NOT AGAIN!!

We woke up this morning to the sad news of the fresh killings in Lamu.The attacks are the proverbial rubbing of salt on to a fresh wound, because just four days ago, a hotel and two houses were burnt in Manda Island.A day before that, gunmen raided a village in Pandanguo, killed 11 people and robbed police of six guns.

According to reports, the attackers killed two policemen after they stopped the Lamu bound bus.They also sprayed the Tahmeed coach with bullets,thereby injuring a number of the passengers.

 I am tempted to ask is what camps were destroyed when the Kenya Defense Forces said they destroyed all the camps used by the militia?Where did these 'heavily armed' attackers come from? Where is the President in all these seeing as he is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.He has been awfully quiet and I know that I do not speak for myself when I say that I am almost giving up on him.

 It is said that the cause of these killings is land because Jomo Kenyatta settled 

Kikuyus on the most fertile land.Others say that these attacks are political.I do not know what to believe anymore.

 The government that is supposed to protect the people is quiet.The individuals in charge are sleeping on the job. 

We are told that we as Kenyans need to protect ourselves.I ask myself how this is possible.They even tell me that security starts with me, yet even the police with AK 47s are being killed.

This kind of reminds me of the text in Psalms that says, 'If the Lord does not watch over a city,the watchman stays awake in vain'. So far, it is better to leave such things to God.

"O" SERIES CONTINUES

This is for all of you literature heads.Our very own Okwiri Oduor has won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing.This is for her short story,My Father's Head.She started publishing with Kwani?Amka, African writing online among others.
In her winning story, Okwiri talks about how she dealt with her father's death, how she mourned him.Its a nice piece with the themes of memory, loss and loneliness.
I recommend this for all of you.
She continues the o series of Obama,Odinga, Oliech and most recently Origi.

KILLER WIVES OF KABETE

Men from Central Kenya have been warned not to marry women from Kabete. This is because they are considered to be husband killers.These women are very beautiful but aunties and grandparents are usually very unwilling to accompany men for ruracio when they go to seek these women's hand in marriage.As most of us have been told, Kabete has the highest number of widows per square kilometer.
Women from Kabete are also aggressive business ladies and go-getters, a quality most men admire in women but these same men are too afraid of them.Last month, a business tycoon was killed in Kabete. His wife, who was arrested but later released, was said to have worked together with her relatives to hack his body into pieces and later dumped those pieces on the road.
Of course this is a stereotype,but it is so strong that men cannot dare marry these women from Kabete for fear of being cursed by their folks.We do not know why these women kill their husbands.We can only wonder if this stereotype is true.

HE HE HE...

I am no fashion guru but i know how to avoid common fashion mistakes..I was told am too backward because of my bushy eyebrows.I thought of it that night but chose to not take the advise to shave off my eyebrows.I love them.I like to think that they are what define my face.I am totally against shaven eyebrows.There's the good shaving and the bad,ugly shaving.The kind that makes you look like a chicken with no feathers.I hope by now you know what I am speaking about.I have a problem with people who shave off all their eyebrows only to draw it back with an eye pencil.
Or those who put make up on their faces only to end up looking like those puppets from Sesame Street.(remember that cartoon?) Yes, people will stare but it won't be because of admiration.They will be wondering why you cannot log on to YouTube and learn how to apply makeup well from the hundreds of Makeup tutorials available there.
Call me a hater,but I know you have met at least two ladies today whose faces looked like they were coming from Paint-balling, and you were disgusted.Or you felt sorry for her, wondering whether she had a mirror or at least friends.
Si kwa ubaya.

ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE ABORTIONS

In Kenya, unsafe abortion is still the leading cause of death to women.Abortion is a very controversial matter as there are mixed feelings about it.Some people say it should be legalized, others think that it's a sin and should not be given time of day.Most abortions result from unplanned pregnancies because  70% of those who seek abortion services were not using contraceptives prior to becoming pregnant.
Women who have abortions are diverse,educated and uneducated,Muslim and Christians,married and unmarried, old and young.
There are very few hospitals that offer abortion services and  even then they are extremely expensive and the average girl can not afford to get an abortion in a legalized clinic.that is the reason why most girls would rather go to quacks to have that abortion done.These quacks use unsafe methods such as traditional herbs,an overdose of anti-malarial drugs or inserting sharp objects.
The persistence of unsafe abortion is a serious threat to the sexual and reproductive health and rights guaranteed to Kenyan women and men under the constitution enacted in 2010. Evidence from this  study should bring public dialogue and strengthen advocacy for safe abortion in Kenya, as well as delivery of safe services, within the law and in accordance with the constitution.Also, improved access to comprehensive abortion care, including counseling and effective contraceptive access and use, will both save women’s lives and reduce costs to Kenya’s already bad healthcare system.

"THE LORD SPOKE TO ME IN A DREAM"

Its two days to sabasaba, i hear that CORD has booked Uhuru park for their Rally and that security has been beefed up ahead of that day.15000  police will be ready to secure the Sabasaba rallies all over the country. They have been divided and they will man different parts of the city center and some of them will be in the slums just in case violence breaks out.I can't wait to see how the day will turn out.
Tension is high in many parts of the country,with many residents  fleeing their homes for fear of violence.This day is an anniversary to mark the day, in 1990 when politicians gathered at Uhuru park to ask for the return of multipartism in Kenya.
Religious leaders have spoken out and called for national prayers saying we have to turn back to God as our country has gone to the dogs and its only Him who can save us.The self proclaimed prophet of God, prophet Owuor, has claimed that the Lord has spoken to him through a dream in which he saw youths running for their lives on Sabasaba.He has asked Kenyans to repent before that day.This man has been named prophet of doom by many who do not believe him.I will keep my opinion about him to myself lest I be termed an atheist.
It's only two days away.I will be patient to see if his prophecy comes to pass this time.

SABA SABA???!

The cost of living is going up by leaps and bounds, and the gap between the rich and poor keeps widening. At the same time, negative ethnicity has been corroding our soul as a nation. All these have been there since independence. All these except the terrorist attacks that are so common we are not stunned by them anymore. We as a country are in deep trouble. Insecurity is at its highest. Terrorists are having a ball while the only thing our commander in chief seems to be doing is making advertisements asking them to ‘run and hide’.

Violent crime is more common, my friend Freda was robbed in broad daylight at the Odeon bus stop and two weeks ago a couple was carjacked at gunpoint in a traffic jam. Our security organs are too busy looking at which lady cops are in short skirts to have time to gather intelligence. As a result, people are dying left right and center.To make matters worse, corruption is at its highest. The ‘lords’ of corruption are the ones calling the shots in the country.

The opposition is demanding national dialogue and ‘mobilization of the masses’. They think it’s the only solution for our national problems. I hear Raila Odinga has declared the seventh of July, known to all, as Saba Saba a national holiday. He has asked Kenyans not go to work on that day. The government, until now, has refused to dialogue with the opposition. It’s only five days to ‘SABA SABA’ .I am anxious, to say the least, about what will happen on that day. I am waiting to see what happens on that day. Because really isn’t much I can do as I am just a common mwananchi so I will buy a big packet of Wow Wow* and follow the news from my Twitter.

*Wow Wow is the brightly coloured snack found at the bottom shelf of the popcorn aisle in the supermarket.Its heaven sent for us who are not fascinated by popcorn.

HARAKA HARAKA HAINA BARAKA

In the traditional African society, marriage was a communal ceremony. When you got married to someone, you got married to their whole clan. One could not marry without the approval of parents and the entire community. Both families learned about each other before a deal was struck on how to formalize the union. This fact alone made divorces and separations rare occurrences.

Fast forward to the modern world. All the cultural requirements have been swept under the carpet. Wedding and divorcing among the youth is as easy as breathing in or out. In his song, It’s Not Easy, Lucky Dube shows that the biggest effort made nowadays by couples is to call home and casually tell their parents that they are wedding. After falling victim to the trap of rushed marriages, people often regret when their partner starts revealing their true colors. Some men are swept off by a lady’s good looks and they end up getting married. In the long run, they realize that behind the beauty lies the true colors that will destroy the relationship.

Ladies are perhaps the ones who are most blinded as most of them marry for the wrong reasons. A lady might get married to someone because of his looks and because he is financially stable or that he treats her like a princess. They do not remember that passion and looks fade away. Many young women today say that they want to get married to old, ailing but financially stable men who will soon die and leave them all the inheritance. Money is what counts these days; gone are the days when people got married without thinking of their spouses ‘size of pocket’.

Marriage can be a source of happiness or sadness depending on how you view it. These days, people wish it was a contract that had an expiry date to relieve someone out of the problems associated with married life.

My two pence worth is that money and/or looks should never be given the first priority while choosing a marriage mate. After all, success in relationships consists not only in finding the right mate but by being the right mate yourself. Take your time, enjoy your youth. Waiting never hurt anyone; instead it builds your knowledge and simply gives you the time you need to be truly ready to take any serious step, such as this, in life.

I speak from experience.