August 2009
1 post
Stood in the Congo is now
Stood in the Maasai Mara and only stood in the Maasai Mara. All posts here will stop.
All change please, all change.
(You can find the beginning of this blog here).
February 2008
15 posts
6 tags
"Man caught is sexual act with dog"
It’s a shame that I left Nairobi just before things got back to normal. “Man dies after sexual act with dog” would have been a better and more appropriate title, but Dennis seemed barely interested in the death bit and more interested in the red hand.
2 tags
A Photo a Day
at Stood in the Maasai Mara.
4 + 2 FREE GRATIS
Amir Bazarbacha is my favourite ex-Foreign Legionnaire. Not only does he encourage me to continuously smoke strong cigarettes from the moment of wake up till each day is done, he has also decided to help take care of my finances by giving me a small allowance from my salary, and transferring whatever is left to pay off the interest on my ever growing pit of debt. Friday morning took Amir from...
3 tags
Anonymous Vs. Scientology →
Pure Genius.
“Give unto Ceasar what belongs unto Ceasar.”
– Interview with Mungiki leader: Africa News.
2 tags
3 tags
19h00: Stood Next to the Window.
A lot of gunshots here in Nairobi this evening. It actually sounds rather like fireworks, but without the visual enjoyment. Armed crime is on the increase at the moment, and we’ve just received a call to say that this latest was a robbery. Although from the number of gunshots we heard I find this a little hard to believe. Unless they were in fact robbing the army.
“If you cannot control your wife, how do you think you can control a country?”
– Simon; Background.
Stood in Denial.
My favourite taxi-man Simon is a Luo. Simon received a note last week, like this one, but he could not leave as the letter demanded as he didn’t have anywhere to go. They are mostly Kikuyu where he lives and Simon is sometimes verbally taunted as he makes his way to his door. I hadn’t seen him for almost a week, and we sat in the taxi for a few minutes after arriving at my hotel apartment; he...
“I used to laugh at tourists buying maps of Nairobi. I bought one recently. It is...”
– The obituary of Simiyu Barasa, written by himself.
2 tags
“The country feels at sea without a captain.”
– Leakey; Time Article by Wadhmans
January 2008
31 posts
1 tag
US disowns 'cleansing' charge →
2 tags
US envoy calls violence in Kenya "ethnic... →
3 tags
It's decided then.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to vote. It has been almost 24 hours since the poll was launched, 51 of you have voted, and the results seem to be pretty unanimous: “This feels like quite a responsibility” suggested Chris, and he’s right. Many of you through Facebook said that it was only I who could make the decision, but I’m afraid you’re all wrong as...
Uncertainty in Kenya
Following on from comments in a previous post, it seems that I am still somewhat uncertain of which direction to take in my so called career. Although life in the Masai Mara may seem like a lovely option, it is a far cry from the career in advertising that I have so far failed miserably to achieve. So what should it be? Six months in the Masai Mara, or the pursuit of a proper job with daily...
3 tags
"Stampede in Town" →
Ushahidi
“If you take a bus to my home town Kisumu, they stop you. They stop you on the...”
– Simon, Taxi Driver in Nairobi.
Possibly maybe.
3 tags
Disposable razors it is.
On Thursday, the NGO I am leaving managed to re-employ me for someone else. And for the same salary that I had already refused. But it seems that I won’t be needing the money to live the Mzungu lifestyle in Nairobi as I’ll instead be living in the middle of the Masai Mara for the next six months. In a tent.
...and we're back.
A prayer meeting was held in town today. When the police arrived the crowd got angry and the meeting turned into a riot. They attacked Telcom House and set fire to it, and 14 people inside had to be rescued. All phone lines and internet here in the office have been down as a result from about midday until about seven minutes ago. Well, that’s what I’ve been told, but if you look out...
3 tags
3 tags
Poverty Makes History
Sunday morning we left the rain, the riot police, the now ominous Kibaki Tena billboards (Kibaki Once More), and headed southwest to see the flamingoes at Magadi. Magadi Soda Company Apart from the potholes, it’s still fairly easy to travel around Kenya and it’s good to see that the British Foreign Office have amended their travel advice: they advise that you avoid the Western and...
Nairobi Now
My favourite taxi man stayed at home towards the end of last week, and so each evening after work we would haggle with the taxi men at Yaya for a reasonable fare back to the hotel. “My friend, everything is so much more expensive. Have you seen how much the petrol is now?” “My friend, it is the same price as it was this morning.” Sometimes too tired, I would accept the 50%...
3 tags
4 tags
3 tags
I am a Congolese from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. That part of DRC cannot survive without Kenya. Businessmen from that region import mostly industrial goods from Kenya. In addition, the port of Mombasa is the door for the region’s imports from Dubai, India, Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan. In fact, the eastern part of DRC is more like part of the East Africa Community. ...
Sukuma Kenya →
Please visit, please give. Please link to this site.
Business as usual.
Although just before midday, from our office (very near Yaya), gun shots were heard.
2 tags
“While reading through the news I was mostly concerned with the plight of the...”
– Oh dear. Source
“We have two choices, either go to work or march on the streets. People should...”
1 tag
Milimani Appartments, Nairobi
I borrowed a stack of DVDs and once bored of that I was going to read my book by the pool, maybe even do a few lengths. But this morning Nairobi woke up to four hours of rain. Murmurs from the hotel bar report that the city is calm; “maybe something later”. I’ll be venturing out at about midday.
Near Yaya, Nairobi
Riot police are scattered throughout the city. There’s a fire engine outside Yaya Shopping Centre; windows that face out have been boarded up. The proceedings from within parliament are been transmitted on the radio.
Kivi Milimani, Nairobi
For safety reasons, office has been closed for tomorrow and Wednesday. Work plans inolving travel are not to be made in the current climate and so I have moved out of my hotel room into a hotel appartment, with a one month contract. It’s the first time since arriving in Africa that I will be somewhere long enough to actually unpack my bag. Okay, so it wasn’t a great effort as I no...
4:00 pm
Couple of cars overturned outside Nakumatt. Apparently calls for mass protest are for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Parliament opens on Tuesday.
3:15pm
“Small riots” on Dagorett Corner, Ngong Road. Fellow colleagues are leaving the office to their homes.
Stood in Nairobi
There are strong rumours that ODM will ‘go live’ this afternoon, calling for mass action across Kenya.
Ushahidi - Report Acts of Violence in Kenya →
December 2007
9 posts
Lying Down in the Serengeti
The rains have been late this year and we are now realising that we can no longer know our seasons. Is there climate change in your country?
Yes, our summers are no longer as hot and our winters aren't as cold. We used to have snow but not any more... Why do you think we have climate change?
It is the end of the world.