Friday, August 08, 2014






Dala 7s @ mamboleo showgrounds
Kisumu City



https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTW7DRi8dheOYeboOCcVz33aCpkW3kFSotRpcVXKnof1fPwojRq   So the biggest rugby festival is coming to Kisumu on 9th -10th.
This is definetely a good weekend for entertainment in Kisumu as fans are streaming in  from far flung places for a little bit of rugby and whole lot of fun.
Well it got me thinking that Kisumu really has very few world class  annual major events that visitors and locals alike can enjoy. So whether one is planning a quick trip to Kisumu for fun here is the the very short list of major annual events that the city hosts.

The Kisumu ASK agricultural show -august
Kisumu marathon-world AIDS day marathon -December
"Niko na safaricom" Kisumu edition
Kisumu fashion week-september
Dala 7 rugby -August


Tuesday, August 05, 2014

 Radio stations in Kisumu


87.7 Venus fm
88.2 BBC World Service-international
88.6 KBC Radio Taifa-national
89.8 East FM-East Asian
91.0 Kass FM-Kalenjin
91.5 KBC English Service-National
91.7 Classic 105-national
92.1 Radio Lake Victoria-Dholuo local
92.5 Kiss 100-national
93.0 Capital FM-national
93.5 Maiyenga FM-Dholuo  local
94.3 Radio Sahara-swahili local
96.5 Radio 316-christian
96.8 Chamgei FM-Kalenjin
97.3 Radio Nam Lolwe-Dholuo local
97.6 Radio Citizen-national
98.1 Equator FM-local
99.7 Milele FM-national swahili
100.1 Radio Jambo-national swahili
100.4 Vuuka FM-luhya
102.1 Q FM-national swahili
102.5 Urban Radio-local english
103.0 Hot 96-national english
105.3 Radio Maisha-national swahili
107.6 Ramogi FM-national dholuo

Sunday, August 15, 2010

vigilance

Vigilance is what we need now in Kenya the next battle will be economic.In the media of late emphasis has been laid on covering the human rights organizations and the ncic under Mzalendo Kibunja and Ms Ooko.The constitution has been passed as was expected without acrimony. The current naysayers should be ignored for the major problem we will be facing now will be economic.That is why i wish the media could cover more of the mars group who have definitely cut their teeth in economics matters in Kenya.I wish every middle class kenyan will be as conversant with the foreign debt in Kenya as they are currently with the constitution. The soviet Union did not collapse because Reagan said tear down those walls,it collapsed because Gorbarchev brought political change without economic change.An economic turn around is what is needed and i hope vision 2030 is taken very seriously henceforth. Vigilance is required otherwise i am afraid strikes,tear gas and running battles will be the order of the day in Kenya.And with the police under one command Kenya may soon turn into a police state.


Friday, August 13, 2010

Lohan vs Kagame

No doubt Rwanda and its people have been through alot. The media was there to cover the genocide and ultimately rebuilding of Rwanda to become a beacon of hope in Africa.So you ask what are the similarities with Lyndsay Lohan and President Kagame. Well ms Lohan was a child star and the media has documented her rise to fame with unparalleled zeal. Her fortunes started declining once reports of drug abuse and law problems caught up with her and now the media is dismantling her like an old unwanted car ready for recycling to china.
President Kagame has been the poster child of the media as a model of what an African president should be all about. Need i say he has transformed Rwanda to become a fast rising country.well now he is on the defensive in the court of opinion and this is no "gacaca" court. It is alimony court for the wallets of western countries eager to atone for their complacency in going back on the "never again" in our lifetime.All they seem to care about now are the problems of democracy or lack thereof of the same in Rwanda. Granted a little murder here or an exiled army general assassination attempt coupled with gagging of the press does not help Kagame's defense.

Kagame should learn from our very own prof of politics Moi. Remember his pronouncements "democracy gitu gani hi" and its bro "human rights nini hii?"well we all know how that went down as we say in the Bronx. The media will chew you then spit you like old gum. I bet you the next 7 years will be the worst for him and he better come up with a good PR team otherwise in the tough neighborhood that is East Africa ..let me just quote the wisdom of that famous dusty foot philosopher from Dandora "hii system niya majambazi!"

Monday, March 27, 2006

A.K.A

They go by such names as Tony "the bull" Diarmato, or John "the mole" gottti. These are the Italian characters that hollywood brings to our screens. I always think that more than the plots the pseudo-names or A.KA 's are another big source of entertainment by itself and probably the main reason some of us watch these programmes. The more creative the names the better.

300miles from hollywood is Nairobi otherwise known as Nai. If it is something i find exceptional in kenyans is our ability to shorten, brand or give things or people aka.It is a phenomen everyone identifies with and if the names in this blog ring is to go by i can see the creativity still flourishes and is being exhibited with abandon.From past presidents Dan Toro-Moi, to present presidents Baks-Kibaki, to towns Naks-Nakuru, Eldy- Eldoret to my teacher Odero -Amuyunzu.A new kid in the estate for example was quickly given an aka barely weeks into their stay so that Alex becomes Aleky, Njoroge -Njosh, Wanjiru -Ciku and Onyango-Onyi. It is universaly agreed that it is appropriate,But these are just shortened forms of the names. The aka or "also known as" aspect is what is interesting.

Foreigners find it amusing that for a guy who never went to school a certain Kenyan musician was called professor while another national soccer star who i believe never held a hammer was affectionetly named fundi. My friend, lets call him Tom, a white american was amused we called other people doctor, professor and engineer without the said person ever having been in class.

We have a long history of pseuodnames or aka's with many examples abounding From the eccentric Raila Amolo "Tinga"- meaning THE TRACTOR, the intimidating Odongo Omamo "Kaliech"- meaning the elephant, the hilarious Agwhings Kodhek "chiedo mo"- meaning everyones cooking fat, the practical Charles Ongudi "Oningo"-meaning the ant, to the plain scary, Michuki "Kimendero" the crusher. Of course each attribute , be it an ants industry, or tractors durabilty or intimidating personality applies to the person.

All these pseudonames further indicate a characteristic considered amiable but further than that it indicates that thier characters are understood, recognised and being appreciated by the community. Most of the names are given by their peers and you do not name yourself otherwise it will be considered vain. I still enjoy watching the sopranos and other Italian family based dramas.My question therefore is it has been three years now, so what will Kibaki's peer call him as his pseudoname and most importantly, what name will Kenyans give him as an a.k.a?

Thursday, March 23, 2006

DISASTER

The recent announcement by the UN that Kisumu is the first millenium city is welcome and a truly exciting time for this sleepy lake side city. The Prof. Sachs led vision of MDG's are great and i believe through good leadership , can be attainable. We as Kenyans pride ourselves in our beautiful land and especially our cities especially Nairobi. But are we prepared for a major disaster?

Recently i read a book by the usual disillusioned foreign correspondents that claimed "Nairobi is the East African centre of Everything and the centre of Nothing at the same time".
Having now visited many western capitals it is hard to defend this point .

One thing close to my heart and of major concern that needs urgent attention is the lack of emergency response services of not only Kisumu but all Kenyan cities. Kisumu as an example boasts only 1 run down fire station with one engine for its entire half a million inhabitants.The glaring inadequecies of our emergency response is exhibited for all and sundry everytime their is a minor or major disaster to deal with. The recent disaster that killed kenyans after the collapse of the building is one example.

Emergency services providers, including police are the back bone of major cities response to such disasters. Coupled with the three T's of urban planning i.e availability of transport,technology and tolerance, major world cities ,think tokyo,NYC etc have excellent disaster response systems... well apart from the unfortunate human inadequecies- think Katrina.

I was involved in the search & rescue(s& r) efforts after the U.S embassy terrorist bombing. It was a wake up call for us for i am invloved in disaster response management teams in Nairobi.This has made me acutely aware of our vulnerability. Surely our lives and well being are of utmost importance.

Recent world public health crisis including sars,ebola ,avian flu and natural disasters make me question weather still our cities are prepared to respond adequately. Kenya thank God has been spared any major epidemic excluding Aids.

Take a simple preventive response recently in Nigeria and India where, their was a concerted kick polio vaccination effort. The response of the population was indeed sad and shocking but it reflects what might just happen in Kenya.

We have all expericed this in kenya where the kick polio health workers go door to door vaccinating children. It usually goes well and past success proves it.Well in these mentioned countries according to recent reports, due to false rumours, lack of goverment leadership, and just plain ignorance, doors were slammed on the health workers because the parents, having heard the circulating false rumours refused access to immunisation for the children with obvious disastrous effect.This could easily be Kenya.

Incase of any preventive mass campaigns or even God forbid disaster to hit our country and it is inevitable, how will we react? Information is key to this response. The government, media,public service and private individuals must work together. Individually i urge you Arm yourself with knowledge on what to do incase of an emergency. The government should also adopt an open door policy and true information using the media that is adequate to avoid breeding rumour or mistrust. But as in all third world countries do not rely on the government to quickly come to your aid. Preparation is your best defense. A first aid class with st john ambulance is a start, coupled with evacuation drills and stored emeregency rations and supplies.

A word of advice incase of a building collapse on you like in recent cases, latest word , chose a "safe place', that is the voids in between a safe inner wall away from windows,bookcases that may fall on you. You will be protected by the Void the foot of walls or structures. The idea is to provide yourself a gap between yourself and falling debri and provide easier rescue attempts. For more info go to the- osha-web site.

Lastly i urge you to volunteer for your local ambulance or emergency service or form an emergency response team of your own in your area. Our cities need the human resource including counsellors, enginers and any body who come in handy incase of structural collapse ,medics like my self and anybody with a willing heart. Remember be prepared.