Voice Of Taita Taveta

 I have made my stand. And I stand by it. Bad politics and ignorance have driven our county to where it is now. For years we have voted with one thought in mind: “Mtu wangu.” “Wetu.” Not us. Not the county. Not the future. Just stomach politics wrapped in tribal songs and handshakes. The spirit of Ubuntu our forefathers lived by has slowly been killed by selfishness and greed. I am because we are. That was the African way. Before the colonialists enslaved our people, they first destroyed unity. Because they understood something simple: You cannot break a clenched fist. So what did they do? They opened the fist. Separated the fingers. And the political class today does the same thing. They divide us enough that when they finally break one finger… you only feel the pain five years later. Sometimes I wonder about this young generation. What kind of country will they inherit? Because they have something our parents never had: Access. Power. Information. But ...

  Today is Labour Day. But today… I don’t want to talk about jobs. I want to talk about workers. The real ones. Not the ones in suits making promises. Not the ones flying in choppers during campaign season. I’m talking about you. The voter. The man who wakes up at 5am… not because he wants to… but because he has to. The woman who walks to the market… balances biashara, watoto, and life… like a seasoned accountant of survival. The boda guy dodging potholes that were “launched” three elections ago. The mama mboga calculating profit with coins… while leaders calculate votes with lies. These are the people who keep this economy alive. Not speeches. Just Sweat. You pay tax. Directly… indirectly… painfully. Every time you buy fuel. Every time you buy unga. Every time you send money. Even when you think you have nothing… government still finds you. And yet… when it comes to decision time… the same voter who builds the economy… sells the future. 500 bob. A plate of pilau. A t-shirt. A ...

The power of the masses… is not in riots. Not in hashtags. Not in noise. It is in the ballot box . That Simple. Let mtoto wa Maumau do his protests alone. Me? I’m tired of the hypocrisy. But again… dunia ni mzunguko. Let Zakayo taste his own medicine. Me, I never voted for that man. Zakayo? Nope! That, I didn’t. Why? Because the lies were obvious. Ever watched True Lies ? Lucky you. We didn’t watch it… We lived it. Wahenga were not joking when they said: Mtego wa Panya huingia waliomo na wasiokuwemo, Did i get that Right? I wasn’t a rat. But here I am… feeling the pain of the hard times ahead. Hard times have turned Kenyans into comedians you know? We have laughed our way through pain. We’ve turned suffering into content.   Weka Maweee!!! Even Bwana Churchill would struggle today… because every Kenyan is now a stand-up comedian. But behind the jokes? Depression. Real. Heavy. Silent. And Kenyans… wueh… the depression has turned us ruthless, we are r...

 Today…  We learn. Because clearly… we have been confusing seats with chairs. Leaders not seats, it shouldn't be comfort. Let’s start with the big man. Governor. Huyu ndio CEO wa county. Not brand ambassador. Not chief guest wa harambees. CEO. He runs the county. Money comes… he decides how it is used. Projects start… he approves. Hospitals fail… he answers. Roads stall… he explains. Simple. If things are not working in the county… huyu ndio mwenye kalamu. But us? We vote a Governor because: “Ni mtu wetu” “Anajua kuongea” “Alitupa hope” “Alikuja na chopper” Then after a few months… tunaanza kusema: “Hakuna dawa hospital…” “Barabara mbaya…” “Miradi imekwama…” And I ask… ulipigia kura CEO ama MC wa event?  Ohh Yes!! Now let’s move to the other side. Senator. Huyu sio competitor wa Governor. Huyu ni mkaguzi mkuu wa county huko Nairobi. The defender. The watcher. The one who is supposed to sit in Senate and say: “Boss… hii pesa imeenda wapi?” ...

  Daktari Alves… Mimi niko kadi. The rebirth of this country… has taken longer than necessary. Too long. Our parents… the baby boomers, the Generation Z Ruled by tyrants, they accepted their fate The yes sir, yes mum generation. Information was limited They accepted. They endured. They survived… but they did not question. During the Moi era… when coffers were looted… they still sang: Nyayo… They didn’t raise voices. They raised fingers. And those fingers… tingisa kidole moja ya Nyayo… Zilitwerk kama nonsense. Yes — they twerked with fingers , not figures . That was their politics. And us… the millennials? We were born into it. We inherited the clapping. We stood in the sun. Singing. Smiling. Waiting.  Clapped and Danced as the Nyayo Motorcade was in sight Sometimes we clapped, for the likes of kina Kamotho not knowing that the old man was not in the motorcade. It was glorious, but for a moment. Then something shifted. Something Changed Technology evo...

  Today… we go back to school. Relax. No uniform. No caning. Just truth. Because let’s be honest — we suffer not because we lack leaders… we suffer because we don’t understand them. We vote. We celebrate. We complain. But ask someone the difference between an MCA and an MP… silence. Awkward silence. Then someone coughs and says, “Si wote wanasaidia maendeleo? ” My friend… that’s where the problem starts. Let’s start at the bottom. MCA Member of County Assembly. Huyu ndio wako karibu na wewe. This is the person of the ward. The one who should know your roads, your water problems, your dispensary, your school. If your village road is bad — MCA. If your local clinic has no drugs — MCA should raise it. If development in your ward is zero — MCA must answer. Their main job? To make laws at the county level and oversee the county government. Yes… oversee. Same word. They approve budgets. They question how money is used. They represent your ward in the county assembly. Lakini reality? Tuna...

 I have been at home for more than a week now. No alcohol. Sober as a church mouse. Being sober has its peaks and lows. For one, I just realized that for all the years I have lived here, I have never bought window curtains. No tinted windows. Nothing. I have never actually been in this house during the day. So you can imagine my shock the first time this realization hit me. I was so shocked I nearly went to the chief’s camp to report theft. Sunlight ilikuwa imeingia kila mahali. I looked at the color of my sheets… and my mind just took a walk. How did I end up here? I have not seen Jamo and Tumaini, my daughter, for quite a while now. I hear stories they decided to take a break… rethink their relationship or something like that. But as they step back… old birds of prey have started circling again. Those dead relationships we thought were buried… Zimerudi. The damsel singer from Werugha — the one who used to ride with the Subaru boys… Now she is back in the pictu...