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The whole world must condemn racism against black community in China

Reports of black Africans being subjected to racial abuse in China are shocking, retrogressive and should be condemned outrightly. Several reports of Nigerian and Kenyan nationals being denied entry into their homes and public spaces such as subways because they are foreigners have emerged and caused an uproar on social media. It has also been reported that members of the black community in Guangzhou are facing special scrutiny amid coronavirus pandemic, unlike the citizens. It is inappropriate and inhuman for the Chinese government to treat foreigners, who are in the country legally, like animals. The world is currently facing a deadly pandemic that has so far left over 125,000 people dead. Economies are suffering. Millions of people across the world have lost their jobs because they cannot go to work lest they contract the deadly virus, whose disputed source is said to be a food market in Wuhan, China. Thousands of families have lost their loved ones and there is the need to ...
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Has the Kenyan media neglected its watchdog role?

This article is not an attack on the Kenyan legacy media. Rather, it is a case I want to present to prove that the Kenyan media has abandoned its watchdog role.  I have been following, keenly, the news coverage by the three main dailies in the country, with special attention on the stories given prominence by the print media.  From my observation, the Kenyan print media has given politics, more so, the 2022 presidency succession debate, a lot of coverage than any other important issue facing the country.  News print editors have given prominence to stories about who is likely to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta when his term ends in three years, instead of focusing on investigative pieces on corruption, the ailing health sector and the long-ignored education and creative arts industry, including sports, by the past and present governments.  While the media has highlighted some scandals such as the one on Pumwani Maternity Hospital’s dead babies fo...

HELB frustrating graduates with hefty fines

The other day, my colleague at work initiated a debate on The Higher Education Loans Board, loans repayment terms and consequences of defaulting. He, just like many others, was a beneficiary of the money disbursed to university students upon successful application. However, he has not started repaying the loan and strongly feels the Board is frustrating unemployed youth with ‘hefty’ fines in case the repayment terms aren’t followed to the latter. HELB slaps former university students who do not start repaying the loans one year after course completion with a monthly fine of KSh5,000. Unemployment is an enormous crisis in Kenya, with millions of university graduates stranded with their degrees and diploma certificates scouting for jobs. Let me at this point call him ‘Jeremy’ – not his real name. Jeremy argued that the government was doing very little to aid the youth secure jobs immediately after graduating from tertiary institutions of learning. Many at times one only ...

Why Kenyan electorate must crack the whip in 2017

On March 4, 2013, Kenyans went to the polls with a lot of optimism that the decision they would make by casting their ballots would transform their lives. Among the critical issues they wanted addressed were inequitable distribution of resources, inadequacies in health care services provision, unemployment- especially among the youth and corruption. The 2010 constitution came with the devolved units or counties. Kenyans were promised that devolution would spread development at the grassroots, as opposed to when financial resources were solely managed and controlled by the central government. Devolution, was also to create employment to the jobless at the remotest parts of the country. The idea of coming up with devolved units, methinks, was long overdue. Indeed change has been witnessed- in infrastructure development such as roads and provision of clean water for households. The youth, women and persons with disabilities have also benefited greatly through their ...

Punish those responsible for Strathmore fiasco

In the wake of the recent sporadic terrorism attacks in the country, Strathmore University, Madaraka campus organised a terror attack drill on Monday, November 30. The outcome was one university staff member lost her life and several students sustained severe injuries. The university through its official twitter page (@StrathU) confirmed that Esther Kidemba, 33, succumbed to serious head injuries as a result of the stampede at the campus during the drill. The twitter page also confirmed that at least 25 students were receiving treatment at Mater Hospital, and Nairobi West Hospital, as at Monday night. Strathmore University students scampering  for safety after the Monday, November 30 scare (PHOTO/ Courtesy bbc.com) Some of the students also claimed that they lost important property including laptops and mobile phones during the stampede that also paralysed business activities near the institution. In as much as it is important to prepare students and Kenyans at lar...

Seal graft loopholes to efficiently fund future salary increments

The recent decision by the Supreme Court to back Industrial Court order and Court of Appeal’s ruling to award teachers a salary increment of 50-60 per cent was indeed a big win to all public teachers nationwide. The National Treasury has since warned that the taxpayer will have to dig deep into his pockets to raise the Sh 17 billion required to effect teachers’ salary increment. Just recently, the Auditor General, Edward Ouko raised the red flag over massive corruption in National and county governments. The Auditor in his report revealed that expenditures of up to Sh 67 billion were not backed up with proper documentation in counties and national government ministries. PHOTO: Courtesy, Nation Media Group This undeniably was not the first time that an Audit Report exposed graft in the government. There have also been concerns about payment of ‘ghost workers’ and the government losing billions of shillings in procurement processes- the most recent being the Nationa...

School tragedies call for divine intervention

Arsonist attacks, mass killings of students by Al Shabaab, drowning of students in the Indian Ocean and the most recent being students having sex in broad day light in a bus and taking alcohol and bhang. These are some of the unfortunate happenings that have dogged the education sector in the recent past. Have we in any way wronged God? I think it’s high time the country held a national prayer meeting to seek for forgiveness from Him. Maybe through this, the education sector will be set free from all these misfortunes. Second worst terrorist attack in Kenya On 2 nd April this year gunmen stormed the Garissa University College at 5am when the students were attending their morning preps and others were sleeping in their dormitories. The terrorists put the college under siege for almost 9 hours. Some of the survivors of Kenya’s second worst terrorist attack after the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Kenya said that the gunmen set free Muslim students and murdered Christians. Ken...