Lions waiting for pray at the Maasai Mara river. [FILE/Standard} Whoever said ‘seeing is believing’ couldn’t be more right. This week, I got an opportunity to immerse myself in Arab culture during a trip to Cairo, the Egyptian capital. The land of Pharaohs is not only rich in history but also committed to preserving and showcasing it. Since my arrival a week ago, I’ve been shell-shocked by this country’s appreciation for its natural wonders. It’s not just the government, celebs or leaders showcasing the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Valley of Kings, the Tahrir Square, Red Sea Riviera, River…
Author: By Mark Oloo
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon, together with IEBC Commissioners, during a media briefing at PrideInn Paradise – Shanzu in Mombasa County on July 19, 2025, where he gave an update on the Commission’s priority areas. [Robert Menza, Standard] The talk about recalling non-performing MPs is a classic case of becoming suddenly very clever. The phrase ‘suddenly very clever’ was coined by former President Mwai Kibaki to mock nonstarters who mess up big time, then feign innocence. That’s what we’ve become. With Electoral Commission Chairman Erastus Ethekon confirming last week that they’ve received petitions to recall some MPs,…
Former CS Fred Matiang’i addresses Kijauri residents in Borabu, Nyamira County the first stop of his Gusii tour. Matiang’i sort the residents’ blessings as he consults with other opposition leaders ahead of 2027 General Elections. [Sammy Omingo/Standard] Has anyone noticed how the sunken eyes of the nation have turned to former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i? In fact, the interest around him in the last four months surpasses the attention former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has enjoyed since becoming the ‘de facto’ Opposition leader. A heartened Dr Matiang’i is now firing on all cylinders. The man from Nyamira wants to team up with…
Journalists run for safety in Nairobi’s city center during protest against the killing of blogger Albert Ojwang’ while in police custody, protesters continue to demand immediate resignation of DIG Eliud Lagat from office. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] CNN correspondent Larry Madowo alleged in a chilling social media video that a plot had been hatched to harm him on Saba Saba Day. While Mr Madowo stayed away, many reporters on the ground were assaulted. It was another dark day for the media. But most alarming was the behaviour of some editors and media houses. Nothing can be more damaging than a newsroom…
This week, I’m writing from the UN headquarters in Vienna, where I participated in panel discussion on the unfolding ‘tragedy’ of misinformation and disinformation in the digital age. This was during a stakeholder engagement for nuclear power programmes convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with 600 attendees from 80 countries. Titled ‘All smoke, no fire,’ our panel explored the tools and strategies to uphold the integrity of communication. Key issues included mitigating public anxiety, building trust and appreciating risks and benefits of Artificial Intelligence and new media. What has changed and what are the lessons? Mr Robert Stone,…
There’s this running joke about the ‘men’s conference’ that supposedly takes place every February. The late businessman Jackson Kibor was ‘chairman’ and ‘mobiliser’ of this informal grouping of Kenya’s frustrated menfolk. The ‘conference’ often comes with an online buzz that long kicked the Maendeleo ya Wanaume organisation out of relevance. Last year, however, conversations around it got more serious. Away from banters like dodging Valentine’s Day, real issues surfaced. One was how silence is slowly killing men within their marriages, and how societal pressures are piling up. Matters like femicide and domestic abuse came to the fore as the ‘conference’…
Ex-Zambia President Edgar Lungu. [ Courtesy] Indefatigable Kiharu lawmaker Ndindi Nyoro once told us that we’re Africans and Africa is our business. In that spirit, my heart goes out to Zambians following the passing of Dr Edgar Lungu, man who was president for seven years after the death of ‘King Cobra’ Michael Sata in 2014. From street banters in Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, Livingstone, Chipata and Solwezi to heated debates online, Lungu’s supporters and his Patriotic Front Party have a serious beef with President Hakainde Hichilema. In 2021 when Mr Hichilema won the polls after five failed attempts, Lungu became one…
From Left- Deputy Inspector General Kenya Police Service Eliud Lagat, The Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Ahmed Issack Hassan chairperson of the board of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority briefing the press following Albert Omondi Ojwang’s death in police custody at Central Police station, Nairobi. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] While Deputy President, William Ruto cracked ribs when he claimed Kenya had the most incompetent Police Inspector General in the world. That time, Dr Ruto was angered by what he thought were politically-motivated actions by security officials designed to frustrate his presidential bid. A month after the…
Literary giant Ngugi wa Thiong’o has joined his ancestors. As we honour his legacy, we must remember his philosophy that true integration begins with decolonising the mind. As Prof Ngugi would use characters and a plot to tell stories, my main character this week is one comrade in-chief well known for rigid colonial-era conservatism. In recent days, the powerful comrade who just happened, and who was thought to be a reformist, has become too guarded, and gores opponents like a buffalo. ‘Don’t destroy our country as you’ve done to yours’ is the new poem in the land. Foreigners are banned.…
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale addresses the media at Parliament buildings on June 24, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] When Boni Khalwale led the chorus ‘Kimunya must go’ inside Parliament in 2008, it marked a rare moment of glory in the fight against corruption. That was when Kibaki-era Finance chief Amos Kimunya was under fire to resign over the questionable sale of the Grand Regency Hotel (now Laico). Mr Kimunya preferred to ‘die rather than resign,’ but the pressure was too much to bear. In the end, he quit in a huff, and the public celebrated. Even my folks at home in Kaguria popped the…
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the unveiling of of his new party , Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) in Nairobi on May 15th 2025. [Collins oduor, Standard] Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has officially exited the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), but not without staging one last mud-slinging soap opera. For a man who stings like a bee, Mr Gachagua’s rambling resignation letter on Monday wasn’t a surprise. Some feisty critics even edited it for grammar and turned it into a social media clickbait. Addressed to President William Ruto and copied to UDA chair Cecily Mbarire and the Political Parties Registrar, the…
Opposition bigwigs Kalonzo Musyoka flanked by Rigathi Gachagua, Fred Matiang’i, Martha Karua and Eugene Wamalwa dance to a Maasai tune during an Interdenominational thanks giving and prayer at Wamunyoro in Nyeri County on May 04, 2025. [Denish Ochieng, Standard] Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is a seasoned political operative who cut his teeth in the Kanu regime. His oratory and mobilisation skills merit a Nobel Prize. The man from Tseikuru, who critics call water melon, has pulled a major surprise by making Dr Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i the ‘new catch’ for the Opposition. The former Interior Cabinet Secretary now joins Mr Musyoka, Mr Rigathi Gachagua,…
Fred Matiang’i, Eugene Wamalwa and Kalonzo Musyoka at Wamunyoro in Nyeri County on May 04, 2025. [Denish Ochieng, Standard] Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is a seasoned political operative who cut his teeth in the Kanu regime. His oratory and mobilisation skills merit a Nobel Prize. The man from Tseikuru, who critics call water melon, has pulled a major surprise by making Dr Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i the ‘new catch’ for the Opposition. The former Cabinet Secretary now joins Mr Musyoka, Mr Rigathi Gachagua, Ms Martha Karua, and Mr Eugene Wamalwa in facing off with Kenya Kwanza in 2027. Mr Mithika Linturi…
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma. [File, Standard] TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ was an apt depiction of raw power and its impact on society. It blended political loyalty and moral ambiguity in a rare scale, perhaps only comparable to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, popular as ‘Shamba la Wanyama.’ In one episode of the US chartbuster, a character called Tyrion Lannister poses one profound question: What unites a people? Are they powerful armies, gods or flags? He concludes that nothing can ever be more unifying than a good story. .fade-out-container{position:relative;background:none;top:-95px;padding:4rem 0 2rem;text-align:center}.fade-out-overlay{position:absolute;top:-40px;left:0;width:100%;height:60px;z-index:1;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(255,255,255,0),rgba(255,255,255,1))}.subscribe-content{position:relative;z-index:2;padding:20px;background:#fff;top:-55px}.subscribe-content h1{font-size:2rem;margin:2rem 0;font-weight:bold;color:#ed1a3b}.subscribe-content h2{margin-bottom:2rem}.subscribe-content button{background-color:#ed1a3b;color:#fff;font-size:1.25rem;padding:.75rem 2rem;border:none;border-radius:0;cursor:pointer;margin-top:1rem;min-width:200px}.subscribe-content p{margin-top:1.5rem;font-size:.95rem}.subscribe-content a{color:#ed1a3b;text-decoration:underline}…
Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) Chairman Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang (centre), his Vice Taita Taveta Senator Jones Mwaruma (left), and Nyamira Senator Okongo Omogeni at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi, on March 26, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] Between 1970 and 2020, a godsend gentleman called Edward Williams greatly shaped the future by mentoring many young global citizens in politics and leadership. Prof William, who taught at top US universities, was inspired by his commitment to good governance in a world weighed down by corruption. In his cause, the good professor was brutally honest when he said that he respected ordinary…
President Samia Suluhu Hassan. [File Courtesy] Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), is feeling the heat amid a moral dilemma. Observers warn that it risks meeting the same fate as South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), which suffered its worst performance last year, forcing President Cyril Ramaphosa to seek post-election coalitions. Founded in 1977, CCM is now struggling with dark clouds gathering ahead of this year’s General Election on October 28, party mandarins are on an overdrive to steady the ship. If recent reports are anything to go by, President Samia Suluhu’s administration is a victim and a peddler of paranoia.…
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua,during an interview with KTN at his Karen Residence on April 7,2025. [Benard Orwongo,Standard] At the start of the 2006 World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual conference at Suntec City in Singapore, whistleblower John Githongo paced restlessly. He was about to meet journalists, policy makers, politicians and civil society leaders. But even before his arrival from exile for this key meeting of lenders, the hype was already off the charts. It had been a year since Mr Githongo fled Kenya in 2005 following threats to his life after exposing the Sh100 billion Anglo Leasing scandal.…
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka addresses a past press conference. [File, Standard] Democratic Action Party of Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa has put forward a new theory that Raila Odinga is Kenya’s political ‘turncoat’ of the century. The former CS says if there’s anyone who merits the ‘watermelon’ label, it isn’t Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka but the ODM leader, given the many hands he has shaken since 2007. On Tuesday alongside opposition leaders Martha Karua and Mr Musyoka, Mr Wamalwa claimed that Mr Odinga’s ‘presence’ in government will ruin key reforms outlined in the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Committee (Nadco) report. The…