Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

The Anatomy of a Lootocracy

Brenda Wambui

In light of the ongoing NYS/IFMIS scandal in which amounts ranging from KES 695 million to KES 791 million are said to have been stolen by alleged relatives of top NYS officials hiding behind a few companies, it is important that we as a nation take pause to appreciate the extent of the mess we are in at the moment as a full blown lootocracy. The money stolen in this scandal is said to have been obtained by introducing an extra zero on each transaction they posted on IFMIS.

Just before this, ironically, the president cited the unmanageability of … Read More

Economy, Education, Essays, Politics, Security, Socio-cultural

What Is The Value Of A Kenyan Life?

Brenda Wambui

Mythology has it that human life is priceless – this sentiment has been reinforced as long as I can remember and is taken as a basic human truth. It is echoed in the Bible when King Solomon had to determine the mother of a child and did so by ordering that the child be split with each woman claiming the maternity of the child receiving half. The true mother of the child pleaded that the child not be cut in half – she preferred that it be given to the other woman rather than die in such a manner – … Read More

Essays, Gender, Health, Sexuality, Socio-cultural

Mollis and the Troubling Attitude Towards Sex in Kenya

Brenda Wambui

Two weeks ago, an audio surfaced on WhatsApp, and later on Soundcloud/Twitter/Facebook of a man named Morris (pronounced Mollis by the woman in the clip due to the influence of mother tongue) having sex with a woman despite her repeated pleas for him to stop in two languages, and her saying she was tired and had surrendered. This is repeated severally throughout the recording, and the woman sounds genuinely pained.

Imagine my surprise when I came online to find Mollis being touted as a don for what was most definitely rape. Men were all over claiming that Mollis was their … Read More

Economy, Essays, Socio-cultural

Why #TeamPositivity Is Wrong

Brenda Wambui

There is a belief that has been around in Kenya since the advent of the prosperity gospel and the flood of self-help books in the market: that the key to the change we so desperately require in Kenya, be it solving our flooding problem or ending corruption, is positive thinking.

Recently, we have faced successive lows as a country, such as the Garissa massacre, the Nairobi floods, the dipping of the Kenya shilling with relation to the US Dollar and the Euro among others, and the purveyors of the positive thinking school of thought have blamed these incidents … Read More

Essays, Gender, Health, Religion, Sexuality, Socio-cultural

What About Nerea?

Brenda Wambui

“Please listen to Sauti Sol’s latest song Nerea. So done with it.” A close friend sent this message to me on Tuesday morning last week. Later in the evening, I watched the video with yet another friend. We were both irritated, and it has taken me a week to decide why.

The song is from a man to a woman he impregnated called Nerea. He is imploring her not to abort her pregnancy, citing that when a child is born, God also brings “his/her plate”, meaning that God provides, and that should she not want to raise the child, she … Read More

Essays, Gender, Security, Sexuality, Socio-cultural

I Just Wanted To Go Home

Brenda Wambui

On Saturday, the 14th of March, my friends and I had had a great evening catching up over drinks, after which we decided to check out a 50% off offer on burgers at a local coffee chain. They did not have the buns we wanted, though, so we decided to go home. I decided to take a matatu home. They asked me, “Will you be safe?” and I said “Sure! It’s not even 10 pm yet! It’s still safe!”

I was wrong. I arrived at my bus stop at 9.40 pm. At this time, the matatus that serve my … Read More

Africa, Arts, Essays, Internet, Media, Politics, Socio-cultural

Fighting the Disease

Brenda Wambui

It is my belief that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Our lives are made possible by those who birthed us, and those who fought so that people who look like us can live, and we must always remember this.

I was recently asked why I am no longer as vocal as I used to be about issues I am passionate about on my Facebook/Twitter pages. Nowadays, I’ll mostly talk about the music I’m listening to or how I’m feeling, and some have felt that this is shallow compared to what I shared before. I … Read More

Essays, Legal, Politics, Socio-cultural

Please Excuse This Misuse of Licensed Telecommunication Equipment

Brenda Wambui

On 22nd December 2014, Nancy Mbindalah wrote that Ishiara Level Four Hospital had been closed due to lack of water, which had been disconnected over an unpaid bill, and asked what the county government was doing about the issue. This was not the first comment she had made on the government. Before this she had said that one could not get a tender or a job in Embu without “compromising Wambora.” She had also said that she was “proud to be a Kenyan from Embu, the land of impeachments, where even an illicit brew called Gathufuria impeaches people to death.” … Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

Injustice. Everywhere.

Brenda Wambui

The phrase “new year, new me” cannot be said to apply to the year 2015 – for it appears that it will be a continuation, and perhaps a crescendo, of the gross inhumanity we experienced in 2014.

Nigeria has suffered yet another onslaught from the terror group Boko Haram, who have killed an upward of 2,000 people in the town of Baga. Many complained that the attack did not garner nearly enough public attention and outrage, as compared to the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in which 17 people, mostly staff members of the magazine, were killed. A … Read More

Essays, Politics, Security, Socio-cultural

The Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014

Brenda Wambui

In Kenya, we have a knack for knee jerk reactions to our problems and over reliance on legislation whenever things go wrong, especially with regards to our security. We have experienced several terror attacks from Al-Shabaab in the past four years, since our entry into Somalia, which have culminated in terror attacks in Mandera, Wajir, Lamu, among many other areas. The antidote to this, we have been made to believe, is a security amendment bill that has been proposed to parliament.

On December 11, 2014, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Administration (PCNSA) sent the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill, … Read More