PM Raila Odinga (left) and DP William Ruto (right) On the eve of the big presidential debate between Raila Odinga and William Ruto, things are increasingly fluid. The Deputy President, who a month ago hovered between noncommittal and reluctant to participate in the debate is now adamant about its (the debate) centrality in the Kenyan …
Continue reading T-Minus 2 Weeks: The State of the 2022 Race
Raila Odinga and William Ruto Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded aptly reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” In our Kenyan context, the post-independence arc has been long and winding, but we have made baby steps toward creating space for the progress of our people. It …
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos In the Game of Thrones final season, after Daenerys Targaryen (the Dragon Queen) has conquered King’s Landing with Drogon (the Dragon), there is a lingering moment between the first time the bells start ringing (signifying the surrender of the City) and the moment she decides to burn the city down. …
Image by bottomupeconomy.org By Mbosero Geoffrey | @geombos It is no secret that, since independence, the Kenyan economy has been top-heavy by design. The country’s economic approach has roughly been styled on the capitalistic structures of the West. I say roughly because the Kenyan economy has always had a significant role for the government to …
Deputy President William Ruto at a Rally Deputy President William Ruto once said, about the Kenyan political opposition, “I warned Kenyans that we are dealing with a "planless" and clueless opposition who have no agenda for our country ahead of the 2022 polls." He meant this as a dismissal of the value that the opposition …
Continue reading Has the Fever Broken? William Ruto’s Stab at Transforming Political Culture
Image Credits (BBC) - The Iconic Luhya Bullfighting Politics is a tale of ideas, aspirations, interests, hopes, expectations, frustrations, fears, and emotions of individuals, families, fellowships, neighborhoods, tribes, and regions of a nation. Democracy provides a path through which this litany of ideas and emotions can be channeled to shape the direction a country takes. …
According to the Law on Political Parties of 2011, 0.3% of the national government revenue is set aside for financing political parties’ activities. This translates to significant sums of monies released to political parties to shore up their agenda and bolster their abilities to represent the people in the democratic process. In a Kenya Gazette …
Continue reading Why Campaign Finance Reform is Central to Free and Fair Elections in 2022
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos In recent elections, the coastal region’s vote, mainly Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu, has gone to Raila Odinga. In the 2017 presidential polls, the former Prime Minister scored a clean sweep of these counties against President Uhuru Kenyatta. As shown in the graphic below, President Kenyatta was shellacked …
Continue reading Coastal Permutations: The Race to Win the Coastal Vote is on ahead of 2022
Image by prweek.com By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos If news coverage is the first draft of history, the most recent history of Africa, especially in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic makes for ugly reading. Africa, as a continent, from South Africa to Egypt and from the Horn of Africa to Senegal, was woefully underprepared, under-resourced, …
Mount Kenya By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Appearing on Jeff Koinange Live (JKL) on Citizen TV recently, Kabando wa Kabando, the former Mukurweini Member of Parliament sharply lashed out at the Governor of Meru County, Kiraitu Murungi for advocating for the formation of a Meru political party. The sentiments aired by Governor Murungi have been …
Continue reading The Prospect and Implications of a Politically Divided Mount Kenya in 2022
The Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga By Geoffrey Mbosero|@geombos Raila Odinga has been called many things: tinga, enigma, hammer, but the one that has had meet reevaluating his role in the Kenyan political discourse is, “Kenya’s political Houdini,” which has been cemented by his emerging ideological ambiguity and flexibility …
Continue reading The Anatomy of the Odinga-Kenyatta Handshake
How the failure of the Kenyan Parliament has created a gap that the presidency is exploiting to pressure the judiciary It is Chief Justice Martha Koome's Headache to Deal with President Kenyatta's Adversarial Executive By Geoffrey Mbosero|@geombos President Kenyatta shocked and incensed many Kenyans, observers, and experts with his decision to nominate 36 judges to …
Why the Kenyan electorate is changing, throwing 2022 hopefuls a curveball By Geoffrey Mbosero | @Geombos Kenyans at Uhuru Park Kenyans of a certain persuasion, mostly college-educated folks tired of the constant cycle of tribal politics, have long harbored hopes of a local transformation, a renaissance of sorts that would inject active civic responsibility and …
Why the latest Raila Odinga evolution is a career cul-de-sac By Geoffrey Mbosero | @Geombos The Powellian maxim that - all politics, unless they are cut off in the midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure - rings true in the Kenyan political landscape at the twilight of the class of independence politicians' careers. …
Why Ruto’s is a Movement to Nowhere DP William Ruto's political fortunes look to be on an upward trajectory. His ascendency has gained momentum just at the right time to propel him to the 2022 polls. He has fashioned himself a political brand that emphasizes the down-trodden – the bodaboda (motorbikes) riders, menial workers in …
Why Kenyans Need to Elect Brave Leaders to Finally Step Out of the Shadow of Independence The “tribe” has been the most dominant construct of Kenyan post-independence politics. For the north of half a century, Kenya's political establishment has worked on refining, sharpening, nurturing, and sustaining political division(s) as a standard practice. With time, tribal …
Five Reasons Why the Son of Sugoi Can Make History by Winning the Presidency at the First Attempt By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos It is no secret that Deputy President William Ruto is gearing up for the fight of his political life yet. On the other side of the political divide, to the extent that …
Continue reading Can William Ruto Win the Presidency in 2022?
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Faith has always been attributed to religion. It has traditionally captured the great beyond, something greater than humanity, and the source of all that is wonderful and marvelous of all existence. This faith has been professed, cultivated, and passed down through generations. In Kenya, faith - be it Christianity or …
Continue reading Faith in Country: Why it is not too late for Kenya to begin again.
The Kenyan opposition - as an institution within the constitution and a useful tool democracy – has vanished from sight, leaving Kenya a de facto single-party state with parties existing in name only. The Concept of Opposition in Democracy The concept of opposition is anchored on competition of ideas; the overall assumption of democratic ideas …
Continue reading Adios Kenyan Opposition Politics, It’s Been Real
Multiculturalism is Kenya’s greatest experiment. The Colonial Legacy Multiculturalism has been both a strength and weakness to Kenya. Imposed upon us by the arbitrary drawing of borders by the British colonial master, the 42 tribes in the country have been forced to find a way to coexist. So far, since independence in 1963, Kenya has …
The political class is gearing for a confrontation that, if not halted, is likely to suck Kenyans into conflict, again. The signs are ominously clear for anyone bothering to look. Not to be alarmist but there is inevitability to where the current political trajectory will end-up; we have seen this movie before! It goes like …
Continue reading The BBI Hide and Seek, and the Rising Partisanship
Politics, especially in Africa, is conducted in a laissez faire manner, with little strategy on how to harness its power to effect change or fulfil political targets. Typically, politicians on the continent consider politics as the politics of winning. This has been a successful mentality so far. However, as more and more Africans are educated …
Continue reading The Triple Bottom Line of Democratic Politics (TBLP)
The politics around the BBI discourse has, so far, centred on the structure of executive, distribution of resources to counties, and perhaps most importantly on the political machinations heading into the 2022 polls and the succession of President Uhuru Kenyatta. One crucial issue escaping the entire establishment and a vast majority of Kenyans - is …
The political elite in Africa have succeeded to make democracy and development mutually exclusive; the promise of development is used as replacement for freedom and democracy in Africa. Often, when African regimes face challenges to their authority or democratic surges seeking economic and political accountability, their favourite rhetorical responses focus on "winners and losers" in …
Continue reading The Art of Weaponizing Development in Africa
Did DP William Ruto make his case for the Presidency to the country in the interview with Ken Mijungu? Deputy President Ruto is an experienced political operator who understands the value of the media, especially television, in connecting with his base and reaching out to his detractors. His interview with NTV's Ken Mijungu on Thursday …
Continue reading DP Ruto Passionately Makes his Case in the Mijungu Interview
Charisma, charm, and inspiration are but some of the characteristics world-renowned leaders possess and wield to achieve a great deal of success in business and politics. They are also tools that in the right hands can bring about far-reaching change to society. In the wrong hands though, these traits can breed totalitarianism, repression, and strongman …
Continue reading Obsequiousness, Idolatry, and the Rot in the Kenyan Political Class
Why Unlearning the Colonial Legacy is a Necessity for Africa Image Rights: mpc Journal By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos As far as legacies go, colonialism casts a massive shadow over the African psyche. Everywhere you look, there are constant and ostensibly permanent reminders that Africa is joined at the hip to its former colonial masters …
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Whether you have an advance copy of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Report or not, whether you support the existence of the report in the first place or not, and whether you are agnostic to the entire conversation or not, you have to agree that it has kicked quite a …
Continue reading On the BBI Brouhaha and the Fights we need to have
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Kenya has some distance to go to build a coherent multicultural society with national values.Credit: 123rf.com The success of a country primarily emanates from its social fabric. Finding a 'working social experiment" drives economic and social progress of many nation states. Such a social construct taps into beneficial cultural aspects …
By Geoffrey Mbosero Despair Or Hope or Both Indulge me for a moment. A couple of months ago, I had a dream. In the dream, I was falling. Fast. After I awoke, I could not quite figure out whence I was falling. It felt terrible. My body felt light as I whooshed through the dark …
Time for the Kenyan DawnCredit: Ewen Bell Understanding culture, in most cases, is a fool's errand. The vastness, dynamism, and variance through time make it difficult to nail down a definition and reference to a specific culture. In Kenya, this task is made harder by the sheer diversity. With 42 major tribes and several sub-ethnic …
Continue reading How Kenya’s Politics is Smothering its Rich Culture
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Credit: DW Climate strike 2019 was a global demonstration of the seriousness and a sense of urgency in addressing climate change as an existential threat to our planet. The involvement of young people – the future of the world – is partly prompted by the ambivalence and inaction of the …
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos Spotify and other streaming platforms curate and present all the music options available on the planet. They have revolutionized access to and consumption of music across the world – making it accessible and friendlier to consumers. Radio and television platforms do their part in presenting a package of music to …
Credit: Ethos3 There is a reason why we read stories to babies and young children; apart from helping them to learn sounds, words, and language, it helps to spark the kids’ imagination and stimulating their curiosity. It also aids in the development of social and communication skills. The natural step should be to allow the …
Image rights: news.continuingstudies.wisc.edu Today’s job market is markedly different from what it was 1 or 2 decades ago. Continued integration of technology into the Kenyan society has hastened the rate of change in different sphere of society including the shifting mindsets of young children introduced to technological devices such as smartphones, iPads, tablets, and laptops …
Continue reading Why Primary School Teachers need to be Lifelong Learners
Image Rights: Cihan The current education system in Kenya provides a structure within which learners and educators operate. The structural approach ensures that all students learn the core aspects established in the curriculum as well as directives to teachers regarding the overall pedagogical approaches. The upshot of such a well-defined approach is the prevailing rigidity …
Continue reading Bolstering Student-Centered Learning in Kenya: Why Debating Still Matters
By Geoffrey Mbosero | geombos Artistic freedom - the freedom to create, imagine, and distribute diverse cultural perspectives and expressions – is at the center of high-quality art and worthwhile discourse in the society. Overall, artistic freedom espouses the extent to which independent artists can freely create art. Unencumbered artistic freedom gives artists license …
Continue reading Artistic Responsibility: How the Kenyan music industry could use some growing up
Private schools are at the heart of Kenya’s burgeoning inequality problem, robbing millions of poor Kenyans a chance at success in life. At its core, education is supposed to be the greatest equalizer of life. It is supposed to offer opportunities to the most talented, gifted, and smartest kids in the country to thrive and …
Continue reading A Case for Abolishing Kenyan Private Schools
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos A curious mind constantly seeks exploration and material for thought. Curiosity bolsters eagerness for experience, different contacts, and maintains an alert mind at all times. Such levels of curiosity are important in the learning process; therefore, bolstering its development among students seems like an absolute necessity. However, most of the …
Continue reading How Curiosity is the Missing Link in the Kenyan Education System
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos on Twitter Education has always been the most significant hope among millions of Kenyans facing everyday poverty and staring down the reality that their children will likely face the prospect of life making less than their parents. Faced with this reality, education occupies the celestial position of the only out …
Continue reading Education: The Great Escape Route or the Grandest of Illusions?
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos on Twitter Tammy Abraham, a player coming to his prime, Bucking the trend at Chelsea, academy product for all to see, Pace to burn, defenders to spurn, Slender but with strength, threatening a player with breadth, A penalty he missed, from racists he got abused. Paul Pogba, a midfielder so …
By Geoffrey Mbosero Governors from the former Eastern province - better known as Ukambani region – recently met up to come up with a 2022 strategy, planning – rather meticulously, and with high anxiety and anticipation – their political futures. This forms part of a jostling process underway across the country as the honourable folks …
By Geoffrey Mbosero | geombos Dismissed as inferior; Regarded to be in the rear. A target for exploitation; Looted without satisfaction. Polish caricatured as backward; Finesse symboled to look too inward. The Afro has awaken, and the ascension has began. Brushed aside as a shithole; Fractured never to be made whole. Oriented as a cesspool …
By Geoffrey Mbosero | @geombos The scourge, a heavy burden on the body, It bypasses the defenses by embedding amongst the good cells, and running the body ragged, and depriving the whole any vitality. Cleverly growing within thriving organ collection, through the nourish of life, and then burgeoning into the excess, clogging the system resulting …
By Geoffrey Mbosero|@geombos In a capitalist system like Kenya’s, divisions in the society are bound to happen. The foundational ethos of capitalism is to allow individuals with the innovation and wherewithal to reap the benefits of their genius. Unfortunately, it also means that the members of the society that do not have such distinct skills, …
Continue reading Is Corruption a Symptom of or a Tool for Class Warfare in Kenya?
Image by Wikipedia By Geoffrey Mbosero | Mboserogeoffrey@gmail.com Restraining hawkers at designated and restricted silos, whether within the Nairobi CBD or in the outskirts of the city is yesterday’s non-solution Across the world, businesses and governance units are bracing for disruption emanating from technological change and rapid innovation. The planning and strategizing among these entities …
Most businesses take a shot in the dark with their social media engagement. Consistently, brands complain about their inability to affect online users. The fragmented nature of the online community means businesses will require a multi-faceted approach to blend these disparate groups to bring them under their brand influence. The biggest challenge is often the …
Continue reading How to Solve Social Media Engagement Pain Points for Small Businesses
A Case for Why Regulators and Policy Makers Must not Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
Influencer marketing offers brands a flexible and direct approach to pitching their services and products to the market through sub-brands or personalities that have a close relationship with their online community. Businesses leverage the trust and authority that an influencer has built over time and turn it into marketing value. However, success in influencer marketing …
Continue reading How to Align Business Targets with Influencer Marketing’s Content Strategies
The Campus Diaries 