A section of uShaka Marine World in Durban. [Courtesy] We all know of Shaka the Zulu, the kraal, umqobothi, apartheid, rainbow nation, xenophobia and Cape of Good Hope. What of all the apples, and wine from South Africa? Lucky Dube, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Brenda Fassie. I will leave politics out for now. How about going a step further and visiting the place, not as a tourist but an academic pilgrim? That does not close your eyes to the wider issues of the society. I just did that, with my destination the University of Zululand, in KwaZulu-Natal. Previous visits had…
Author: By XN Iraki
A neglected telephone booth along Muindi Mbingu Street, Nairobi. With the advanced technology, landline telephone booths are nostalgic.[FILE/ Standard] Have you ever been requested to write a letter on behalf of someone else? That was common as we grew up, a neighbour or even a parent would request you to write a letter for them as they dictated, mostly in our mother tongue. It was considered a great honour to do that for someone. Why go back that far in time? We fail to enjoy the fruits of innovations, not necessarily monetary, because we lack benchmarks and prior experience. If someone has…
Protesters along Thika Road during the Gen Z 1st anniversary led protests on 25th June 2025. [David Gichuru, Standard] The echoes of the 2022 polls are still reverberating, yet we have started hearing the drumbeats of the 2027 polls. Political leaders are positioning themselves for the next election, likely to be full of drama, intrigue and hopefully no violence. The last year has had enough violence. We should not normalise violence. Are we not an “elderly” country now, 60-plus years old? Which 60-year-old elder is still violent even in their own home? Why are we beating election drums so early? Some could say it’s even…
A labsScientist looking at a microscope slide. [Getty Images] A brief story in this newspaper indicating that Koreans will do a study on the Kenyan youth, I guess Generation Z (Gen Z), who seem an enigma to even outsiders, piqued my curiosity. I have argued that Gen Z is not an enigma; the environment they grew up in made them who they are. That includes the inception of the 2010 Constitution and its ensuing freedoms. They are digital natives and have access to information 24 hours. We ignore what bothers the government most—their adherence to global standards and benchmarks. Follow the…
President William Ruto inspects a guard consisting of National Youth Service Recruits on August 26, 2024 at Gilgil Sub County within Nakuru County, during the Kenya National Youth Service Recruits Pass-Out Parade. [FILE/Standard] My generation had the privilege of going through the National Youth Service (NYS) training before campus. I can easily identify those who went through NYS – they do not eat food, they “swallow it.” Their use of vulgar language is another sign they went through Gilgil based institution. We learned to take orders. „Amri ni kubwa kuliko anae itoa” – (the order supersedes the giver). We got an idea…
Gen Z protesters during the anniversary of June 2024 protests on June 25, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] Fear has been man’s companion since the dawn of civilisation. We feared the wild animals that wanted to turn us into food. With time, we learnt to fight them using weapons like arrows and later guns. Before that, we had learnt to ensnare them for food. We tried that as boys. What do young boys try today, and not online? Later we domesticated the animals to bring the source of food closer home. In addition, we learnt to extract other resources from animals such…
Gen-Z protesters along Moi Avenue as they remember 60 young people who died in last year’s finance bill demonstrations on June 25, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] Gen Zs are seen as an enigma. They are not. I think we have failed to understand them and their world. I have tried to understand them both in my house and in class. It’s another question why we seem to fear them. Unlock the Full Story — Join Thousands of Informed Kenyans Today Subscribe Today & Save! Subscribe for Full Access Unlimited access to all premium content Uninterrupted ad-free browsing experience Mobile-optimized reading…
Customer review satisfaction feedback survey concept. [iStockphoto] A recent search for car tyres for my Vitz ended up being a lesson in customer service. I was surprised by the domination of the local market by Chinese-made tyres. I visited several outlets on Thika and Limuru roads looking for a bargain. I found a long queue in one outlet, which I left after about ten minutes. No one talked to me or offered me a seat, not that I wanted special treatment. But someone greeting me and informing the queue is longer than usual would have made all the difference. I finally settled on Limuru…
Pit latrines at Kumwanda flood displacement camp that has been filled up, risking diseases like diarrhoea and cholera among individuals residing at the camp.[Mercy Kahenda/Standard] My dad shared with me two nuggets of wisdom, but they are related. One was that when looking for a wife, visit her home and pay special attention to the toilet. That advice would sound hollow to the urbanites. Toilets are indoors and relatively uniform, and called fancy names like washrooms. In the rural areas, every home has its own design of a toilet. I noted while growing up and visiting many homes that the toilet…
National Treasury CS John Mbadi (centre) received by other leaders at Parliament on June 12, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] The much-anticipated 2025-26 budget yielded no surprises or hidden taxes. The speech was standard, starting with government achievements and ending with tax proposals. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi should have spared a few pages to review the previous budget. The budgets are interlinked. What worked and did not work? Any lessons for the stakeholders? The “friendliness” of the budget speech probably resulted from the lessons of the Finance Bill, 2024, with the ghosts of Gen Z protests still haunting us. Others opine we still have supplementary budgets to come, and some unpopular…
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of buildings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2025. [AFP] “… And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” – Isaiah 2:4. If only this could come sooner. It’s Sunday, and we should ask why conflicts and wars define our planet. Why not peace and tranquillity? For starters, the Ukraine war is now in its third year, and no one can tell when it will end despite US President Donald Trump’s promise to end…
People hold up signs during the Harvard Students for Freedom rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 27, 2025. [AFP] Many young men and women from across the globe harbour a dream of studying in the US. The dream is fuelled by American soft power emanating from movies and the media. In Kenya, this dream got an impetus just before independence when a group of Kenyans were admitted to American universities to prepare for leadership roles. They included Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. Less talked about is that the airlift was an…
A traffic jam on Thika superhighway at Pangani. [XN Iraki] One of the emerging fields in academia is simulation and heuristics. In simulations, we use data (and computers) to demonstrate how a system would behave if some parameters changed. A good example, how demand will change if the price goes up or down? How will decisions in a court case change if new evidence is introduced (remember moots). Heuristics come in handy when there is no data, when experience, rules of the thumb or trial and error are used to make decisions. Get Trusted News for Only Ksh99 a Week…
Indian paramilitary personnel stand guard along a street leading to the international airport in Srinagar on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP) In the last two decades, China has dominated our economic discourse. India and Pakistan are geographically nearer, but we talk less about them. They were trading partners long before China came to the scene. The gravity trade theory suggests you trade more with neighbours than distant countries. Remember your physics? It should not surprise you that Kenya’s key trading partners are Uganda and Tanzania. More curiously, Pakistanis and Indians settled in Kenya long before the Chinese came ashore. Most…
Great weather and “homeliness” make Kenya an entrepreneur’s paradise. [Photo/XN Iraki] Many Kenyans believe you can’t make money honestly. You have to be either corrupt or inherit wealth. They argue that without major innovations like Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla or manufacturers like Toyota, Hyundai or oil wells, making honest money is impossible. While there is some truth in that, Kenya is still a country you can make money without being corrupt. And lots of it! Let’s start by adding that the centralised form of government before the 2010 constitution made proximity to political power an easy path to money and wealth.…
Mwikos (cooking sticks) on sale at Magína, near Kijabe. Let’s celebrate our arts and craft. [XN Iraki] It’s strange that most mwikos (cooking sticks) used by Kenyans in the United States (US) and Europe are imported from Kenya. And from our supermarkets. In the past mwikos were never bought. Boys made them at home. Occasionally we took them to school as part of arts and craft. Beyond mwikos, we made other things like scarves, combs, ladles and many other items used at home. We weaved, crocheted and used pieces of broken glass to smoothen mwikos. It’s strange how things keep turning around. Competence-Based…
Military personnel lay a wreath at the War Memorial Cemetery in Nairobi, on August 15, 2024. [File, Standard] Kenya joined the rest of the world in marking Labour Day on May 1 to honour workers and recognise their contributions to our welfare. The day is also called International Workers’ Day. In the US, however, it’s celebrated on the first Monday of September. Curiously, we easily “copied” the US constitution and forgot small things like ensuring holidays come on Monday or Friday to stop disrupting the economy. Why celebrate May 1 on Thursday to slow down Friday? Labour Day seems…
Kariamu Town. 27 April 2025. [XN Iraki, Standard] Some towns have strange names. One is Kariamu on the edge of the infamous Happy Valley, overlooking the Aberdares to the east. The small town is about seven kilometres from Ol Kalou, the headquarters of Nyandarua County. I recently stopped there on a trip to Kenya’s hinterland. I love visiting the countryside, it’s very therapeutic, away from the hectic city life. The trip from Nairobi to Kariamu took me about three hours. Hungry in a group of three, we stopped by a small hotel for snacks. Each of us took two mandazis…
A view of small hotels popularly known as kibandaski on Mombasa road in Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard] Our domination of this planet, which includes pushing some species into extinction, is partly driven by our ability to adjust to changing circumstances. We even adjust to wars. Let’s focus on some adjustments on the economic front. The rise in the cost of living or inflation was a political issue for the new government, leading to violent demonstrations last year. The prices have now stabilised because we have no money, not because the economy has improved. Most citizens have cut costs, adjusted their diets,…
A view of small hotels popularly known as kibandaski on Mombasa road in Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard] Our domination of this planet, which includes pushing some species into extinction, is partly driven by our ability to adjust to changing circumstances. We even adjust to wars. Let’s focus on some adjustments on the economic front. The rise in the cost of living or inflation was a political issue for the new government, leading to violent demonstrations last year. The prices have now stabilised because we have no money, not because the economy has improved. Most citizens have cut costs, adjusted their diets,…
President William Ruto with Chinese President Xi Jinping during bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. President Ruto is in China fort the Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. [EDWARD ALUSA/PCS. 3/9/2024] In the political heat of 2022 polls, one government official wanted Chinese contracts with the Government of Kenya disclosed. China curiously kept quiet, and the disclosure never happened. The race to State House had anti-Chinese undertones laced with talks of debt diplomacy. Rumours swirled on how Mombasa would be mortgaged like a certain port in Sri Lanka. It never happened. One would have thought with…
Lake Ol Bollosat in Central Kenya. It’s the source of Ewaso Nyiro that cuts through several countries. Its future is threatened and so are livelihoods downstream. [Photo/ XN Iraki] It’s one of the most memorable moments of my childhood: drinking water from the river or directly from the tap; it was never treated with chemicals. I don’t recall anyone being hospitalised. I also don’t recall my dad buying fertiliser during the planting season. We made organic fertiliser from animal droppings and other organic wastes. And crops flourished; we even reclaimed barren land. Rain came as predicted, the rivers were crystal…
Lake Ol Bollosat in Central Kenya. It’s the source of Ewaso Nyiro that cuts through several countries. Its future is threatened and so are livelihoods downstream. [Photo/ XN Iraki] It’s one of the most memorable moments of my childhood: drinking water from the river or directly from the tap; it was never treated with chemicals. I don’t recall anyone being hospitalised. I also don’t recall my dad buying fertiliser during the planting season. We made organic fertiliser from animal droppings and other organic wastes. And crops flourished; we even reclaimed barren land. Rain came as predicted, the rivers were crystal…
A street in Kumasi, Ghana. Such streets are entrepreneurs’ labs. [XN Iraki.] You rarely find hawkers in developed countries. There are designated places to trade. That creates order and cleanliness. We could quickly interpret that as a sign of development. Everything is formal. In Kenya, every available space, including underpasses, overpasses, sidewalks and even the road itself are markets. We can blame poverty, poor regulation, and slow economic growth. Many hawkers and small-scale traders would leave the streets if they made enough money or got better jobs. Competition makes it hard to scale up, with new competitors joining the market…
Combine harvesters near Nyahururu. Has Ukraine war revived wheat farming? [XN Iraki]. Agriculture contributes about 20 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) 2023) and is a key employer in the rural areas. However, most people do not think they are employed by working on the farm. Many dream of escaping the back-breaking farm work in the rural areas. Over 14 years after the promulgation of the new constitution, we can boldly ask if devolution has had dividends in agriculture. Study on Devolution @10 notes that despite some moderate levels of…
Transport modes in Berlin. (Courtesy) To Kenyans, Berlin is probably the most famous of all European cities. It keeps recurring in our history as the venue of conferences that partitioned Africa from 1884 to 1885. One mystery I resolved by visiting the city is why Germans got the “colonial leftovers” despite hosting the conference. Germans say Otto Von Bismarck, the founder of modern Germany, foresaw the cost of colonialism. Did the wind of change and independence vindicate him? Germany was also a manufacturing, not trading, powerhouse. The country’s security at home also mattered more than colonial luxury. Berlin has a long history, starting in 1237. It was subdivided…
Nairobi Expressway. (Courtesy) I occasionally use the Nairobi Expressway to the southern side of the city, normally called Mombasa Road. By the way, Kenyans are the only citizens on planet earth who live on roads, “nakaa Thika Road, ama Waiyaki way.” The expressway, except for the exit near the University of Nairobi, saves plenty of time. You get value for your money. One evidence that people get value for their money is the money in their Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) cards. I normally check while queueing to pay. I don’t have ETC because I rarely use the expressway and don’t want anyone to “keep…
Shipping containers are stacked together at the Port of Baltimore, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The anticlimax, the Big Bang, finally came, and the US announced a range of tariffs on imports. We did not miss with our 10 percent, the base rate for most countries. Other countries like China got 34 per cent, Vietnam 46 per cent, Laos 48 per cent, Lesotho 50 per cent and Cambodia 49 per cent. Get the full list online. The big board with a list of countries, the tariffs they would pay for exporting to the US and what…
Customers shopping electronics at Naivas Supermarket at Kiambu Mall in Kiambu town. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard] In most Nairobi’s high-end malls, there is always a pedestrian gate. The walking masses and car owners meet in well-designed malls with walkways and displays of merchandise and services like banks and entertainment, from movie theatres to skating paths. It would be interesting to estimate what percentage of shoppers actually shop, not window shop. I have a hunch it must be a huge percentage. And I bet the percentage has gone up in the last two years. Inflation has been going down because we have no money to buy goods…
Drivers off-load imported cars from the MV Grand Venus at the port of Mombasa. [File, Standard] US President Donald Trump once said tariffs are his favourite word. And he meant it, given the number of countries reeling from new or higher tariffs. America’s two neighbours – Mexico and Canada have not been spared either. We have few neighbours compared with other countries. Kenya has five neighbours, Tanzania has eight. African leaders in “neighbourliness” are Zambia, Sudan and Mozambique with nine. America’s other neighbour is Russia across the Bering Strait. Back to tariffs. The latest is on car imports into the US…
Doctors hold a peaceful demonstration outside the parliament building on 18th March 2025. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard] One argument we have heard is that health is so problematic that the national government was willing to devolve it to whoever wanted it in the new Constitution! Health is comparable to tomatoes, which are very perishable. Once citizens are sick, you can’t wait. Apart from being a problem child, it’s not clear why health was devolved. Maybe doctors were too busy working to lobby for a commission like teachers. How has health faired in the devolved units? It did not go as expected. A study…