Chaos and fraud part and parcel of Kenya’s political campaigns
Violence, bribery, voter intimidation, ballot fraud, arson, looting, undue influence, even kidnappings and murder are all real risks associated with elections in Kenya.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Chaos and fraud part and parcel of Kenya’s political campaigns
Irony of Kenya’s campaign laws that can barely scratch surface
Why does Kenya have a plethora of laws that it expertly drafts, and then enthusiastically ignores?
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Irony of Kenya’s campaign laws that can barely scratch surface
A peek into the precarious lives of Kenya's low income families
To most urban and rural households, outpatient medical care is the most frequent risk, and death of a main income earner is the most devastating. However, there’s usually more to the story
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
A peek into the precarious lives of Kenya's low income families
Divorce rate goes up among young couples
For every serial male monogamist, there is at least one or two more women whose status is divorced or separated.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Divorce rate goes up among young couples
The unga puzzle: Why maize farmers are also queuing for Sh90 flour
Simple policy loopholes put smallholder maize farmers in viscous poverty cycle, forcing them to sell their harvest to unscrupulous middlemen at low prices only to buy them at twice the price they sold two months down the line
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
 The unga puzzle: Why maize farmers are also queuing for Sh90 flour
Why the current food prices crisis is man made
The last time food prices spiked this dramatically in Kenya was nearly six years ago, in 2011. Drought, high global food and fuel prices, and a weakening shilling were blamed. This time round, only one factor is at play – yet prices continue to rise.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why the current food prices crisis is man made
Will Raila Odinga's fourth bid deliver the crown?
Like his peers from the continent, Opposition flag bearer has to manouvre burning hurdles of ethnic arithmetic and the African jinx of near-impossible mission to beat incumbent President
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Will Raila Odinga's fourth bid deliver the crown?
Kenya’s real problems lie in playing politics year in year out
This week marks one year since the final collapse of the cases against six Kenyans indicted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the violence that rocked the country in the aftermath of the 2007 elections.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Kenya’s real problems lie in playing politics year in year out
Why opposition parties aren’t a viable option for Kenyans
Public dissatisfaction with government performance doesn’t necessarily translate into perceptions that opposition political outfits could do a better job
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why opposition parties aren’t a viable option for Kenyans
Vicious circle of vote-buying and the guilt of conscience
Chinua Achebe is better known as a novelist, but one of his short stories “The Voter”, cleverly illustrates the problem that often confronts voters in a typical African electoral cycle.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Vicious circle of vote-buying and the guilt of conscience
Why Kenyan women are yet to shatter the glass ceiling in politics
In the last election cycle, no woman was elected governor or senator.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why Kenyan women are yet to shatter the glass ceiling in politics
Why Uhuru is gaga about Mombasa and Turkana
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ugly altercation with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho made headlines this week — three major dailies had the spat as the lead story on Thursday, with different versions of the President’s now infamous words to Joho: “I am not your wife!”
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why Uhuru is gaga about Mombasa and Turkana
MCA or Senator? Why allure of political jobs is hard to resist
Recent reports from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) show that some 40,000 aspirants are eyeing the Member of County Assembly (MCA) position in the August 8 elections.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
MCA or Senator? Why allure of political jobs is hard to resist
Why you are unlikely to own a house in town
Kenyans in their early to mid-thirties are the biggest cohort in the country’s history.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why you are unlikely to own a house in town
Same forest, different monkeys: Why voters believe all parties are alike
This week, the main Opposition alliance bringing together Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula signed a formal unity agreement, but without explicit details of who gets what position.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Same forest, different monkeys: Why voters believe all parties are alike
Voter apathy: So many elections but very little gain for struggling Kenyans
This week, there was a predicable last-minute rush by Kenyans to register as the mass voter registration exercise entered its final stretch.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Voter apathy: So many elections but very little gain for struggling Kenyans
Single parenthood ‘crisis’ is here with us, but it is not what you think
If you are to believe the talk on morning radio shows, Kenya has a “crisis” of single parenthood – the gender-neutral term is often used euphemistically, but everyone knows that it is really single motherhood we are talking about.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Single parenthood ‘crisis’ is here with us, but it is not what you think
Why half of Kenyan men should be in jail for sexual offences
In May 2013, a 16-year-old boy – let’s call him Calvin – invited his girlfriend to his house. It was a Sunday and his parents were out. His girlfriend – let’s call her Joy – was also 16 and lived in the same neighbourhood.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why half of Kenyan men should be in jail for sexual offences
You may have missed it, but Kenya is at war with hustlers and petty offenders
The Kenyan system is stack against the ordinary Kenyan. Indeed, we are a nation of drivers and hawkers, smallholder farmers and hairdressers. ‘Kazi Ya Mkono’ should be our national motto.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
You may have missed it, but Kenya is at war with hustlers and petty offenders
You may have missed it, but Kenya is at war with jua kali
The informal sector, as we found out over the last few weeks, is responsible for 75-80 per cent of all new jobs created, which presents an arguably dangerous contradiction with ever-increasing education levels.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
You may have missed it, but Kenya is at war with jua kali
Why funerals attract more money than medical appeals
Last week, this column reported that just 16 per cent of the Kenyan workforce is formally employed and earns a salary.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Why funerals attract more money than medical appeals
Doctors’ demands offer rare glimpse into Kenya’s labour market setbacks
The doctors’ strike entered day 40 this week, with union officials being handed down a one-month suspended jail sentence on Thursday if they do not call it off in the next two weeks.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Doctors’ demands offer rare glimpse into Kenya’s labour market setbacks
Kenyan economy riding on menial jobs, study shows
By any measure, that’s a scandalous indictment for whatever has recently been passing as a national examination system. But that’s not the whole story – the real impact of Kenya’s sub-par education system will be felt long after the exam system is over.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Kenyan economy riding on menial jobs, study shows
The paradox of mama mboga’s kind smile and rocketing grocery prices in Kenya
But what you have been less likely to notice is your local mama mboga quietly making her pyramids of tomatoes smaller, then selling them at the same price, or using a smaller polythene bag to bundle your carrots.
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
The paradox of mama mboga’s kind smile and rocketing grocery prices in Kenya
Poor people more likely to pay bribes
Last week, a tiny classified advert in the Daily Nation set Kenyans on Twitter ablaze. It sat benignly, tucked in between adverts for tippers and gasoline water pumps, almost charming in its sincerity: “Join corruption cartels and win government supply tenders without sweat.”
By Christine Mungai 7 years ago
Poor people more likely to pay bribes
Controversial Adani deals expose impotence of MPs
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