Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

The Babylon System

Brenda Wambui

We refuse to be what you wanted us to be

We are what we are

That’s the way it’s going to be.

You don’t know

You can’t educate I for no equal opportunity:

Talking ’bout my freedom, people freedom and liberty

Yeah, we’ve been trodding on the winepress much too long

Rebel, rebel!

Yes, we’ve been trodding on the winepress much too long:

Rebel, rebel!

Babylon system is the vampire,

Sucking’ the children day by day,

Me say de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire,

Sucking’ the blood of the sufferers,

Building church and university,

Deceiving the people continually,… Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics

Unravelling the African Union Elections

Brenda Wambui

We have been treated to weeks of intrigue following Kenya’s failed campaign for its current foreign affairs cabinet secretary, Amina Mohammed, to become the next chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). The AUC is the executive arm of the African Union (AU). The election was instead won by Chad’s foreign minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Our response this loss has been anything but diplomatic, with Aden Duale, who is the National Assembly majority leader, blaming Kofi Annan, a former United Nations (UN) Secretary General for manipulating the elections, and Amina Mohammed, the failed candidate, said that we should investigate… Read More

Africa, Essays, Socio-cultural

To Africanize, Decolonize Or Both?

Brenda Wambui

This conversation on what it means to be African has been happening since the days of the independence struggles in many African countries, and has been a major part of African post-colonial discourse. The conversation has mostly focused on knowledge, since knowledge is the beginning of identity formation, with some commentators saying that we need to Africanize, others saying that we need to decolonize, and many saying that we need to do both.

In the words of Tebello Letsekha:

[Africanization] is a learning process and a way of life for Africans. It involves incorporating, adapting and integrating other cultures … Read More

Africa, Essays, governance, Politics, Socio-cultural

Dear Uhuru Kenyatta

Brenda Wambui

I hope this finds you in good health. It has been a while since I addressed you directly, but I have been busy with work, and life, you know how these things are.

I saw you in the news recently, looking visibly frustrated and complaining about corruption, as you like to do. I must say, you have really nailed the act. Well done. The delivery was quite sympathetic, and for a moment there, I almost fell for it. Allow me to quote you for reference.

“As president, if there is one issue that has frustrated me, it is … Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, Socio-cultural

Why the World is on Fire

Brenda Wambui

“When the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of growth of output and income, as it did in the nineteenth century and seems quite likely to do again in the twenty-first, capitalism automatically generates arbitrary and unsustainable inequalities that radically undermine the meritocratic values on which democratic societies are based.”

Thomas Piketty

Few books are as meticulous (and as boring, because of the great detail) as Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty First Century, from which the above quote is taken. The book studies inequality and wealth concentration, and their implications to economic growth across twenty countries, … Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, governance, Politics, Security

The Wrath of the Gods

Brenda Wambui

“You could hear women lamenting, children crying, men shouting. Some were calling for parents, others for children or spouses; they could only recognize them by their voices. Some bemoaned their own lot, others that of their near and dear. There were some so afraid of death that they prayed for death. Many raised their hands to the gods, and even more believed that there were no gods any longer and that this was one last unending night for the world. Nor were we without people who magnified real dangers with fictitious horrors. Some announced that one or another part of … Read More

Africa, Education, Essays, Gender, Sexuality, Socio-cultural

What About The Girl Child?

Brenda Wambui

Two weeks ago in Bungoma County, twenty girls from Chelebei Secondary Schoolgirls in Mt Elgon were confirmed pregnant after a routine check by the school when they returned from the December holidays.

Their deputy principal, David Emachar, blamed the girls’ parents for not closely monitoring their children’s activities and whereabouts during the holidays, saying “we have tried our best through guidance and counselling sessions and it is unfortunate that such still occur. We ask the parents to come and support our efforts by monitoring the children’s movements.”

Parents, on the other hand, blamed the school for letting the girls down. … Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, Legal, Politics

The Predictable Nature Of Corruption in Kenya

Brenda Wambui

Corruption scandals have become a “fact of life” for many Kenyans, who have come to regard them as just another facet of Kenyan life, alongside high taxes, poor service delivery, our “cult of personality” approach to politics and religion, and the misfortunes occasioned to us by terrorism. These burdens seem to be ours for the long haul, and we seem to have accepted them, albeit half-heartedly. It is tiresome to watch or listen to the news; even being on Twitter at a time when one was not prepared for shock or disappointment can derail one’s entire day. A useful activity … Read More

Africa, Economy, Essays, Politics, Socio-cultural

The Solutions to Kenya’s Problems Are Right Under Our Noses

Brenda Wambui

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ tells his followers the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers who strip him and beat him. Both a priest and a Levite (respected members of society from whom a higher moral standard is expected) pass him by without helping. However, a Samaritan (Samaritans were thought of as scum by the Jews, whose worldview the story is intended to challenge) stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn where the Samaritan pays for his care.

This is a tale of unexpected compassionate … Read More

Africa, Essays, Writing

2015: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Or Death

Brenda Wambui

“Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; – the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!”

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

This is Dickens’ take on the slogan of the French Revolution, “The Republic One and Indivisible of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death,” and I do not think there is a better statement to describe the happenings in Kenya, the rest of Africa, and perhaps the rest of the world than this one. We are wont to think of liberty and equality as concepts that go hand in hand, seeing as liberty is often defined as independence from arbitrary … Read More