Author Archives:

#iDontBelieve: “The Power of The People vs. The People in Power”

Posted on by iCon
19

First and foremost, a heartfelt prayer for the victims of explosion on Moi Avenue.

OK, now on to the blog.

Uhuru Diasporadical Speech
About a week plus ago Uhuru Kenyatta launched his TNA Party in what can only be described as the biggest launch of anything ever in Kenya. Seriously. He must’ve had the same budget as the Avengers movie. It was epic and quite impossible to miss.

The meat of the message he spewed out was some very inspirational, flowery and borderline purple balderdash on the importance of believing and having faith, hope and dreams. If I may, I’d like to quote him quoting someone.

“It was once said and I quote “ To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” end quote. Here today we have seen a dream being unfolded, we have seen the wings of hope that can carry us into the future and beyond. This is not some grand elaborate design, no, on the contrary it is very simple and basic, it all about our dreams. We all dream, children more so, but we must now start believing in the dream in order to achieve great things.”

“Ours is a party whose engine is oiled with the dreams of every Kenyan. A party that focuses into the future by offering solutions for the problems of today and emerging challenges of tomorrow. We seek to dispel the notion that parties are founded with the vision of getting to power. The Alliance is driven by a deep desire to fully implement the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya and the spirit of achieving the national development milestones as laid down in the Vision2030 agenda. That ladies and gentlemen is what we are asking you to judge us on as we move forward.”

- Uhuru Kenyatta, in his speech “TNA: The Alliance of Believers”

The speech is linked up there and it’s really not a horrible read. I tip my hat to the copywriter behind it and the endless hours of YouTubing inspirational speeches that must’ve been put behind that. Really I do. But let me tell you what I don’t believe before I tell you what I do. Continue reading →

Curb HIV Spread; Shave Women’s Heads

Posted on by iCon
1

Every time we mention Zimbabwe, it seems to be based on an individual’s ludicrous behavior. This time is no different.

Two Senators in the government there seem to have some genius solutions on how to curb their already declining HIV prevalence.

One gentleman, a Mr. Fernai, suggests that women’s attractiveness is the problem. He’s of the opinion that government should pass laws to make sure these girls are as smelly and unattractive as possible. Continue reading →

On Kenya Rugby, Man City & The Power of Money

Posted on by iCon
7

Kenyan sports fans have really spent the bulk of this weekend balancing on the edges of their seats.

Binti, one of my closer friends is among these. Aside from being one of the hugest Kenya Rugby fans that ever was or will be, she happens to be a Manchester United fan. So on Saturday, she was frantic and on edge as the Kenyan Rugby 7s Team kicked off a fairly important game against Russia. They were winning up until the last minute. In fact, as the clock hit 0, they had the win. All they had to do was stop game play. And somehow in that last play, they lost. Binti slammed tables and screamed frantically, emotions I shared with her fully.

The only other way for them to make a difference was to beat New Zealand AND Argentina. The former game was already written off as impossible; the Kiwis are beasts. And true to that, they spanked us merciless. But with the Argentine Pumas there was a chance. Again, that chance was squandered in yet another “so close” moment.

One can’t help but watch our local sportsmen – bar runners – and feel like maybe, just maybe, with a little more push and support, they’d be game changers. Continue reading →

#TurkanaOil: “Is Finding Oil Ever A Good Thing?”

Posted on by iCon
16

UPDATE: “We found oil in a hopeless place” by dilliemusic

So apparently they’ve struck oil in Turkana. The findings are in many ways preliminary, seeing as it will take years to properly assess the quantities and a bit longer to really start drilling; but our government seems to be optimistic that our reserves are bigger than Uganda’s.

Which puzzles me.

Out of sheer curiosity, when has finding oil in an African country EVER been a good thing? Continue reading →

“It Is You Who Shall Lead This Nation”

Posted on by iCon
9

I’ll keep this brief.

Earlier this week, we lost Mr. John Michuki. I never knew him; but I definitely knew of him. I had heard great things of him through his family and relatively harsh ones through those he crossed. Verily, he had done a great number of great things for the nation but was also credited with some relatively dark executive decisions. But out of respect for the man, I opt to not sully his reputation after his demise. He has done more for the country than most people I know, and for nothing else, some degree of respect is due. He was a ruthless manager in an unruly time who earned the love and respect from millions.

The nation was still mourning for him, when very early today morning, Njenga Karume passed away.

Now, Mr. Karume, I had the honor of knowing. Aside from the stories and the books; the legend of the self-made billionaire that went from nothing to something was more than enough to garner reverence and adulation. But more than that, he was a man of his word and a man of honor. He believed in hard-work and believed in the youth. One of the last things he said to my business partners and I when we last sat in the same room was “It is you who shall lead this nation.” He was referring to us, the youth, the online generation. He believed that we could – and would – change the face of the country and he stood behind his words by supporting our business aspirations in kind, advice, and action.

I was woken up by the call that he had passed away and during the short conversation on the matter something I had heard rumor of came to surface. My uncle once said that Karume had a family of a million. Not because he had a million children, but because he supported a million people; putting them through school, giving them jobs, sponsoring their dreams. It turns out this was true as I read email after email of how he had touched people’s lives. What was more impressive is that he did so humbly and without prejudice.

And for that, I think we should honor his name by not disappointing his dream for our success.

Rest in peace to any and all the great Kenyans that have passed on and strength to the friends and family they leave behind.

Omari’s Story: “A Lesson for Kenyans Online”

Posted on by iCon
3

A few days ago, a young man named Omari stood face to face with thugs. They had come to raid the Faraja orphanage in Ngong where he and 35 other children resided. This was not the first time.

The first time he had fought them off, thrown a hammer and hit one of them. They left. This time they were back for vengeance.

This is how I found out about the story. Continue reading →