Graffiti in Nairobi

While you are in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, remember to check around the building walls, city council toilets  and other unexpected places for graffiti. Of late, there has been an upsurge of graffiti and most of them are politically based.

Graffiti about political orphans

Graffiti about Kenyans united against vultures

Graffiti  have existed since ancient times. They are usually writings or drawings placed on walls in public places. They can been made by scribbling or spraying on the wall. In Kenya, they are being used to warn the masses about the wicked and corrupt politicians who have taken the Kenyan for a ride. They are for waking the peoples mind and make them have another perspective of the politicians that they vote in.

Graffiti saying Kenya deserves respect

The artists behind these works are experts because these graffiti are explicitly drawn, considering that they are usually done at the middle of the night. 

Have a look at this video.
Graffiti in Nairobi 

Introduction to Ms paint

This is a very nice introduction to Ms paint intended for beginners. It will give you  a good grasp of the program and how to use it efficiently and with a lot of ease. Click here to access the tutorial.

When I grow up, I want to be an MP

When I was young, I hated to be asked by any of my teachers what I would become when I grew up. It was a very common question and mind you, when the time came for that question, everyone had to answer it. Reflecting back on that question, and why I didn't like to answer it, I think I didn't have an ambition at that time.

When answers were being given, I would envy most of them, yes who would hate to be a lawyer, doctor, nurse, pilot, engineer and others? These varied answers came from even the dumb pupils who used to sit at the back. Our teachers were very discriminatory at that time, I don't know whether things have changed. We used to have a 'wise-foolish' siting arrangement. At the very front very close to the teacher, these seats were occupied by number 1,2, and 3. We used to share a desk, three of us, in a class with three rows. The rest of the numbers followed till the last one.

“When you grow up, what do you want to become?”

Those who said farmers were laughed at loudly and they would also be scolded by the teacher. Funny enough, very few would respond by saying they wanted to be teachers. But I know why, we used to hate our teachers, most of them, God forgive us. Was it a general hatred? Yes! Why did we hate them? The reason is simple, they used to beat the hell out of us.

When I recall the beatings we received, I shudder and wonder if we deserved it. On the other hand, I have to admit we used to be bad. Like this time I was in lower primary. Our teacher was not in, so we were asked to go to the other class. The lower primary classes used to be taught by one teacher. So it happened that when we were combined, we were so much congested and were just making noise instead of listening to the teacher. Where I sat, I found a piece of chalk and started playing with it. Wait till I was seen, looking like a young ghost with chalk all over myself. This teacher was the most feared for canning. So you can imagine the beating I was given. I spent the rest of the day crying and wishing we would go back to our class.

Now, sorry for that, back to where we were. For you what did you want to become? For me at that time, I did not know what to become. Now I know. I want to become a politician in the post independent Kenya. That is it, I have said it without feeling shy, or without batting an eyelid. What has made me choose such a career? You may be asking yourself. Sit tight and continue reading.

One thing I like about this career is that I don't have to read a lot of books, this will depend on the highest point I want to achieve. There are several qualities I must poses in order to make it to August house:-

1. Lying mouth – this will come in hardy especially during the campaigns. It will help lie through the nose to the constituents on how I will improve their lives upon being elected as their MP.
2. Be able to play dirty games – this I need because if I find myself not winning, I can cause chaos, buy votes and voters whichever is easier, in order to make sure I win.
3. I need lots of money – money is needed everywhere by everyone. But my believe is that there are those that don't deserve to have money. These are the types that have started calling themselves mwenyenchi instead of what they are, mwananchi. I needs lots of money so that I can achieve the activities I have mentioned.

So, I have started looking for gullible people (constituents) where I can build my base and start my campaigns. My campaign strategy is very simple, there somethings I will need like a loud mouth, buying the lost youth lots of bootleg liquor, and for the women a kilo or two of sugar. At this time of hard economic times, they will be grateful and they will sing any song I start. The lucky ones will get lessos and some buggy t shirts that can't even be sold as second hand clothes at Gikomba market. Those in groups, I will give them some cash to share amongst themselves. This will make me a mheshimiwa even before the elections are conducted.

I will also attach myself to one of the powerful, seasoned politician vying for the top seat in the country. I will promise to defend and not to abandon him come what may. I will swear with the bible to show believers that I am serious with what I say. If need be, I will even swear with the forefathers just to make people see I mean what I say. I will allow myself to be used by him or her for that matter, in the hope that once we get him the most coveted seat in Kenya, he will reward me.

What I will do once in parliament

1. My first goal or achievement after being sworn in will be to forget my constituents. I will buy a villa in one of the posh estates in Kenya.
2. Start making money – I have to start returning in tenfolds what I had used in the hustings. A motion concerning MP's salary increase will be a big boost to my monthly income. Don't fool yourself, this money will not be enough. I will have to import goods illegally, become a cowboy contractor for supplying air.
3. I will perfect my art of deception. At this point it is important for me to perfect the art of deception. This is because there are some Kenyans who tend to behave like they are so caring for the country. They might start throwing stones towards me. I want a situation where if I am given a contract of repairing a road, I will do it on paper, but not on the ground. If they start questioning me, I will just stand and defend myself, using excuses like 'there is increase in global warming and that is why the roads are in such a state, more so due to the heavy rains.'
4. No paying taxes – How can I pay taxes and the way I will be working so hard for you? I will make sure my fellow colleagues also don't pay taxes.
5. Distribution of wealth – I will make sure that I distribute wealth equally. You know the ratio of the poor to the rich men is supposed to be millions of hoi polloi and a few filthy rich. It is important to note that I will have to hide the poverty line. This will stop the struggling Kenyans from seeing it let alone crossing it.
6. Buying a chopper – this will be important so that I can be able to rush from one point o another without getting stuck in endless traffic jams.

I promise you, I will be a very good MP. Give me your votes if you want progress, democracy, freedom of expression, and corrupt free country. For I will not tolerate corruption. Remember, if you don't give me votes I can dispatch you to hell or if you are luck, to the nearest IDP camp, and you will take me no where.

Windows XP Control Panel Settings

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Heavy Rains Pound the City and Other Parts of Kenya

Of late heavy rains have been pounding the city and other different parts of the country. It has caused havoc in some parts where people and animals have lost lives and there has been a lot of damage to crops and the environment in general. All this has been caused by flash floods.

In our capital city Nairobi, the rains have cased havoc in the following ares:

a) Intermittent black outs – of late in most estates, the residents have suffered so much from black outs such that they have resulted to mpango wa candle, others are forced to rely on mulika mwizi. Any time there is a drought in the country, KPLC starts rationing the electricity and when the rain falls the lights go off, the reason we are yet to be told. I believe the money they collect is enough to solve these blackout problems once and for all. If they can't be able to deliver, then is it possible to have other companies being allowed to operate so as to stop monopoly?

The inefficiency of KPLC to deliver quality services to their customers should be a wake up call to other investors or innovators who should came up with other reliable technologies like the solar energy, wind energy and others which can rely help the people of Kenya as they struggle to achieve the vision 2030 goals.

b) Fare hikes – when it rains, who told the matatu owners, operators and cartels that it rains money in our pockets? The first signs of a drizzle and the fares are doubled. When it rains cats and dogs like of late, they quadruple the fare. The sad thing is that this money never helps them.

c) Heavy traffic jam – don't even mention it, the heavily rained on Nairobians, their pockets and stomachs empty, are subjected to heavy traffic jams which the traffic police like to refer to as a gridlock.

Some of these traffic jams last for hours making the hard working citizens alive home at ungodly hours. Mind you, they have to wake up very early the following day (no, the same day because they sleep past midnight) and board the same extorting matatus, spend several hours again in morning traffic jam before reporting to their places of work looking tired and haggard like someone who has escaped from a horror movie. This is as a result of being tossed up and down on the roads that resembles gnu tracks. Roads covered with deep and dangerous potholes.

Rain is a blessing since the country depends mostly on agriculture. So we can not blame the rains for all these problems. We only need to be innovative and proactive. Like now, we should be trapping the rain water that is going to waste so that we can use it latter for farming during the dry seasons. But now, we are busy politicking for 2012 elections. Nothing else is in our minds.

FRUSTRATING INTERNET SPEEDS IN KENYA

Who knows what is happening with internet speeds in Kenya? I have been experiencing a lot of problems with internet connection. The speeds have suddenly become pathetic and the internet itself is also very unreliable. Sometimes it is on and good and other times it is down and out. You can try to image how frustrated one becomes when running a cyber cafe. Worst still, some customers think you have throttled your speeds so that you can steal from them. Anyone out there who knows what is happening, am I alone or other people are suffering too?

Kenya is a country that boosts of having four fiber cables for linking it with the internet hubs, but I can't believe what we are going through. The four fiber cables are for the following bandwidth suppling companies:-

1. SEACOMS
2. TEAMS
3. EASSY
4. LION

Many Kenyans are nowadays relying heavily on internet especially for communication and conducting their online businesses. With the introduction of these four fiber cables, one expects to see very fast internet speeds but it is actually the opposite. I wish to know what is happening with our Internet Service Providers. Are they asleep or they have been incompetent in their service delivery?

In order to achieve vision 2030 goals and daydreams, we need fast, reliable and affordable internet so that we can be able to communicate and conduct our online businesses without seeing this nagging message of server not being found. My question is, which ISP do you thin is the best, offering reliable services and excellent customer support?

US warns of an impending Al Shaabab strike.

The US Embassy has issued an alert of impending Al Shabaab attack in Nairobi's hotels and prominent government buildings. Kenyans are on high alert following these new fresh threats. The Kenyan Defense Forces late last year were deployed in the volatile Somali country after being continually provoked by the armed militia.

Since the Kenyan defense forces entered Somalia to contain the militia, there has been spontaneous grenade attacks that have rocked the country and which have been attributed to the Somalia's Islamic group Al-Shabaab.

Kenyans will not be cowered by these threats and attacks. They want peace between the two countries so that the people can live in harmony. Read more on Kenyan defense forces attack Somali's Al Shabaab.

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