That Smile...

Friends ,
A rare gift,
Good for emotional uplift,
Some so sweet yet new,
But the bond so strong to weaken.


With that smile I feel at ease,
With those words I find the peace,
With certain confidence they please,
With affection,I feel attached.


If the art hides the reality, the secrets of fantasy,
But some are so real and need no poetic guise,
Even in tough and rough times,
The bond strengthens bones of love,
True love of the nature and people,
Selected people who matter most.


The smile shines beyond wails,
That smile shows the real soul,
That smile weakens my being,
By making it more connected to the smile.


That smile,
That smile on a friend,
That smile covers and erases all the fears,
It is the secret to happiness...

‪#‎Nomys_Madness‬

LAST NIGHT

Last night,
The moon was bright,
Cold had the might,
But with the bonfires heat and light,
It was full of laughter with no fight.


Last night,
Don Khim sampled drinks,
Ceased to report only to entertain,
He spilled beans,spitted words,
And he was a laughing stock,
He broke his thirst virginity by tasting a second generation liquor!


Last night,
After eating the goat,
The Health boss gave a brand new type of flavoured rubbers en-masse,
The chants of 'we must enjoy'
Filled the air.
Last night,
Legal and semi-legal smokes got inhaled,
Eyes reddened,hysteria overode,
Air got cleansed, 'ubani' burnt in the pot,
Modern 'mrija' was centralised.


Last night,
Bodies were shaken,
Shoulders dropped,
Hips swayed,
Tushies smoothered and awakened snakes till some shed porridge!


Last night,
An orgy was slightly escaped,
Directors mingled and 'threw lines',
Tumbocuts had cut a niche,
Funny jeers and cheers saw dawn coming and dew dropping.


Last night,
Goat was slaughtered,roasted and eaten,
Elsewhere, with full stomachs and aroused bodies,
More and more goats were allegedly eaten,sausages roasted and eaten too!
Last night,
I had such a good dream!

‪#‎Nomys_Madness

'TERRORISTS'

The Wagalla massacre was just the tip of the iceberg for the Somali people. Back then during the Kenyatta regime, they used to be referred to as shifters. Both young and old were disrespected, thrown stones at and even killed. Kenyans were made to believe that they do not belong in this country thus they needed to go back to Somalia.

It is a different chapter for them now, but the book is still the same. They are still marginalized and mistreated and the reason this time, terrorism. All people of Somali origin in Kenya are regarded as members of the Alshabab militia group. It is even worse if one is a Muslim. They are always associated with any form of terrorism within the country where Alshabab related or not.

Their troubles began when a group of terrorists with Somali origin pirated a ship on the coastlines of Mombasa. They went ahead to kidnap and kill tourists at a holiday hotel in Malindi. It became worse when they took Westgate mall hostage ending up killing several people. Kenyans started getting angry and pointing blame fingers. They began associating any Somali, or a person with Somali characteristics as Alshabab.

What Kenyans fail to see is that the Somali are also victims of terrorism. During terror attacks, they are not separated from everyone else. They also have other relatives back in Somalia who are killed every so often when Alshabab strikes.

But who is to blame for Kenyans’ reactions? One could say that it is the media due to the choice of words they use whenever talking about a terrorist. They would use words like “illegal aliens” or “Islamic jihadists” which is very demeaning both the Muslims and Somali community. The media knows that it has a great agenda setting power therefore what it talks about is what the people will believe to be true.

One could also say that the government is to blame. During Kenyatta regime, the Somali were marginalized. No opportunities were made available for them. They were isolated. Presently, they are also marginalized. The government treats them differently from the other tribes in Kenya. They even need to be vetted before being allowed to apply for certain necessities like identity cards. The leaders in the government of Somali origin do not even help their people that elected them to power from all the victimization they undergo.

At the end of the day after all has been said, it trickles down to the individual. An individual has the power to see and know that not all Somalis are terrorists. It is an undeniable fact that we have all interacted with a Somali at some point in time and those that we have interacted with should be what we judge the whole bunch of them with.

Anyway, Kenyans will always be Kenyans. We dwell more on our differences rather than similarities. We believe in separation rather than integration. We are always engaged in hate speech on a community that is not similar to the one we are associated with. This is a bad culture and eradicating it seems to be a tall order.

Terrorism is a new thing in Kenya. Everyone is trying to understand it but we end up doing so at the expense of a small community whose image has been tainted by a smaller minority in their community. We fail to look at individuals as themselves and associate them to an ethnic group. We need to actually join hands with the Somali to fight terrorism rather than considering the whole bunch as terrorists. All in all, no one would say it better than Sheikh Osman when he said in Pillars of Terror that, terrorism has neither culture nor religion.

By Christine Aseka

WATCH OUT: MODERN PASTORS

Learning how to make it in this life is a dream for everyone. Religious shortcuts are the easiest ways to use. Start a church, rise from pastor to bishop, add  a doctoral title from only you knows where, convince and confuse the followers and you're good to fly!!

The rise from humble to glorified at its best adored and desired. It is not worth cursing and  mourning about. After all it is the reason behind our daily struggles but the how we do it is a concern. Concern for morals. Concern for the course. Concern for the professional demands of the practice we engage in.

When I was young,going to church was mandatory. The lessons of the day preceded the supper and memory verse was a weekly endeavour. I may not have been the best student but the messages from the lessons were crystal clear. For the kids of our age the first lesson was  do not lie. Prone to stealing sugar and coins, it was overemphasised that do not steal.

Quarrels and boys were synonyms. Forgiveness was the next teaching and amid winning and losing we had no choice but accept the best we were taught.

A favourite class always revolved around Jesus. How he healed,gave food, made wine and how he stormed out the storm. Of significance was how he was sharp in dealing with his enemies, forgive them Father,they know not what they're doing. These lessons laid the basis of what I know about religious beliefs. The concepts of humility, tolerance,modesty,forgiveness, honesty are what I was made to believe as the ethics of religion,loving others as we love ourselves.


Learning from the media the allegations against a reknown pastor,bishop,doctor and reverend of how he killed a fellow human by bumping onto the said person using a luxurious car was interesting. How the pastor denies, responds,curses and oh!! A pastor alleged of falsehood,confirmed  cursingand not forgiving! Whether he conductedbthe said action or not,his approach and response towards the same makes him like a fellow commoner, not a revered man of the word. If this is the reaction what exactly does he teach?

Is this the way to lead the flock?

My take on religion,is that it should create harmonious relationship between fellow humans. It should show the way to the lost. It should be the ideal of the life to lead. Having a grasp of the contents of the the book used,my fear is that the pastor embraces the verse on preaching water and enjoying wine. I have no right to judge but it beats logic if I fail to question about the character.

With fake miracles and weird characters, the believers ought to rethink on whom to follow,whose lessons to implement, otherwise, like politicians, some of our modern day priests are interested in publicity be it right or wrong. In the mean time,hoping for justice system to work for the victims is all we look forward to get.

Gichimu Njeri. 

Ethnic Stigma: Somalis Are Kenyans .

In a country where the last name is a major qualification in some settings, isolation is expected. Watching the documentary  Pillars of Terror arouses emotions and bitterness. What mistake did the Somalis do to deserve isolation, mistreat and contempt?

A historic recount of this story runs across all the regimes in the country dorm the Shifta Menace in 1969 (Kenyatta era), Wagala Massacre in February 1984 (Moi era),the Kibaki era slightly launched the fire for isolation of the Somali people in the following era since the Alshabaab attacks that are associated with the people of the Somali decent has led to the demonizing of the entire community in the Uhuru era as the documentary film points out in the interviews of the Somali people.

Apart from the leadership, the media has been blamed as the main incitement tool by use of words that are sensational in nature in reference to the the alleged Alshabaab terrorists. Words such as and aliens are discriminative and without ignoring the power of the Media,the stereotype of the Somalis as terrorists has been reinforced by the media. Proper and appropriate reporting has to be called for and as Mercy Kandie (a journalist) states that the experience is new to Kenya and the reporters are learning more on how to deal with such kind of reporting, she however asserts that the media practitioners should try their best to report objectively as she also hints that before airing the reports the news items have to go through various editors who determine what exactly to post for public consumption.

As the interviews reveal,the mistreatment of the Somalis range from being handled with suspicion and even the innocent people are subjected to isolation and as suspects of terror attacks. As one Mama Rukia accounts, she was thought to have caused an explosion which she equally had no idea about.

Victims of circumstances, the Sheikh Osman Mohammed says that Somalis should be tolerant and misinterpretation of Jihad as something wrong ought to be corrected. He further calls for fair treatment of the Somalis.

One of the most conspicuous affairs that disgusted the Somalis was when the were taken to Kasarani in search of terrorists, as much as the major numbers of alleged terrorists are from the community, exposing the whole community to the search was termed unfair and trends on social media of  I am not a terrorist were viral.

Experts featured in the documentary include Professor Kembo Sure, Bishop Korir and Dr. Mbogo. They are of the opinion that language perceptions have an effect on the way people are treated. They all agree that the media, political leadership and the people should be  fair in addressing issues especially among ethnic groups to curb animosity. Bishop Korir and Sheikh Osman have similar opinions that the perpetrators should be dealt with without necessarily affecting the entire community.

In conclusion, the community should be given fair treatment but also it should be responsible to expose any suspected terror agents who might be amongst themselves in order to win the confidence of the entire nation. However, the nation should also be fair not judge the  Somalis as a community, rather as individuals. Kenya remains hopeful and as the words of the nation anthem state, may we dwell in unity,peace and liberty... Justice be our shield and defender.

Gichimu Njeri.

A HILLY EXPERIENCE: A STORY OF SAGALA

Touring is a pleasure,but long journeys are at times very boring. It was a decent send off to one of the comrades and the belief that driving to the coast means less clothes is a lie. The road to Taita,Voi,Sagala,the mountainous or is it hilly land?

The road from the land of champions to the land of pretty women is hundreds of kilometres away. As the moves,you sleep,wake,eat,sleep,still on motion. The only impressive features past Nairobi are only the dry Ukambani lands,the ongoing SGR, Standard Gauged Railway and its Chinese Constructors. Oh!!
The baobabs are interesting too!! With their wide base and the humanlike gait,bottled curvatures and the leafless branches makes you wonder why such big trees sustain themselves in an isolated world without water, and why the age factor favours their existence, hardened maybe,optionless likely.

Arrival to the coastal land is marked by the appearance of the rocky hills and the sandy grounds.

Ascension to the land requires good wheels since the coils,spirals up the hill is not soft,the local leadership has invested much on the maintenance of the natural environment and totally forgot to invest in making good roads. The roads are actually oversized footpaths enlarged by the geographic processes of the nature.
Thinking of nature,Sagala habitants are not only conservative in their culture, but also in not clearing the bushes. Even around their homesteads! Traditional bushes and trees enjoy the nature just as they were destined to to be.

A few miles from the Tsavo,buffaloes once in a while sneek to say hi to the Sagala people, making a few actions of verifying that they are wild animals.

Hills and heights means clear vision of the land beneath, early morning's stare at the sunrise is a scene to remember, the weak rays of the sun that lighten the base ,Tsavo and the road to Mombasa that is facing the competition from the new SGR makes the camera's memory to wish storing more.

Hills mean wind and the Sagala land is windy nonstop making one be armed with heavy clothing as a necessity. The wind whirls,whispers and theatens to take light things with it.

Rocky hillys,bushy,sparsely populated and brownish appearance makes the hilly world a real wild for hiking and nature walk site. With the wind blending with the sun,the inspiration to climb up and down is flavoured.

The Taitas with a Kenyan coast accent of Swahili and relatively short are highly hospitable. Generously ready to offer their meat and pilau, well cooked by the people who know what it means to prepare a meal. The people are super humble with a million and one courteous mannerisms. Ready to say welcome and sorry as part of their living,a visitor is always treated kingly by all,young and old,male and female.

And as the topic of food fades, at the coast,spoons are a rare cutlery. Washing hands is the norm and it's the expection. Fingers are the scoopers.

With a harsh terrain, agriculture is sparingly practised and the main economic activity is still a major challenge explaining the story behind the mudwalled houses and humble lifestyles.

Scorpions sporadically attack the dwellers of the hills, and, having experience and expertise on the same, special stones and herbs are used to remove the poison, and life moves on . Snakes too have a share, and the same criteria is used by the experts and even the professional doctors recommend the methods workable.

Highly religious, the Sagala people live harmoniously, and only if the local leadership can improve on the basic infrastructure, the inhabitants of Sagala are the most peaceful lot in Kenya.

A recommendable place to tour!!!
GICHIMU NJERI.