Munene, the journey...

They said we should wait. The wazees were deliberating. They were discussing "important" issues of national security and interest. So, we walked out. We stood by the door. It was raining hard, and we strained to stand as close to the wall as possible, to avoid getting drenched. Inside, the air was exuberant. The wazees were laughing heartily as they imbibed to their fill with nyama choma and Tusker baridi . My stomach was grumbling. I looked around at my friend. She was shivering. "She's going to catch a cold if we don't get somewhere warm soon," I thought to myself. I could stay here and wait to see the wazees and tell them why we had come. Or I could save my skin and call it a day (or night). I chose the former. I motioned to Wanjiku to follow me. She seemed shocked. We had come so far, having walked in the wind and rain for two hours. She was heavy with child, and due any day now. We passed the Toyota VXs that had transported the wazees to ...

Kenyans are growing tired of empty promises by their leaders. We elect representatives and executives, who then turn their backs on us. They no longer represent what we want as a people. They take us for granted. And so they take us for a ride. They rob the country and bleed it dry. Of course politicians will not pay for their sins. No, we do not have a system that punishes corruption in political power. The three arms of government are in constant quarrel as our country is mortgaged to the highest bidders. Oil exploration blocks are decided while we fight about whether or not Miguna Miguna should be allowed back into the country. In the midst of election petitions, it emerges that the IMF representatives have been in cahoots with the Treasury and Central Bank to doctor records and basically misrepresent the state of the economy. Regardless, of what it is, Kenyans are angry. So, should we take up arms? Should we resort to violence? Should we arm ourselves and eliminate all thos...

In 2016, Kenyans in the diaspora sent home USD $1.6 billion (about KSh. 160 billion). In 2013, Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta each spent an equivalent of about USD $100 million (KSh. 10 billion) vying for the presidency. This year, numbers are projected to rise beyond USD $200 million (KSh. 20 billion) in a "rematch" of the 2013 contest. And just as in the past, most Kenyans in the diaspora will be unable to cast absentee votes, even though the law says that every eligible Kenyan should be availed to vote. And that is where I think the diasporans [sic] should agitate for greater representation. Kenyans in the diaspora control enough remittances to be one of Kenya's top foreign exchange earners. If they wanted, they could form a movement to pool funds and finances a political party (KSh. 15 billion spending cap), presidential (KSh. 5.25 billion spending cap), and other county-level representatives (KSh. 433 million spending cap). In politics, in Kenya and beyond, mon...

I am among those who were shocked when on November 9, I woke up to the news that the unlikeliest of presidential candidates had clinched the American presidency. I could not wrap my head around a Trump win, because it had been so unlikely! Where did it all come from? Should we blame so-called populism? O yes! Impossible it was! Trump had to surmount a 99% chance that Clinton was going to win. She had led the polls all along, and there was no chance for an upset. All polls except two or three had predicted a landslide win for Clinton. All the TV stations all talked about a Clinton presidency, as if the election was a forgone conclusion. But Trump won, and resoundingly so. Or as others have said, Clinton lost; well, semantics. We are in a transition period. Suffice it to say that it's an interesting one. However, since that fateful Wednesday, garbage has been picked up at my house, tap water still runs, and there's still power in the socket. Whilst this may seem obvious, it...