown (on secret U.S. flights) into prisons in Ethiopia. Kibaki is [...]

Everyone’s talking about politics. Raila this, Kibaki that, here, there…but for 99% of us, this election will have no dramatic effect on our lives.  We’ll still have to get up in the morning, go to work and pay bills. So, I want to talk about business and get some updates on Kenyan companies we’ve talked about here. I’d [...]

I’ve always said that it’s very hard to ascertain the source of wealth of many people in Kenya.  For some, I can understand why they’d not want to talk about it, but for those who claim to have made their money honestly, why not talk about it? It’s the one thing I admire about entrepreneurs in the west: [...]

Statements like the one’s below are why I agree with Anyang Nyongo when he says we need more transparency in the capital markets. From the Nation: “Asked about the ownership of the firm, Mr Joseph maintained that Safaricom had two shareholders — the Government, through Telkom Kenya, with 60 per cent, and Vodafone Kenya Ltd, with 40 [...]

It’s increasingly looking like Raila Odinga may in fact win this election, but that’s not what’s making me nervous. What’s making me nervous is whether the likes of Michuki, Biwott or even Moi will accept the result if Raila wins. I’m pretty sure Raila security around him (I’ve heard he drives around in [...]

I was listening to a BBC report last night and they were interviewing some people in Kenya about the growing diabetes crisis. The BBC reporter attributed the rise in diabetes cases directly to unhealthy lifestyle choices. However, I once asked a diabetes doctor in Kenya why so many people were suffering from this [...]

I was reading bits of that ruling in the Nation and I began to get worried. Why? because it appears like tribalism has infected every part of Kenyan society and that includes the judiciary. Now, I’m not Luo. I’m actually Kikuyu, but I just happen to agree with Nyongo’s lawsuit and I also [...]

I was reading Bankele’s blog and there is a heated discussion on Kenya Airways (it’s mainly about the coming competition and it’s safety record). As I’m reading through the comment section, I started getting a headache (particularly from comments left by “Me” — “it’s the pride of Africa”, the pride of Africa, the prrrr; I couldn’t [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I did a mini-analysis of Kenya’s most popular websites and it was quite interesting to see where the trend is moving. The Nation and Standard are the highest, with both sites getting about 45,000 hits a day, but their numbers are down for the month and for the year (Kenya’s most popular websites). However, the [...]

A lot of you have probably seen this video. Here is Moi telling his Kalenjin peps to vote for Kibaki because if Raila becomes president, he will implement the Ndungu Report and go after the wealth of the Kenyatta and Moi families. Therefore, he wants these obviously poor villagers to use the power of their [...]

I’m beginning to believe that Anyang Nyong’oh.oh.oh can quote (without notes), every line in every{passed} and soon to be passed parliamentary act. Every time I hear him give an interview, I wonder how much time he spends going over all that mind-numbingly boring minutae (“section 25 (a)  of the consenus of understanding in the [...]

Kengen wants to raise money. They haven’t decided which route to go: IPO {can they do that? or the bond market?}. They are looking for advice (Light me up). Would you like to help them out? what do you think is better? A little basics on what raising money via the bond market means: [...]

I was reading this story in the Nation on the president’s declaration to increase sugar prices by Ksh 300 per tonne. (O’Kubusu: How $$weet do you like your $ugar?). I understand the political objective (Kibaki is pandering to votes from western province just in time for the election). What I can’t figure out is [...]

From the Standard: “Former President Daniel arap Moi has reiterated his support for President Kibaki moments after he named his party of choice for the General Election”. Then of course Moi goes on to say that Kibaki is the only non-tribal leader while stating (concurrently) that he doesn’t want his own tribal outfit (the Kalenjins) to [...]

There.  I’ve said it. Raila hasn’t given the people a compelling reason why Kibaki shouldn’t be voted back into office. At the end of the day, the Kibaki administration has done a fairly competent job(Namely, they haven’t screwed up the economy and they’ve left businesses alone to do their thing) — so, why should Kibaki be voted [...]

I’ve been scanning the sports sections of the Kenyan Dailies and have noticed just how thoroughly the Kalenjin runners are dominating world running competitions. It’s not even close; And every year, a new crop of world class runners emerges from the hills of Eldoret and Baringo. It’s actually quite amusing because every marathon year [...]

I was talking to a doctor yesterday and she was telling me about this specialized hospital that they are in the process of building. They’ve already received a $10 million dollar grant from the African Development Bank and they’re looking to raise an additional 1.2 billion Ksh (which I think they’ll be able do). Anyway, [...]

You had the money, the time, or the whatever….. Many, many people have many, many, ideas, but little time or no money with which to execute those idea’s. However, that doesn’t and shouldn’t stop us from talking about them (since everything does begin with a simple idea). So, having said that, what business ideas’ have you [...]

It’s always stunning to me how these old Kenyan politicians continue to underestimate the power of the internet, especially the power it holds in terms of the free flow of information around the world. When will these oldies get it? The internet has killed censorship (even the Chinese government is having a hard time controlling [...]

Reading the Nation’s business section can be trying sometimes.  Witness the following headline: “Safaricom advisor to earn 5 cents pay”! But they don’t stop there: “Dyer & Blair will partner with Morgan Stanley & Co International PLC, Faida Securities, Ashbhu Securities Limited and Dyer & Blair Investment Bank in a deal where they will be expecting a [...]

The nation says the following: “The furore raised by the Media Bill boils down to a single issue: should government have the power to force journalists to reveal an unnamed source”? The Nation uses American law as an example and cites the case of Judy Miller to argue against this media bill, but I don’t [...]

From the Standard: “Chief Executive Officer Mr Michael Joseph on Friday contradicted the watchdog’s findings. “Safaricom has only two shareholders. These are Telkom Kenya and Vodafone Kenya Ltd. We do not know of any other shareholder”. Sure, Michael, sure (why does this dude keep messing with my intelligence?) And where the heck are the The Guernsey [...]

I was flipping through the comment section and someone identifying themselves as “me” left a comment saying that Kencall was not paying it’s employee’s and that a friend of their’s who was a “senior employee” at the company hadn’t been paid for months! (how the heck are you supposed to survive when that happens?). Now, that [...]

From the Standard: “Instead of humiliating me like this, why not just tell me I have been sacked, or why not just arrest me and take me to court,” said an exasperated Ngilu who was blocked from leaving Criminal Investigations headquarters for five hours”. Why doesn’t she just resign? It’s obvious Kibaki and his geriatric co-horts don’t have [...]

It looks like this is becoming a big topic as talk of the fiber optic cable looms. There’s a short article in the Nation about this and it looks like the Indians are already looking at Kenya (why? why? why? can’t they just stay put in India?) — it would really depress me if [...]

I was scanning the Standard’s business section and I came upon this quote by an MP: “Fresh allegations came after Khwisero MP, Mr Julius Arunga, demanded a ministerial statement on whether Mwangi could legally hold a senior bank position after being a manager in a bank that collapsed. Mwangi was a senior finance manager at Trade [...]

Okay, so.. someone just left a comment in one of the pieces and he mentioned the site katesKikapu.com (How many of these are out there?) When I use the term “copycat”, I’m not using it to denote some sinister or evil motive. The purpose is to stimulate the discussion, so that we can all learn about [...]

So, after “discovering” this site called mavuno.com, I couldn’t help but notice that it looks eerily similar to Mamamikes.com. The concept (using the internet to enable Kenyans in the diaspora to send goods to their relatives at home) is definitely the same (and I’m sure the founders of Mavuno copied it from MamaMikes — I’m making [...]

I was going through my comment section and I noted an entry by a Kenyan Entrepreneur referring to himself or herself as “Kinoti”.  He/she has started an on-line business that allows you to buy and send airtime credit to someone’s mobile phone in Kenya. The business/site is called sambazanow.com. So, of course, after [...]

I have a hard time making sense of the business articles in both the Standard and the Nation. So, I am first, going to make a general statement about Kenya RE’s IPO: it’s a good thing what the government is doing (turning over ownership of these parastatals into private hands. If you want efficiency [...]

From the Nation: “In the city incident, the gangsters exploded a grenade at the Kariobangi South bar at 10pm on Thursday and sped off in a vehicle firing indiscriminately, killing five motorists, a bar attendant and two taxi drivers”. This is worrisome. This is very, very, worrisome. I said previously that the root causes of the [...]

A dear friend of mine emailed me this article yesterday (thanks EW!) that appeared on NBC’s cable website. It mentions Kenya’s changing mortgage climate, which according to the article, began when ….. “Kenya’s financial laws changed, requiring banks to have less cash in reserve. {also} ….Lower interest rates on treasury bonds ….. encouraged banks [...]

I was breezing through the standard’s business section and I came upon this article on Safaricom. It made no sense to me. So, I’m asking you (anyone) to read it and tell us what on earth the author of the article was trying to say. The article begins like this: “Finance minister Mr Amos Kimunya says [...]

So, I’m flipping through my latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine (the one that everyone is talking about because they’ve dedicated the entire issue to Africa) and I run across an article written by Binyavanga Wainaina on Kenya. What can I say? the article (and the entire issue) is geared towards a western audience [...]

What is going on with this fiber optic cable system? I need someone who is familiar with the semantics to explain it to me. Kimunya says the undersea cable will cost about $110 million dollars (that’s really not a lot of money and I’m surprised the government hasn’t been able to just raise this amount on [...]

Street children in Mathare being forced to look for beheaded body parts by policemen (the police know better than to wade through that bacteria infected water) I got into an argument last weekend with a bunch of kenyans about poverty and corruption in Africa. I said there was a clear connection between the two. They [...]

What’s going on? I remember a time in Kenya when you could drive at 2 a.m. in the morning from one part of the country to the next (without fear). Even when they were home invasions, people never used more than panga’s and if you didn’t fight, they’d leave you alone. Something has changed…. Everyone has a [...]

Last night I was on the phone with a customer service rep from Direct-tv. I was trying to order the international sports channel, Setanta. After my call went through, I was connected to some African-American rep who was clearly based in the south (based on the accent I detected). Anyway, the following is [...]

I was browsing through the Standard’s business section and I came upon this story on the Uchumi debacle and the subsequent share dumb that occurred right before Uchumi shut down. This quote from Terry Davidson got my attention. Here it is: Former Kenya Commercial Bank chief executive, Mr Terry Davidson, is one of the key [...]

I was breezing through the Standards reporting on the plane crash and it just raised more questions for me. Like… The management of Kenya Airways cannot tell who between the two pilots was in charge of the aircraft at the time of the crash. One of the pilots, Francis Wamwea Mbatia, was a flying veteran [...]

I was looking through the blog listings on Mashada and discovered this new blog called Kenyan poet — it’s a blog about Kenyan/ African art and poetry and dance and literature and music and neo-soul nights, and, and, and…wow! It’s so nice to see a site that doesn’t focus on that pop culture poison and those [...]

It looks like it’s going to be Raila vs. Kibaki. I’m not going to talk about the other presidential candidates because frankly, they have no chance of making it (and on that point, can somebody please beam Najib Balala back to earth? does he honestly believe he’ll be elected president?). Let’s just keep [...]

This is not good, not good at all. I had already boiled down the African airlines that I would fly to two: Kenya airways was one and South African airlines was the second. Now, I don’t know if I’d want to fly Kenya Airways again. I’m sorry…..this is the second fatal accident in less than [...]

I’m kind of stunned at the diametrically opposing headlines in the Standard and the Nation. When ten people in a market are sprayed with bullets by a mercenary group of thugs or rebels, you’d think both newspapers would lead with the same headline! But nooo…the nation leads with a flimsy story about some nominated councillor [...]

I was reading this article in the Nation’s business weekly and they have a profile of two 20 year old entrepreneurs who started a company that takes care of people’s errands for them. Like many people in Kenya, these two young college students were forced into the world of entrepreneurship because of the economic realities [...]

I was browsing through the Standard’s business section and they have a piece on yet another brokerage company that is playing footsy with clients money. According to the article, “Nyaga Stockbrokers Limited is fighting to clear its name after cheques it issued recently were returned unpaid. When contacted for comment on Monday, Nyaga Stockbrokers [...]