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Budalangi family
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Newsroom

With the El Niño, all bets are off

Scribe: Otiato Guguyu Behind the lens: Immanuel Kaunga Bytes: Jobic Ojanji Visual Intelligence: Jacob Ayoo Audio storyteller: Leonida Owaga As we stand on the brink of the impending El Niño floods, I’m reminded of a lesson drawn from a community whose very identity is intertwined with this natural phenomenon. Whenever the topic of my community arises, and I mention that I am a Manyala, I often receive quizzical looks that beckon for further explanation. It’s as if I need to clarify that I belong to one of the Bantu-speaking tribes, clustered under the umbrella of Luhyas. However, it becomes infinitely easier to convey my origin…

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Holiday transport
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Leonida Owaga

Childhood memories: How expensive is the cheapest holiday

The buses to our village in Homa Bay have raised fares to between Kes1,400 to Kes1,600. With the history of fare hikes during the festive season, it could peak at Kes2,000 by December if demand picks up. When I made the journey as a child, the fare was only Kes500, and I cannot imagine how parents considering whether to send their children to the village, now that they are on holidays, would make of this. Kenyans have been enduring months of rising inflation driven by global energy prices, a declining shilling, and increased government taxation, pushing up the costs of necessities. General increase in prices…

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Mohammed Jaffer
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Otiato Guguyu

The man who brought East Africa’s roadside chapatis

In Kenya, chapati used to be considered an exclusive dish, typically reserved for Christmas celebrations and special occasions. This was partly due to its cost and availability. Today, chapati has evolved into a popular roadside snack in Kenya, available for as little as Kes30. In Uganda, it is often enjoyed alongside an egg roll known as a Rolex and kikomando, which involves folding it with beans. The starch has become an everyday meal partly because the global trade made it easy to import wheat. Kenya imports nearly nine times the wheat it produces both for local consumption and for supplying the region. While the country produced…

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SGR dynasties
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Otiato Guguyu and Kaunga Junior

Ruto imports revive fortunes of SGR dynasties

Around the middle of last year, employees at Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Ltd, one of Kenya’s largest logistics companies, received a surprising email. It indicated that those who wished to leave the company were free to do so. Through a voluntary early retirement package, the company generously offered 31 days’ pay for every year worked, including financial training from ICEA Lion, an affiliate of the firm’s owners. At that time, the restructuring was not entirely surprising, given that Kenya’s economy had stagnated post-Covid-19, which had severely impacted the logistics business. Furthermore, a disruptive European war had exacerbated the situation. However, beyond the economic challenges, local…

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HELB
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Otiato Guguyu

Shifting the debt from universities to students

Over the past few years, the government has been underfunding university education, leading to a financial crisis that has brought Kenya to a critical juncture. According to the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) funding model, the government had committed to covering 80 percent of the financial needs of students who scored the mandatory C+ grade in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams. However, in practice, the government was only disbursing 48 percent of the required funds, as it aimed to fully support all students. Unfortunately, this has led to a reduction in government funding for universities and a decrease in self-sponsored student enrollments. Today,…

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Ruto Education
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James Wambua

The waiting game: freshers on the edge of hope

In a country bursting at the seams with promises, there exists a shared hope among Kenyan university freshers – a hope for a brighter future through education. But at times, hope can seem as fragile as an elusive butterfly, always just within reach yet constantly fluttering away. Imagine this: thousands of determined young minds, prepared to embark on their academic journeys, were uplifted by the assurance of receiving timely government funding under Kenya’s new university financing model. However, for now, they must wait patiently, only to discover themselves caught in what appears to be an unending pause. Two months have elapsed, and the promise remains…

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ATMIS troops withdrawal
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Dek Farah

Will ATMIS withdrawal from Somalia turn it into an Afghanistan

Somalia occupies a crucial position along the Red Sea, where approximately 10 percent of global trade traverses—and that is a big deal. In the current landscape of global geopolitics, a power struggle off the coast of Mogadishu for control of Somalia is set to determine the authority over one of the most geostrategically important areas for global trade, encompassing Africa’s longest coastline. The withdrawal of African Union troops due to dwindling mission funding has raised concerns among analysts, who fear that Somalia may succumb to extremism, akin to Afghanistan. Others, however, state that with the right support, Somalia is ready to assume responsibility for its…

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Cholera crisis
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Maryline Josephine

Something is in the water

With the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya experienced the quiet disappearance of not only face masks but also a crucial element of public health: accessible wash areas. The absence of these facilities dealt a severe blow to hygiene practices, and the consequences were dire. As taps ran dry, and the production of soap and sanitizer declined, Kenya found itself grappling with a cholera outbreak of alarming proportions. As of July this year, Kenya has reported a staggering 11,181 cholera cases, resulting in 196 tragic deaths, equating to a case fatality rate of 1.7 percent. This alarming outbreak began on October 19, originating at a…

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Nairobi Expressway
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Otiato Guguyu

From roads to noodles soup; how China is shifting to ‘small is good’

The lines between the rich and those with low income in Kenya are being re-drawn by an ancient phenomenon called inflation, and no clear marker can be seen than on our roads, laced with thin traffic because of rising fuel prices. Many have questioned whether or not the government re-introduced subsidies on fuel rather than why, but going by the vacant petrol stations and clear traffic, it is not hard to see that consumption has simply dipped, and further hikes were simply out of our elastic limits. It is a consolation for me, when once in a while, I can afford to come to town,…

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China town
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Leonida Owaga

Beijing’s soft power diluted like Chinatown soup

I had thought my people were the only ones obsessed with naming places Kisumu Ndogo, but wait until you see China Town and you can bet you are in a Kung Fu movie. You have to decide whether a handshake or a nod would do and you fight with chopsticks for lumps of unyielding meat as long strands of noodles swim like dragons beneath your really hot peppered soup. A taste of Chinese culture It’s funny how our lives revolve around food. Outside its necessity for survival, food has the power to shape cultures, religions, and families. In its variety, we can learn a lot…

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