The Obama Sevens
A complete run-down of all the craziness going down in Kenya ahead of Barack Obama’s visit.
Kenya
Let Kenyan planes fly
The writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o on the Kenyan government’s habit of inhibiting the country’s talents.
Africa, in a state of constant self-discovery
Afripedia is a visual guide to contemporary urban culture on the continent.
The Long History of the Garissa Attacks
April. The month of the long rains was upon us, and with its compulsive deluge flowed memories of an old hate. In Kenya, a cycle of violence enduring since the colonial period has been re-stoked, oblivious to the 21 years of “Never Agains” since the Rwandan genocide. As the horror of the massacre of 148 student from Garissa University […]
The Kenyan version of the war on terror
Why the wall Kenya is building on its border with Somalia is a terrible idea.
Digital Matatus
For the past couple of months, I’ve only been able to get out posts on a biweekly basis because my graduate school load was fairly heavy. But things have eased up a bit for now and I’m hoping that I can get back on a weekly schedule since there are so many awesome projects that deserve […]
#AfricanLivesMatter, Why Do They Not Mourn Along With Us?
One week ago, one hundred and forty seven/147 young adults met their death at the hands of terrorists in Garissa, Kenya. The number, whether alphabetically or numerically written out, holds no value. It is so arbitrary and trivial, yet it is what most media headlines were fixated on. As the hours went by and the […]
Memorializing all Kenya’s terror victims
"I want to go to a place ... where we can find the names of all those who have died for Kenya since 1963."--Binyavanga Wainaina.
How to make sense of #Garissa
For starters, you may want to switch off television news, especially "global news networks," and follow local media as well as the people below on social media.
The Venice Hustle
How an Italian hotelier came to represent Kenya at the Venice Biennale.
On The Way to School
A new documentary film offers a dignified and moving counterweight to how we in the West think - in static, sometimes pathologizing images - of kids elsewhere.
5 Questions for a Filmmaker: Hawa Essuman
Essuman believes that confining any storyteller to labels like "African stories" is a disservice to the story and the one telling it.
The A to Z of Kenyan Twitter
“Twitter is going to change Kenya!” I declared in my presentation. We’d just set up a “Twitterfall” behind me, glowing on one of the plasma screens. It scrolled up with a clockwork flow showing the 25-odd attendees their tweets in real-time. Trickling down one after the other it featured the tweets and responses from those […]
#MyDressMyChoice
In Kenya, women are organizing against the gender and moral police. Theyr'e using hashtags: #SavetheMiniskirt, #StripMeNot and #MyDressMyChoice.
5 Questions for a Filmmaker–Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann
Born in Bonn in 1985, Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann is a Kenyan and German photographer and filmmaker. She is intrigued by the invisible boundary between individual and collective identities, and fascinated by the influence of ancestral memory, living space and culture on our understanding of ourselves. She is drawn to Lamu, an Island in the Indian Ocean, where The Donkey that Carried the […]
Ali Mazrui and Me
A fateful meeting with Mazrui, the famed Kenyan historian and broadcaster.
How to bet and win against the (international) system
Uhuru Kenyatta went to The Hague to defend himself against charges of war crimes. He's always managed to stay one step ahead of the Court.
Letter to Kenya
How much longer must we take everything with a pinch of salt or search for ways to laugh through the pain in our hearts? How much of our personal freedom and security do we have to sacrifice?
What is happening to Mombasa, Kenya?
Historically known for a relaxed pace of life, Mombasa on Kenya’s coast has also been a regional hub for business, trade and tourism. Its population is diverse; recent figures indicate the city is divided between Christians and Muslims (59% and 41%, respectively), with one-third of inhabitants also originating from outside of the region. Along with […]
What’s in the future for Lamu on Kenya’s Coast
Lamu Old Town is an ancient, bustling city of palm trees and artisans and stories, where trades and traditions are passed down from generation to generation largely unchanged. Acting as a trading hub for centuries, the archipelago’s food, architecture, religions, dress, music, and language are indicative of African, Arab, Persian, Indian, Asian and European influences, […]