Kenya Bitter Truth

A Kenyan lady somewhere in the Europe sent a message to my inbox: “Hello Jackson, I know that many Kenyans out there are roasting girls over this issue of girls going out with guys old enough to be their fathers. It is also happening here in the diaspora. Worse still if the guy is white because they get insulted for going out with ancestors and so forth. I get offended by this as I’ve dated two very wonderful men of the age. One was 64 when I met him and then the latest is a guy who is 70. Well, I dated him online as he lives in another country and I haven’t been able to meet him, but we chatted on skype for over 6 months, and we loved each other. I’m in my early 30’s, I’m a professional woman who is well balanced. I just wanted a story out there to say that not every woman who is going out with a guy old enough to be her father is in search of a sponsor and that there can be true love involved. Something deeper. Can I share my story and be anonymous?” I said sawa, send me something I ...

I am the "7%" This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!! Written by Regina Brett , 90 years old, of the Plain b Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio To celebrate growing older, I once wrote few lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. 4. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself. 5. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 6. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 7. Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present. 8. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 9. Take a deep breath every now and then. It calms the mind. 10. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways....

Jeff Bezos, the “king of online retail,” is one of the most influential entrepreneurs and investors of our time. The founder of Amazon also owns The Washington Post, one of the main investors in Uber, placing it at number 15 of the richest men in the world, with an estimated US $ 38.500 million fortune. We present 10 key aspects of his success: 1. Waiver of security and dare. By 1994, -before Jeff Bezos turned 30 years, could be considered successful by being the youngest vice president of a major investment firm on Wall Street. Bezos received a six-figure salary in dollars, but was determined to follow his dream of creating a company in then new world of electronic commerce. It was a risky decision, but soon generated US $ 610 million in annual sales and had 13 million customers worldwide. 2. Identify opportunities. Much of what makes an outstanding entrepreneur is his ability to identify market opportunities, but above all to seize them. While he was working for DE Shaw & Co. res...

A few weeks back I wrote about the quest for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor in central and why it should not derail the Jubilee dream. Over the last two weeks, there has been a lot of talks over a comment made by Kiambu Governor William Kabogo which have been linked, by some, to the scramble for Uhuru’s successor. There are even those who have speculated that the Governor made the comments as his entry point to the race to be Deputy President William Ruto’s running mate in 2022. As politicians gave different interpretations to Governor Kabogo’s comments, it has become increasingly clear that the issue has been misunderstood by many. A lot has been said about the comments since Governor Kabogo uttered them and even after he clarified multiple times thereafter. However, on Saturday, the subject of the debate – Deputy President William Ruto – put everything in perspective as he defended the Governor’s comments. The DP indicated that he was not naive enough to think that he would sit...

Nyamira County Assembly Leader of Minority Jackson Mogusu believes President Uhuru Kenyatta will trounce Cord leader Raila Odinga easily even without the embattled IEBC commissioners in office. Mr Odinga has accused the electoral body of being biased and corrupt and so cannot oversee the 2017 polls. And now Mr Mogusu has bashed the Cord leader arguing that he has ‘sensed’ defeat hence reverting to intimidating the IEBC officials. “I don’t really think Mr Odinga is fighting the IEBC because of alleged working relationship with the government. He has actually sensed defeat in the 2017 polls and that is why he has subjected the commissioners to unwarranted torture,” he said. “He cannot beat President Kenyatta even without the current IEBC as constituted. The President has done exemplary well in initiating development projects across the country among them infrastructure and the economy is stable warranting him a re-election,” he added. Mogusu also made a reference to the ‘tyranny’ of numb...

"The biggest and most complex obstacle you’ll ever have to overcome is your mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything." 1. It’s not the weight that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it. You can use pain, frustration and inconvenience to motivate you rather than annoy you. You are in control of the way you look at life. Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negative thinking. 2. You always have a choice. Choose to be negative and you’ll find plenty of reasons to stop and frown. Choose to be positive and you’ll find plenty of reasons to step forward and smile. Truly, the most powerful weapon against stress and discouragement is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good in everything. 3. One of the most rewarding and important moments in life is the moment you finally find the courage to let go of what you can’t change. When you stop worrying and complaining about what you can’t control, you have more ...

BY CHRIS KIRUBI Ever heard of the phrase, ‘work until you do not have to introduce yourself’? Well, this is very much achievable but sadly very few pursue it. Many of us want to climb the corporate ladder but are not willing to go beyond their comfort zones to make this happen. You feel your line manager or boss will eventually recognize your hard work and promote you. However, how will they determine growth and intellectually capability if you do not interact with them? The more you excel in your work the more you gain confidence. This helps you interact with co-workers and engage in conversations that benefit you and those around you. Networking is not about how many people you know or meet; it’s about what you know and how you use that information to build connections and eventually relationships. This week I posted a message on my LinkedIn profile that caught the attention of Managing Director of PDSi Tech Services in Dubai, Dawn Metcalfe. Coincidentally, Dawn had written an articl...

Africa’s longest serving leader and President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang’ Nguema has in the latest cabinet shakeup appointed his first son Teodoro ‘Teodorin ‘Obiang’ Mangue as the country’s vice president. He will also head Defence and National Security Ministry. Mr. Teodoro Obiang wa re-elected in April presidential elections with 93.7 win. In 2002 and 2009, Mr. Teodoro Obiang’ Nguem won by more than 97% of the votes. In 2011, he was appointed as chairperson of the African Union , a position he held for one year. Past French and American investigators President and First Family of corruption and diverting tens of millions of dollars of state oil revenues into personal bank accounts. The president is believed to be among the richest men in Africa. 60 percent of people live in poverty, just five minutes’ drive away from the presidential palace there is ample evidence that the country’s vast oil riches are not trickling down to most of the people. In 2003, a presidential aide a...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and his beard cut as always. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things on various subjects. Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said: “Look man, I don’t believe that God exists .” “Why do you say that?” Asked the client. Well, it’s so easy; you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. “I can’t think of a God who permits all of these things.” The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument. The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard .It seems that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy. Th...

BY Eric M. Ruiz A few months ago, I had the honor of representing Waze and speaking at Lider Empresarial’s “Movers and Shakers” conference. There I met Jim Keenan, CEO of A Sales Guy. Keenan is also a consultant, author and sought out speaker. In his first book Not Taught, he discusses how the internet, social media and access to information have changed the definition of work forever. Keenan was driven to write this book after he gave a talk to a graduating class at the University of Denver. “After I finished my presentation,” he said, “I realized everything had changed since I had graduated.” When I graduated college in 2010, I quickly realized that I knew nothing about how the real world worked. My college education had given me the basics of business, but it didn’t teach me the tools necessary to succeed in the new economy. The job search left me anxious, frustrated and angry. In time, I found my footing and went through a rigorous self-education regiment. Finally it seemed, I was ...

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they got bankrupt. What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 year – and most people don’t see it coming. Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later you would never take pictures on paper film again? Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore ‘s law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a long time, before it became way superior and got mainstream in only a few short years. It will now happen with artificial intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture and jobs. Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years… Uber is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the wor...

URGENT LETTER TO MY BROTHER, KENYA..... Morning Bro, My name is RWANDA..Your small bro...This letter is a bit long...anyway, how are You? Hope you are good...Just like Me. Bro, It's long since we talked but this letter is urgent ! You have to do what I say! Bro, in April 1994, the worst happened to Me. After the death of My President, Juvenal Habyarimana, who was a TUTSI, my people went totally crazy! You see, The TUTSI and HUTU were the major tribes that I had...Now, the HUTU were smaller than the TUTSI and the TUTSI had held on to power for so long! And in April, madness began! After a fierce campaign propaganda by the angry HUTUs, who wanted power too, I watched as the HUTU bought 581,000 machetes (pangas) from China. I sadly watched as the HUTU also bought rocket launchers, mortar bombs, grenades and ammunition worth £18M from Egypt. My heart was beating. My soul was scared. I watched, with sadness and fear, the media spreading false propaganda, lies and innuendo to the public!...

BY Joshua Kembero Ogega Whenever I see those South Sudanese registered vehicles in the streets of Nairobi, a number of things come into my mind: 1. What brought all those vehicles to Nairobi? 2. What if what happen(s)(ed)(ing) in South Sudan happened in Kenya? 3. Why is the Kenyan political class obsessed with making our country another African "basket case"? I came across an article in the Star Newspaper with an article titled "ODM's Statement Regarding the Statements made by Kinuthia and Moses Kuria". I also listened to Kinuthia (or whoever that was) stating that members of the Luo community should vacate Nakuru. The Kenyan social media is ablaze with hate speech or is it ethnic-inspired vitriol?. It is despicable what is happening. There are however a number of things (many things) that will happen if both sides make true their threats. Here is a sample: 1. You will kill each other, blood will flow. 2. If the violence goes unabated, the effects will start bei...

Most men think women don’t really know what they want. A woman might not really know what she wants when it comes to clothes and shoes, but when it comes to men, they definitely know what they want. Below are 10 qualities every woman looks for in a man 1. HUMOUR Women love men who can lighten up the mood and make them laugh. This doesn’t mean you have to try too hard and this also doesn’t mean you need to become a comedian. Women love men who are effortlessly funny. 2. CONFIDENCE A confident man who can carry himself in public and in a private is the type of man every woman wants. Women love confident men. They love a man who is secure in his own skin and can handle unfamiliar situations with ease without being rattled. 3. RESPECT A man who is respectful will appeal to most women. A woman wants a man who will respect her enough not to discuss intimate moments she shared with you with his friends. She loves a man who will respect the similarities they share and also respect their differ...

We all want and cherish a beautiful skin. Just as there are foods that help improve the quality of our skin, there are also foods that ruin our beautiful skin. It’s important you watch what you eat if you don’t want to ruin your beautiful skin. Here are 6 food habits that ruin your beautiful skin 1. ALCOHOL Excessive alcohol consumption isn’t good for your skin as it can lead to premature wrinkles, loss of collagen, elasticity, redness, dehydration and puffiness. Excessive alcohol consumption isn’t good for the skin as it leads to dry skin due to reduction in absorption of nutrients from foods by the skin. 2. REFINED CARBOHYDRATES Refined carbohydrates like bread, juice, pasta, and candy isn’t good for the skin as they could lead to acne and wrinkles due to their tendency to spike blood sugar levels. Substitute refined carbohydrates with whole grains, protein and vegetables to protect your skin. 3. SUGAR A diet high in sugar isn’t good for your skin as it degrades the quality of collag...

Love is a beautiful thing, but sometimes having a loving relationship can be quite difficult. You shouldn’t take things to heart; just check out these funny quotes about love and relationship: 1. “Marry a man your own age; as your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.” — Phyllis Diller 2. “Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.” — Erma Bombeck 3. “Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place.” — Billy Crystal 4. “My wife gets all the money I make. I just get an apple and clean clothes every morning.” — Ray Romano 5. “Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are.” — Will Ferrell 6. “If you text ‘I love you’ and the person writes back an emoji — no matter what that emoji is, they don’t love you back.” — Chelsea Peretti 7. “When choosing sexual partners, remember that talent isn’t sexually transmittable.” — Tina Fey 8. “Love is a lot like a backache. It doesn’t...

Making progress feels good. Working hard and feeling like you just can’t get it all done, doesn’t. These 4 simple practices will increase your personal productivity over night. 1. Make a list of your big goals. Write down what your exciting long term goals are. Every decision you make should revolve around hitting them faster. Save them as the screenshot on the device you use every day. The more you see them, the more you will remember to focus on them. Looking at your goals will make you feel one of 2 things – motivated and excited, or bummed out and exhausted. If the second is true, it’s because you don’t believe you will hit them. This exercise will feel like a beating if this is the case – and thats not the point. Instead, set goals that you are excited about, and that you are confident you can hit. 2. Plan ahead. There are 168 hours in a week. Spend 1 hour to plan the other 167. My favourite time to do this is on Friday afternoon or on Sunday for the upcoming week. I create my to-...

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s adviser on education, Kilemi Mwiria, has accused Meru top politicians of advancing personal interests at the expense of development. Dr Mwiria, who who has expressed interest in the Meru governorship, said he would resign in February to concentrate on his political ambition. He was speaking on Friday at Nkubu High School in Imenti South where he was the chief guest during the school’s prize giving day. Dr Mwiria, who lost to Governor Peter Munya in 2013, had contested the election results in court before the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the incumbent. He said the bitter differences between Mr Munya and Mr Murungi have only emerged due to the approaching elections since they had ganged up against him in 2013. “Mr Munya and Mr Murungi have been like father and son. They are not fighting over development policies but personal interests. Their differences are a result of one party missing on contracts that would have benefited them personally. “The people o...

A site run by a friendly and reasonably honest woman I know recently reposted a text titled “The Man Who Created AIDS: Robert Gallo.” The text went super-viral, over 80,000 shares on Facebook alone. Once I read it, I was aghast at how much misinformation and how many scientifically illiterate statements were in the text and attached video. I wrote her explaining my reasoning, and she immediately agreed to take down the text. It still exists on other, less responsible, sites. Unfortunately, a large part of the damage has already been done, and that among other articles has helped foster the continued existence of a completely unfounded theory based primarily on not understanding what a patent is in molecular biology. A patent on Ebola or HIV is not the same as a patent on an engine. Whereas the engine’s patent is reserving the production of that type of engine to the patent holder, a patent on HIV or Ebola is a patent meant to specify how the virus was isolated, how the genotype was det...

CONSERVES NATURAL RESOURCES. Recycling conserves natural resources such as trees, water and minerals — preserving the environment for future generations. REDUCES THE NEED FOR LANDFILLS. Recycling reduces the need for landfills and incinerators because when materials are recycled, less waste is sent to disposal facilities. PREVENTS POLLUTION. Recycling prevents pollution and reduces greenhouse gas emissions caused by the extracting and processing of raw materials. SAVES ENERGY. Recycling saves energy by eliminating the need to extract and process raw materials. CREATES JOBS. Recycling helps create new jobs for both the recycling industry and manufacturing.

BY KABAKUA MBOGORIA Uhuru Kenyatta is using the script that Moi used in 90's to dupe CORD. At the height of agitation for introduction of multiparty democracy in Kenya,Kenneth Matiba ,Charles Rubia and Raila Odinga led a battalion of hardened pro-democracy activists to a rally that is now widely known as the SABA SABA in Kamukunji, Nairobi .Moi arrested all the ring leaders and put them behind bars without trial.Some of those caught on the wrong side include: Kenneth Matiba,Charles Rubia,John Khaminwa,Raila Odinga a.k.a BABA, Gitobu Imanyara and Mohamed Ibrahim -who is now a supreme court justice.These detentions produced an outcry both in Kenya and abroad and the political situation in the country was evidently unsustainable. Moi being a cunning fox he was appointed a committee (smokescreen) headed by one Prof.George Saitoti ,then vice president,to find out the views of Kenyans with regard to multipartism.The Saitoti committee reported that majority of Kenyans were opposed to mult...

DEAR DEMONSTRATOR: Whether you'll be demonstrating twice or 30 times a day, don't forget that the rest of us are not demonstrating. Whether you'll be demonstrating in Kisumu, Nairobi or in hell, don't forget that we are not part of your mediocrity. We don't care whether you'll be demonstrating at night but don't try to disturb us please. Go to KIBERA and burn all your houses and the government will still get the message. Stone your houses and the government will see how angry you are. Hang yourselves and the government will be shocked. Majority are not part of this . Try as much as possible to avoid provoking the silent majority. If you want peace, be peaceful! BY: Cfa Oscar Njenga

Ronald Reagan is regarded as the humorous American president of all time. He was naturally a funny guy. He would crack a joke even in a serious situation. For example, after being shot in the chest and nearly assassinated, he said to his wife Nancy, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” While being wheeled into the operating room, Reagan still had time to fire off a joke to his doctors: “I hope you’re all Republicans.” Reagan was also known to return speeches to his speechwriters with jokes added in. His sense of humor was ever-present and he could call on it in almost any situation. At one press conference: Reporter Sam Donaldson: "Mr. President, in talking about the continuing recession tonight, you have blamed mistakes in the past. You have blamed the Congress. Does any of the blame belong to you?" Reagan: "Yes, because for many years I was a Democrat!" Queen Elizabeth was also a victim of Reagan's ribbing! Reagan was a horseback riding with her in 1982, according to fo...

In her personal chronicle of years serving as Secretary of State in President Obama’s Cabinet, Hillary Clinton notes that she visited 112 countries. Kenya is one of the countries she visited and her memories in the country of Gor Mahia and the country of Mekatilili wa Menza are well captured in the autobiography: “Hard Choices.” Here is what she remembers about Kenya. ‘That August I also visited Kenya….I flew into Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, named after the founder of modern Kenya. On the day his country was born, December 12, 1963, he gave a famous speech that used the word harambee, Swahili for “all pull together,’ and asked his country’s newly independent citizens to unite as one. The phrase was on my mind as we drove into town from the airport and saw the hundreds of little mom-and-pop businesses lining the roads and then the office towers of downtown Nairobi. Corruption was the major impediment to growth in most of Africa, so I was smiling when I entered the cam...

Once upon a time, an elephant and a dog fell pregnant at same time. Three months down the line the dog gave birth to six puppies. Six months later the dog was pregnant again, and nine months on it gave birth to another dozen puppies. The pattern continued. On the eighteenth month the dog approached the elephant questioning, _"Are you sure that you are pregnant? We fell pregnant on the same date, I have given birth three times to a dozen puppies and they are now grown to become big dogs, yet you are still pregnant. What’s going on?"… The elephant replied, "There is something I want you to understand. What I am carrying is not a puppy but an elephant. I only give birth to one in two years. When my baby hits the ground, the earth feels it. When my baby crosses the road, human beings stop and watch in admiration, what I carry draws attention. So what I'm carrying is mighty and great.”. Don't lose faith when you see others receive answers to their prayers. Don't b...

Muhammad Ali won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and was the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, Ali raised millions to support treatment and research. For his humanitarian work in developing countries, he was recognized as United Nations Messenger of Peace and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. When someone refers to “the greatest athlete of all time,” only one person’s name comes to mind. Not Michael Jordan. Not Tiger Woods. Not Babe Ruth. Only Muhammad Ali. It’s almost strange that this admittedly superb athlete managed to usurp such a crowning superlative. Say the phrase a few times: the greatest. It can’t be that these words are meant to describe a mere mortal, can it? Yet, he was proudly and supremely mortal. Ali was many extraordinary things, but he was unquestionably still human. So, how did he become “The Greatest”? Let’s put aside his awesome athletic skills for a moment. ...

Budalang’i Constituency Member of Parliament Ababu Namwamba says he has been looking after his wife, Priscilla Namwamba, who gave birth to their baby number three in April, 2016. Ababu Namwamba says the commitment that comes with being a new father has made him miss in action during Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) anti-IEBC protests that took place in the capital and other regions in the country for the past five out of six Mondays. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, June 7, Ababu Namwamba said he “has been on paternity leave”, hence his absence from the political arena. “I have been out and about. We got a baby a month ago. So I have been busy on paternity leave,” Ababu told fellow legislators. “It is purely coincidental that some things happened while I was away,” he added. Ababu Namwamba and his wife Priscilla Namwmba welcomed their third baby on April 1. He however, maintains he shouldn’t be coerced to do things in a certain way simply because the party he is affiliated ...