The Inbetweeners

As a note, I wrote this as a stream-of-consciousness post. So the structure and the points may be all over the place. To paraphrase The Fresh Prince , "I'm a little confused, but I got the spirit. " So I watched Barbie – bc ofc I did, it's Barbie! Did you think I was going to miss an opportunity to be the most feminine version of myself?! pshaaaaw – And I have mixed feelings. Because I can't tell if Barbie promotes a  brand of feminism is as plastic as the doll that inspired the movie. Or if the film is a direct criticism of that brand of feminism.  Part of me struggles to believe it is the former because it flies in the face of the  very first lesson that Barbie learns; that representations of matriarchial power and female competence and ambition do not automatically translate to the existence of and the embrace of these things by the wider world. And that there are wider forces at play that prevent the vision that Barbie represented from coming to fruition. ...

The Kenyan Government has been cracking down on opposition rhetoric lately. In so doing, bringing the consequences of speech into sharp relief.  Understand, that I am used to being able to say whatever I want, whenever I want, within reason. The idea that I could be targeted for criticising the government, while not unfathomable, is still new to me because that is not the Kenya I grew up in. I grew up in the Kenya that bullied our President off Twitter; the Kenya that satirized the President in political cartoons, op-eds and comedy shows; the Kenya that embraced social media as a way to organise and amplify popular dissent, while allowing some semblance of anonymity. But I suppose this Kenya merely masked another. And I was willing to overlook it because Kenyans on Twitter was an effective funnel for public vitriol and frustration. Bullying a President off Twitter did not stop him from co-opting and, effectively silencing, the opposition. It did not stop him from using the powers o...

Over the weekend, I came across this article in The Daily Nation:  Why small families are bad for Kenya’s economy . And to quote Peter Griffin, it really ground my gears.  In the article, Peter Mburu explains that while Kenya's smaller family units and lower fertility rate may be beneficial for individual families and their needs, it does not serve the needs of the wider economy in the long run. An economy survives on a dynamic and young labour force to drive production and consumption. Without this force, economies, and the societies that power them, begin to struggle. As a result, a number of economists in Kenya are raising alarm bells at Kenya's declining fertility rates. In the last 33 years, the number of children women borne by Kenya has fallen by half; from around 7 to 3. Now, here's the thing. I don't necessarily disagree with Mburu . I merely disagree with the details.  First, small families can be bad for our economy if people are having less than our replacem...

Although I am not a wrestling fan, there is one element of wrestling I appreciate. Kayfabe.   Kayfabe "is the accepted substitution of reality and willing suspension of disbelief that allows fans to buy into often fictionalized storylines, larger-than-life personalities and match results." Kayfabe turned wrestling from a sport, into entertainment and, as a result, maintaining the illusion is integral to the survival and operation of modern wrestling. But sustaining the artifice does not mean obscuring its' existence. Nor should we confuse a dogged commitment to the stories told (kayfabe) with a stringent belief in those stories. Instead, kayfabe is the act of storytelling; an act of co-creation led by wrestling professionals and powered by the wrestling fans who spread, respond to and, ultimately, sustain these stories. It is the storytelling that fans and professionals are dedicated to . The narratives of good vs evil and David v Goliath. Tales of succession and famil...

 Initially, I thought I'd explain my post yesterday.  "Embrace the Pandemonium"  But, instead, I thought I'd show you what that means by moving on to something entirely.  Pentecostal Churches. As a former Pentecostal, turned Baptist turned Agnostic, I have mixed feelings about Pentecostal churches.  On the one hand, a Pentecostal church deepened my relationship with God . The church's emphasis on engaging with God constantly, intentionally and dynamically helped me build a relationship with God that continues to this day; albeit in a different form. The idea that it is my responsibility to establish a personal relationship with God forced me to engage with her on my terms. It forced me to reevaluate how my relationships reinforce or distract from my faith and be intentional about the relationships I pursue. Also, Pentecostal churches were entertaining. It didn't feel like going to church. It felt like brunch with you and your 700 closest friends. On the othe...

Okay. Before I begin, allow me to preface my commentary with the following.  First, my knowledge and understanding of taxation is limited to IB Economics HL. And, second, as I transitioned into the labour force, my capacity to care about taxation was limited to two questions: (1) how much do I owe; and (2) is it fair? Having said this, let's talk about the Treasury's plan to raise PAYE (income tax) to 35% for individuals earning Ksh 500,000.  My first response to this was, good. Great. In Lizzo's words, "about damn time." If you make more money in a month, than an average Kenyan could make in 2 years , then you deserve to be taxed at a higher rate. In fact, this level of taxation would fulfil the very purpose for which taxes are collected ; which is the aggregation of national wealth to enable its' redistribution to the most vulnerable in our communities. However, as a Kenyan (and quite honestly, a person on track to – hopefully – exceed this monthly wage) I...

I recently wrote a piece for Democracy in Africa & The Continent , dismissing the argument that queerness is alien to Africa. In it, I briefly explored the treatment of queer sexualities in pre-colonial African societies across the continent and the birth of Africa as a heteronormative continent as a result of colonialism. I explained the role colonial powers - Britain in particular - played in overwriting queer sexualities and explored the legacy of this interference. Ultimately concluding that while queerness was not alien to Africa, queerphobia was. Contrary to popular opinion, the latter is the Western import. It is the thing around our neck, that threatens to choke the lifeblood of our Republics if we allow it.  This is why I wrote this piece. I wrote it to confront and challenge the idea that queerness and queer people were 'unAfrican.' As a person who has spent her entire life being told that I am not African enough, not black enough, this argument rang particularly...

Recently, President Ruto expressed his desire to turn Kenya into a God-fearing state. Except what does this mean? What will this look like in practice? Who gets to decide whether, or when, Kenya has achieved this goal? And why ought this goal to be considered of national import in the middle of a cost of living crisis, food insecurity and drought? More importantly, why is the President going out of his way to blur the line between Church and State, before we have had a national discussion on what role religion ought to play in secular life?  So, let's talk about this for a minute. For expressing his desire to marry the Church and the State goes beyond Ruto's mandate as President. While, yes, one could argue that this falls under the President's mandate to inspire and enforce national unity, I would argue that there are better ways to do that than through religion. Simply because; (1) Kenya is a multifaith, secular nation and; (2) the variances between and within religious ...

Why is everyone treating International Women's Day like it is Valentine's Day? Like Valentine's Day, IWD feels like a day where everyone lovebombs the women in their life for a day, only to forget about their struggles and the realities of living in a gendered world the other 364.  I cannot tell you how many posts I saw from people, who I suspect do not respect women or diverse representations and expressions of feminity. It is incredibly ironic , that the Kenyan Parliament would recognise and celebrate IWD , after kicking a Senator out of Parliament for wearing period-stained clothes. It is incredibly bold of President Ruto to tweet his support for inclusivity  when his Government has not made any strides towards realising two-thirds representation. Equally, Ruto has not fulfilled his promise to ensure a 50/50 split between men and women in his Cabinet. It is quite peculiar that the country rushed to name and praise the women in their lives, even as they directed hate an...

I have an idea. It's new, at least to me, so I haven't had the time to work out the kinks. But here it is:  If capitalism, inevitably, alienates its workers from themselves, their labour and each other, its antidote is something that draws people closer together. Something that creates, fosters and deepens the bonds we share.  Therefore, what if culture , is the antidote to capitalism?  From here, allow me to present my thoughts in bullet points: Oxford defines 'culture' as "the beliefs that people hold about reality, the norms that guide their behaviour, the values that orient their moral commitments, or the symbols through which these beliefs, norms, and values are communicated." Inherent to this definition is that culture is a shared activity/practice; developed communally and practised collaboratively. This suggests that culture can be, and often is, a binding agent. Even capitalism, if construed as a cultural system, binds humanity together in service to ...

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about Cargo Movements (aka cargo cults) and I couldn't help but wonder, is Africa in a cargo cult? The term ‘cargo cult’ or ‘movement’ is a term given to a number of religious or political movements that started when indigenous peoples came into contact with Western civilisation and the technology, they brought with them. Items like radios, aeroplanes, ready-made and abundant food etc. These items were called cargo, hence cargo cult or movement. These indigenous groups then attempt to get these goods by replicating the rituals that caused the cargo to land on their soil; building plane towers and runways, and signalling with radio and military marches.  This act of replication is what makes them incredibly fascinating, from the outside looking in. It reminds me of a child playing 'grown-up' - in as much as I know better than to infantilise indigenous communities. Or perhaps, more appropriately, it reminds me of the dynamics of cultural appro...

There used to be a path near Village Market in Nairobi. This path was adorned with acacia thorns, unseemly rocks and random spots of green grass. It was ugly, and a bother to look at. But it was full of life. Every time you passed, you'd see boda boda drivers catching a break before their next ride. You'd see small kiosk vendors conducting business with passersby, arming them with weapons for the day's battles; the odd cigarette, the random biscuit or the necessary energy drink. You'd witness groups of people, coming together to eat and discuss the events of the day. It was life, and it was messy. Emphasis on 'was.'  That little slice of life is gone. Literally paved over after the management of Village Market rehabilitated the rocky path with grey cabro, tendered to the garden and erected a barbed wire around it. What used to be a colourful slice of human interaction and community is now bland and lifeless; perfectly manicured and just a little less accessible...

The 2022 Elections are over, and Kenya has its new President and Deputy President; William Samoei Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua, respectively. And I have mixed  feelings about this development. Many of these feelings are animated by what Ruto's Presidency means within the grand scheme of Kenyan politics.  A Ruto-Gachagua Presidency reaffirms the notion that to ascend to the Presidency you must be Kikuyu or Kalenjin. Given that Kenya is a multiracial, multiethnic nation with 42 recognised tribes, this is a destructive and exclusionary notion that does not redress the sins of the past. These sins are; (1) the divide and rule politics and; (2) the establishment of a strong centralised state. Addressing the former, in the colonial era, the British chose to manage this diversity through ‘divide-and-rule;’ a governing strategy in which control is maintained by encouraging conflict between groups, thereby preventing them from uniting in opposition. As part of divide and rule, the British...

I absolutely hate admitting that I was wrong about something. But turns out I was wrong about men. I underestimated the extent to which patriarchy affects them and the ways in which women ought to respond to patriarchy as a whole.   Remember, in the 2010s women became vocal about the many ways in which men were lacking; from low emotional intelligence to the fact that they benefit from the presumption of competence ab initio  to questioning the very essence of masculinity. And I believe the consequences of the last of these that has been the most destructive. When we attempt to dismantle a system of expectations that have existed since time immemorial, without discussing a system to replace those expectations two things occur.  First, men get the message that everything they do is worthless and, ultimately, should be taken from them. This is not, nor has it ever, been the message of feminism. Feminism is about the equality of the sexes. It operates by working to dismantle...

The Imperial Powers are on a returning spree! In the last two years, Germany, France and Belgium have all agreed to repatriate stolen cultural artefacts. These artefacts include works of cultural import, as well as human remains of liberation heroes (like Patrice Lumumba’s tooth). Yet, there is one country conspicuously absent from this list . The Nation who, despite having a fraction of the world’s population, dominated and oppressed nearly a quarter of the world. The Nation that built an empire in which the sun would never set. I, of course, am talking about the United Kingdom.  As her neighbours recognise and acknowledge the harm they have caused, of course falling short of apologising and accepting moral and financial culpability, Britain has merely offered an expression of regret . This is unsurprising given that, in 2020, the British were more nostalgic about their colonial empire than its neighbours . Perhaps these sentiments are why the British have been reluctant to make g...

Two days ago, the identity of the President-Elect was revealed to the country. As usual, drama ensued.  As our newly elected officials brawled with the Chairperson of Kenya's Electoral Management Body, thus denying him the opportunity to announce the winner, and as four Commissioners rejected the Chairperson's results, the choir sang on. Literally . They sang about God's grace and his bountiful mercies, as politicians tussled, literally and figuratively, with the outcome of the 2022 Presidential Election. And for their commitment and professionalism, they should be recognised. After all, it is not easy to score the sounds of a sinking ship. Just ask the violinists of the Titanic! But as we recognise the choir for enabling a calm atmosphere, we cannot overlook the content of their performance.  As a friend pointed out to me the songs they sang, predominantly, extolled the virtues of the Christian faith. There is nothing wrong with the gospel focus; if it were being performed...