A leading exporter of broadcasters

As a country we have only exhibited prodigious talent in athletics at the world stage. Our scientists, writers, actors, engineers, inventors and artists have not found room at the very top of their professions, save for an occasional loner here and there. We have displayed flashes of short-lived brilliance in the spheres of diplomacy and peace keeping (and maybe in the beauty and modeling department), but we don’t have the staying power to be recognized as a having a clout in these areas. What I mean is that Brazilians will have a resounding presence in the top 100 footballers in the world. Scandinavians are crazy and competent in motor rallying. Jamaicans can sprint. Croatians are good in basketball. Cubans and Thais can box. Cricket makes the Indians and Pakistanis go gaga. Italians can sing opera. The French are good in matters culinary. And yes Kenyans and Ethiopians can run! Apart from athletics the other one area in which we have had a more than fair per capita share at the world stage would be in the area of electronic broadcasters. When you think about it, we have Zain Verjee, Jeff Koinange at CNN, Solomon Mugera at BBC, Esther Githui and Vincent Makori at VOA and probably a few others with leading media houses out there. Is this a specialist area for Kenyans and should we concentrate on giving the world more? Maybe the brand of English and Swahili taught and spoken here have been our unsung heroes in aiding our people conquer the broadcasting world. Or is it our education system? Is it exposure? The new crop of journalists follows in the footsteps of successful old-timers who had already made an impact in their own small way at the world stage. We had Mohamed Amin and his poignant portraits of a hungry continent in the 1980’s. Salim Lone had also excelled in communications at the UN. Shabanji Opukah still reigns at the London office of BAT. Although environment may play a role in nurturing world beaters, it helps to have worthy role models. My contenders for the seamless entry onto the world stage would include Lillian Muli, Louis Otieno and Julie Gichuru from TV. They are real and have the confidence and presence to carry them. A number of their peers have, however, decided that imitation is the best form of flattery and today you have many young pretenders on the small screen trying too hard to be like Richard Quest. The common factor in the rise of all these world-beaters is a sound foundation in technical knowledge by way of journalism or communications studies. Our local Radio “stars” on the other hand are a motley of backgrounds; from bank cashiers, taxi drivers, IT specialists, lawyers, anthropologists, actors, budding musicians, comedians, dancers, et al. The common denominator here is that they passed a “voice test”!

My goals for 2007 and beyond

My Children

-Spend quality time together -Shield them from negative, tribal, class and narrow attitudes -Invest for their education -A family vacation every August

Money -Live within my means, no credit cards, no borrowing, if I cant afford it then I don’t need it -Make sure I save at least 15% of my income -Ensure I invest at least 20% of my income

Health -No fatty foods, eat more natural and boiled foods -No sugary foods, -More fruits -Exercise at home, use the stairs at work and walk everywhere else Relationships -Make more time for Family -Find time for all my friends pro rata -Keep in meaningful touch with all my old friends, acquaintances. Nurture friendships

Hobbies -Travel and see more of the country -Go camping at any opportunity -Travel to neighboring countries by road -Travel to India, Pakistan, Dubai, SA, China, Thailand, Australia and Brazil -Learn how to swim -Rekindle my interest in photography

Writing -Specialize in my writing -At least two posts on my web log per week

Retirement -Start planning the building my retirement home in some exotic locale. To be complete in another 15 years

E-Wishes

The mobile phone is about 6 years old in Kenya and every new day is a revelation on the profound influence this gadget continues to have over our lives. The days of the traditional Christmas cards may not be exactly numbered, but more Kenyans are complementing them with short, pithy 160-character text messages with newfound dexterity. The year 2004 was my first conscious encounter with these messages and I received some beautiful and meaningful ones that very rightly captured the mood. They came from all over the country and occasionally from overseas. Many were in English, while a few others were in Swahili and a rare one in vernacular. Humorous messages are very common and will cut across religion, nostalgia and the feel-good emotions associated with the holiday season. Last year, I decided not to re-edit or forward any of the numerous text wishes I received, but that did not stop them coming. This year will be different and I will dedicate about a thousand shillings to send out at least 200 electronic wishes to family friends and acquaintances. I will save and share the best with you here.

50 Things To Do Before You Die

The other day I caught a TV programme titled “50 things to do before you die” on BBC Prime and quickly recorded the top 30 items on the list. 30. Travel the 6000kms Trans Siberia Railway 29. Trek through a rainforest 28. Travel to space 27. Wander at a waterfall 26. Trek Mount Everest 25. Cowboy ranching 24. Ride motorbike on open road 23. Explore Antartica 22. See elephants in the world 21. Travels on the Orient Express 20. Helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon 19. Drive Route 66 18. Travel the Rocky Mountaneer 17. Bungee jumping 16. Walking the Great Wall of China 15. White water rafting 14. Drive a formula 1 car 13. Escape to a paradise island 12. Climb Sidney Harbour bridge 11. Walk the Inca trail 10. See the northern lights 9. Go on Safari 8. Fly in a jet fighter 7. Fly in a hot air balloon 6. Sky diving 5. Diving with sharks 4. Whale watching 3. Fly on Concorde 2. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef 1. Swimming with dolphins From where am seated in Kenya, these are not exactly earth-shattering activities, and you doubt if you had a poll here any of these items would feature anywhere. To start with, we don’t have a fully functioning passenger railway system yet and we can therefore do away with all the items that try to romanticize railway travel. The condition of our roads is well known and it is unKenyan to glorify road travel. I mean we all want to travel by air. Only less than 1% of our people are familiar with a plane and flying in the Concord, jet fighter is more hot air than a hot air balloon can handle! Who wants to take a backbreaking road trip for leisure? We only do it when we must, like travel upcountry to see folks, bury a relative or while working. To even imagine a motorbike ride is suicidal itself! You must be a messenger or crazy to imagine the undignified motorcycle as anything worth your time! Waterfalls are numerous out here and you cannot think of a mere geographical occurrence as a must-do item. Back at the village, you just walk downstream and your waterfall is sitting there waiting for you. As for white water rafting, our villages are flooded every other year and kayaking and rafting with your furniture is a necessary survival and not a recreational skill. Who wants to dive with sharks and dolphins? Did you say thrill? Try walking home with the River Tana crocodiles swimming in the flooded streets of Garissa for sport! We are putting up hundreds of kilometers of electric fences and digging traps and trenches to keep wild elephants out of our homes while someone is dying to see elephants in the wild? How about an exchange programme- you came live with our wild elephants for a change? Taking a matatu to work using our uneven, potholed roads will work up a substantial amount of adrenalin-on a daily basis. That is more excitement in a week than you require in a lifetime. So strike out that bungee jumping business. The one thing all Kenyans want before they die is to be rich. All else will follow. Seek Ye the Money and everything else falls in place.

Naikuni explained.

I recently had occasion to read a very illuminating book on the business of airlines and in particular the rise and rise of Ryanair. The book by Irish Times Finance Correspondent Siobhan Creaton titled “ Ryanair-How a Small Irish Airline Conquered Europe” is a detailed account of the people and events that turned a dream into reality. It is the story of Tony Ryan, his success in plane leasing and his vision of starting an airline. It is the story of Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines in America and his low fares model in America. It is the story of Michael O’Leary the current CEO. It is the story of the “no frills” concept and its impact on world travel. Today Ryanair is the biggest low-fares airline carrying 28 million people on 220 routes across 19 countries (2005) . This is the company that perfected the “no frills” model by doing away with First and Business classes, window blinds, reclining seats, Velcro-anchored head rest covers, seat pockets and issuing sick bags on demand while you buy your own refreshments on board. Back at the office, O’Leary banned Post-it stickers and highlighter pens and encouraged staff to steal biros to save money even as charging of mobile phones at work is banned thereby saving 1.4 pence per charge. In case of a flight cancellations and delays, in the earlier days, Ryanair had a policy of no meal or accommodation vouchers. No refunds and did not entertain complaints from dissatisfied customers. They even considered wheelchairs for the disabled a frill until they were forced by the courts to provide them and accept limited liability for delays and cancellations. Of course such measures are the ones that get the traveling world shocked by their audacity and boldness. Behind the scenes, Ryanair’s growth and profitability is largely due to the low cost base in all its operations. The CEO was not averse to cajoling and at times arm-twisting airport owners and operators into signing on Ryanair at ridiculously low charges for passenger taxes and handling charges with the promise of high passenger volumes. The airline started the trend of flying into low traffic provincial airports that would usually be anything from half hour to a couple of hours away from a major city. That is how destinations like Charleroi, Hahn, Lubeck, Brescia, Perpignan, Montpellier, Malmo, Carcassone,, Pisa, Treviso, Beauvais, and some such destinations have become vogue destinations. As I read the book, there was this uncanny similarity between O’Leary and our own turnaround artist, Titus Naikuni. From local press reports and the grapevine, you don’t get surprised that the airline seems to weather all challenges in its wake and despite doomsayers using the post 9/11 realities to predict turbulence for the company, Naikuni and his team have continued conquering the skies of Africa and beyond. Back in the 90’s I fondly recall the excitement tinged with a dose of patriotism generated by the purchase of three Airbus planes. Today the airline seems to be receiving a new Boeing every other month. The partnership with KLM has availed the advantages of shared resources, but that will not explain the poor performance of other local companies both wholly or partially owned by giant multi-nationals, but with low profitability and stagnated growth despite a trans-continental umbilical cord. I believe his person and a deliberate availability of the requisite resources have worked for him and the airline’s shareholders. He has elbowed the traditional travel agent out of the game by encouraging online transactions and lower commissions for agency services, outsourced services like staff transport, gone into the tours business of selling holiday packages and reduced turn-around times. Aircraft only make money when in the air and I think Kenya Airways is doing well in this respect. They are also overbooking their profitable routes like Mombasa and ensuring that each flight has tens of “bumped” passengers while price wars are their way of guarding their turf. Naikuni is as brave and bold as they come and has recently demanded and got government to embark on expanding JKIA with a view to turning our airport into a continental hub. In ten years time he thinks we may even need a new airport all together. His recent suspension of flights to Kisumu forced Kenya Airports Authority to do the required repairs with egg all over their faces. He now believes that Northern Kenya is ripe for scheduled air travel and has lobbied government to consider giving the airline access to military airports in the region even as he blames underdeveloped infrastructure for the low air travel figure that Kenya suffers from. From the story on Ryanair, I learnt that it’s cheaper and convenient to fly than taking a bus, train or ferry for many Europeans. It’s easy to dismiss that as a developed world phenomena, but I recently learnt from an Indian visitor that there are over 20 internal airlines and it costs as low as a thousand rupees (Kshs. 1,600) to fly from Mumbai to Chennai. It’s cheaper than the train and he amused me with tales of farmers straight from the shamba sharing seats with sophisticated business executives. The Indian economy is booming, but I totally understand what Naikuni is saying. People will travel to destinations you have never heard of if the price is right. Competition is also good and I hope KQ would not resort to blocking the entry of competition like the Irish national airline, Aer Lingus, did when faced with Ryanair’s entry. These strategies are similar to what Ryanair and other low fare airlines like easyJet are using to keep ahead of the competition. Tony Ryan sent his young personal assistant to study the Southwest Airlines in America. He learnt the low fare model from the first innovators and ably applied the same to Ryanair. I am sure other airlines have copied the models and practices. I believe the success at KQ may be modeled on the success of airlines like Ryanair and Southwest Airlines. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel and I don’t see any reason why the lessons learnt in airlines cannot be replicated with success in other businesses.

Some Quiet Time Just For Me

The last one week was my quiet time. I took a break from everything and almost everyone, shipped the kids to their grandma, switched the TV and phone off, read no papers, listened to no radio apart from my favourite morning show and generally did nothing between nine and six in the evenings. In the past, all my leave days have been consumed by tasks that I usually plan in advance. In fact months before the break, I have listed down all the errands, assignments and tasks that need my attention. This habit finds me back at work more bewildered and wishing for the next break. This time round, I got some ten days off and decided to "go away" for the first five days and "come back" in the last five. This post will therefore commemorate my coming out! I am the worrying type and on any given day I am busy going through various issues in my mind. December is especially a worrysome time. What with the holidays coming, shopping, school fees and other new year obligations. While at work, I am always thinking ahead on what needs to get done even at night. It is hard for me to let go and be. That analysis is the bad news. The good news is that I am conscious of of this shortcoming and resorted to doing something about it. Which is why, I decided to try and take a break from my life so to speak. How did I get by while I was away? The biggest achievement was to be able to read one book in a day. During my younger days, I was a voracious book reader and could devour a 200 page book in four hours. I remember reading Jeffrey Archer's Kane & Abel in one night. A good book would transport me to another world devoid of noise, distractions, hunger pangs, sleep and buzzing mosquitos. With all the din in my life today, I take at least two months to read one book, four or five pages at a time. I have taken to reading two or more books at a time (which I think is a terrible habit). I have been fined lots of shillings for library books that are returned late and half read. I probably needed to remind myself of my old form. The rest of the time was taken to reflect on my life. I have recently overcome the difficult art of honestly setting measurable targets in my life. A successful Kenyan recently said that he views everything before him as a project. A project has a start and an end date. A project is a planned activity. In a project you plan for the tools and resources needed to achieve your desired goal. Some projects are easy to plan, execute and finalise; while others are better abandoned. Some are ahead of their time. A project is definite. Should you view your compartmentalised life in the light of numerous projects, you will match or exceed your targets and also be easy to live with when you fail, pend, cancel or abandon other projects. What am I saying? Reflecting is not a project, but I was soul searching on my past, my present and my future life. What "project" could have been undertaken differently? Which ones were ahead of their time? Which ones were crazy and out of this world? I reflected on all these issues. I reflected some more. I think some projects will need to be brought out of the back burner and into the front row. Some will have to get external help to stay afloat. Some will have to be passed to the next generation if ever there is hope of success. Apart from the reflecting business, I also had some little time to appreciate the quiet of the home without my two kids. Since they were born, I have not known a quiet minute inside my home. Sleep is a premium now, so is listening to my Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Satchmo and company. Watching a movie is only possible with sub-titles on. I love my kids very much. I also love an hour of quiet very much. I will not ship them off to a bording school because I dont believe in that. My only comfort is that in another half decade or so, they will be glum,gloomy and brooding teenagers. I wish them well. I wish them cacophonous offspring. Yeah, I reflected on that as well. That put a smile on my face. I want to be around to witness that. Well the quiet time is over and am "back" to finalise on numerous things that need to be done. The kids are back soon and we can all go back to our usual lives. I have missed them. The outcome of my reflecting week will however be put to test in the new year when I dust the 2006 resolutions and rebrand them "Projects for 2007".

The Great Migration

It is that time of the year again. The mad rush to the coast starts any time now. The December holiday season built around the schools holiday, Jamhuri weekend, Christmas and New Year holidays is probably the richest and busiest time for the hospitality industry at the coast. Everybody wants to be at the coast over the Christmas period, but if that does not work out due to other engagements, the Jamhuri and New Year period is good enough. Of course the traditional sojourn to the village is forever popular and is fitted in somewhere. The motivation for most middle class Nairobians, who form the longest beeline to the coast, is more to be with “it” than the recreational value they hope to get from such a vacation. There is especially enormous peer pressure via older offspring if their friends are down there, competitors if you are in business, workmates or friends and chama-mates to join the herd. This irrational holidaying eliminates the possibility of taking a vacation at what would be considered relatively cheaper low or off-peak seasons. During the migration period, a three-star double room on half board basis usually goes for an average of Kshs. 15,000 and assuming you have two kids then you have a daily expenditure of about Kshs. 25,000 and a weekly spend of Kshs.175, 000 ($ 2,430) before you factor in your flight or car costs, taxi, refreshments, outings including one more meal per day, entrance fees to museums and miscellaneous costs. The same room would normally go for about 40-60% less during the off-peak season depending on duration of stay, size of group and mode of booking. Even at these exorbitant prices, rooms are surprisingly scarce and it is common to hear of late or double booked clients staying at staff quarters until something becomes available. Of course the season of bounty means that the level of service goes a notch or two lower due to congestion beyond capacity and the problems associated with casual labour hurriedly assembled. Complaints are not attended to and even basics like a clean pair of sheets may be overlooked. For a regular traveler or a repeat client familiar with the best standards, it is a very trying time and often leads to “never again” vows. Cottages outside official hotels are also very popular and are cashing in on the great migration. In Mombasa they are called cottages, but up the beach in Malindi they become Villas and around Naivasha they are Chalets. The names are not a function of architecture, but semantics. They are generally the same thing. In a cottage, you take care of your cooking, washing and are generally left to your own designs as opposed to a hotel setting where meal times are specific and they arrange for your entertainment during the day and in the evenings. Cottages are good for groups of friends who know their way around. Home holidays are also in vogue and it is common to hear of vacationers who exchange their homes for a week or so. A family in Mombasa naturally wants to be out of the migration’s way and the easiest way is to leave their home to trusted friends or relatives from upcountry; who in turn will make available their home. To ensure the visitors settle comfortably, some arrangement for resident servants can be made. It is a cost effective way of seeing the country especially if you have relatives and friends in far-flung corners of the country. Two recent developments will aid the movement of vacationers to and from the coast. Firstly, Kenya Airways has dedicated their latest birds to the insatiable traffic on the NBO-MSA-NBO route. Although their deliberate policy of overbooking each and every flight does not ensure universal satisfaction for all travellers, they still deliver a quality product compared to the planes and service of the 90s. On the other hand, a new carrier, Fly 540 has joined the route with an enticing Kshs.5, 450/= price (there is a * attached which could only mean 3,200/= in taxes) for a return trip as compared to the Kshs.16, 900/= (or 11,700/=if you are organised enough to book months before) charged by KQ and Kshs. 12,200/= by East African. The Fly 540 capacity cannot dent KQ’s dominance of the route and can only gratify any grousers who need another airline for the sake of change. The second development has been a while taking shape. With the severe damage occasioned by the El Nino rains in 1998, the Mombasa highway has almost been rebuilt anew. In 2002, the 150 kilometer section between Mtito Andei and Bachuma Gate was reconstructed by China Road & Bridge Corporation. The 90 km section between Bachuma Gate and Mariakani was also re-carpeted, but without proper shoulders. Early this year the 150 km Mtito Andei- Sultan Hamud section was completed by Strabag. The 70 km section between Machakos turn-off and Mlolongo though rough and uneven is still good by our standards. In the near future, this section will be a dual carriageway. At the opposite end, work on the 35 km Mariakani-Miritini section has already started and in fact some seven kilometers is already open. The super efficient China Road & Bridge Corporation are on site. The four hundred and eighty five kilometer journey to the coast is kaleidoscopic with some 100 kilometers of above average roads, 300 kilometers of probably the best continuous road in the country, some 35 kilometers of the worst surface pretending to be a road anywhere in the world. The rest is taken by dual carriageways that start and end your journey on both ends. It is rumored that the Sultan Hamud-Mtito Andei section shaved some kilometers by bypassing a couple of small towns like Machinery. Whether one is using a self-drive car or public means, the road is now largely good. Self-drive is possible inside five hours with leisurely stops in between, while public means takes a painfully long eight hours. For a car consuming a liter for every 12 kilometers, you need 40 liters which will cost Kshs. 3,112/=. That is assuming you are not driving a monster or faster than the legal 110 kph. Coast Bus costs between Kshs. 1,100/=, 1,500/= and 1,800/= per person depending on luxury standards of the bus. Most of the other transporters will charge up to1, 500/= in view of the season. Once you find your way, there is plenty to do at the coast and traditionally the beach visit is a must for both swimmers and the sinking type. A shopping tour of the island is also recommended. The five storied and themed Nawal Centre at Mwembe Tayari is a novelty even for the know-it-all seen-it-all Nairobian. Fort Jesus with a guide still ranks up there for those with a thing for history. So is a guided tour of the old town and port around Fort Jesus. Away from the island, the Haller Park in Bamburi and Ngomongo Village in Shanzu are both educative and a good way of spending half a day. Bob’s pub in Nyali is the place for the quintessential Nairobian to be seen. Sunday night live performance by Mombasa Roots is worth the time and money. The Mtwapa suburb has a bohemian feel about it and for the night owls it’s the one neighbourhood that never sleeps. The Moorings in the Mtwapa Creek is a quiet floating restaurant that is ideal for adults looking for a quiet time. Further out, you have Shimba Hills National Reserve to the south through the Likoni Channel. The Park borders Kwale town and is small and near enough for a half day excursion from Mombasa. If you have appetite for the exotic, Wasini Island past the Shimoni village would be ideal. Hire a boat and go see the dolphins. The border point at Lunga Lunga is only 90 kilometres from Mombasa and if you are polite to immigration officers on both sides, you can be allowed to walk “abroad” to the makeshift Horo Horo town on the Tanzania side. South of Mombasa has borne the brunt of the recent floods and it is good to get an up-to-date brief on the road’s condition, but it’s a good and near destination if you want to see the Tiomin country, the collapsed Ramisi sugar factory and irrigation scheme or detour into the Tiwi, Diani or Shelly beaches. North Coast is a favourite for many. Vipingo, Kilifi,Gede, Watamu, Malindi are all within a day’s reach from Mombasa and are exiting destinations with an array of possibilities to fit a couple of day’s itinerary. So, if a stampede is your idea of fun, see you at the coast. I will be the portly guy in shorts and ill fitting Hawaiian shirt sweating profusely. Other popular destinations this festive season include. -Naivasha -Nanyuki -Nakuru, Bogoria, Baringo -Narok Tekelea

My Kid Cried For Melton

Melton Cephas was eliminated from the Tusker Project Fame contest on Saturday night and in a clip broadcast on Sunday night, the dude cried a river! Between sobs the disconsolate Melton vowed to head straight to a studio to make serious music. His emotional departure was brought to my household by my three year old daughter who could not understand why Melton was sad. On explaining the concept of elimination in her limited vocabulary, she was more bewildered and wanted to know if Melton was a bad person. What did he do? If he said sorry, would he stay? Of course I was a tinge sympathetic as well. I loved his Elvis persona and renditions, but agreed with one of the judges that to be a star, he needed to be himself. Anyway, I got thinking about my daughter’s reaction and wondered if it was all scripted. Is this reality planned? Is it spontaneous? I am not sure, but I know the “beef” between Simon Cowell…oops...I mean between Ian Mbugua and Gaetano is choreographed. The interest and mentions generated by such drama is music to the sponsors and will definitely translate into both higher sales for their products and the desired embedding of the brand in our minds. As pure entertainment, the show is good, but for heaven’s sake keep my baby out of it. Don’t mess with her fragile emotions. Tekelea

Finally Here

It's good to set foot into blogsphere, albeit on the wrong foot. My first posting misfired and all I ended with was some vague title and no text to back it. That was corrected a day later and despite the mis-steps, I am glad to finally be able to put my thoughts out there. It is a learning process. I am a good student. The journey begins!

Kabila wins the DRC ballot

An acquaintance who is Africa-literate by way of a West African birth, East and Horn of Africa work experience and marriage to a Great Lakes Regional belle recently educated me on the “real” strength and might of African Military. He has gained these insights from wide travel across the continent and watching Africans in despair due to man-made catastrophes that could be avoided. We were discussing the long-drawn Congo elections and why democracy was necessary by hook or crook. The issue of natural resources as a magnet for undesirables came up as the explanation for a whole eight neighboring and distant nations “invasion” of the country in the recent past. Uganda and Rwanda opened a front on the eastern border, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola were on the southern front while South Africa, France, Belgium, AU, UN and a host of mercenaries from Africa and beyond all claimed pieces of the second biggest and resource-rich country in Africa. Anyway his brief report on real and imagined African muscle:- South Africa- Saboteurs long used to hide-and-seek tactics to poison or blow away dams, power stations, bridges and foment trouble for neighbors. They gave up nuclear weapons voluntarily, though. Ethiopia- Hardened. The only real power with adequate hardware and practice. Backed by a pride of being the only African country that was never colonized. Have been sitting idle since they sorted out the Eritrean problem. Uganda- Bully. Gaining notoriety for invading and intimidating neighbours. Gets adequate practice both at home and abroad. Since LRA are demobilizing, someone needs to keep the boys occupied with more than board games. Zimbabwe- Idle. Former guerillas that are not used to the regimental demands of a regular army. Could easily turn aggressor on their own people, but lately found some wide open grounds up north in Congo to do all those things that Mama said you couldn’t do. Somalia- Disordered. Every village elder (read warlord) has his own militia. 15 years of internal strife is used by the west as an indication of how hopeless Africa and Africans can be. For Africans though, Somalia is our living example of why tribalism is not THE problem with Africa. Resources are the issue everywhere. Rwanda- Mean and lean. Small nosy army that loves to fight in other people’s backyards. Burundi- Who? Hard to tell who the army is and who is a rebel. Not a threat to the outside, but with the perennial Hutu-Tutsi problem, you fear that an idiot on one end of the country could ignite a huge firework that the neighbors will ignore until after silence means that everybody is dead! Tanzania- No clue. Largely isolated limited to short haul Amin-bashing trips up north in the late 70s and mid 80s. Remember that Tanzania got private TV in 1994 and state TV in 2001 long after CNN, long after the Gulf War. Can you imagine that? Sudan- Color coded. Taking pot shots at your own subjects in the south for 21 years is a habit you don’t drop one morning. With peace coming in the south the military suddenly discovered Darfur. Anyway. Congratulations to Monsieur Kabila for winning the first free elections in Zaire/DR Congo. Let’s keep it together brother.

An open letter to KFF Caretaker Commttiee and Harambee Stars Management Board

Dear KFF Caretaker Committee & HSMB, Since your appointment, am sure you have received a steady flow of unsolicited advice from all sorts of people and institutions on how best you should chart the way into football’s promised world. I am not sure how many kawaida fans have approached you, but if you are agreeable, allow me, by way of an open letter, to represent this silent majority that may just hold the key to your success and glory. By way of introduction, I am one of the 30-million kawaida citizens who may not make to sit on the same table with eminent persons such as you. I am just a Kenyan football fan, sadly forced to live on the fringes of the “beautiful game” by inept sports’ administrators with little regard of my small place in the bigger picture called Kenyan Football. Even as I welcomed your appointment with both anticipation as well as a sense of déjà vu, bearing in mind that similar attempts have been made in the past and all came to a cropper, but praying that this recent attempt will finally get it right; I am aware that at a personal and national level, time is running out both literally and symbolically. Running out for both Kenyan football as well as for all the other mere shabikis like me. I mean we cannot sit around waiting for selfish officialdom to sort things out forever. A handful for sports administrators, sports journalists, retired referees; former football players, sponsors and busybodies have hogged all the football limelight to the detriment of the real owners of the game. A personal testimony may be appropriate here to illustrate to you my dreams, wishes, and aspirations as far as football is concerned. Let me define my football to you. I am not an active player; I was never a serious player. But I am a stakeholder though. I am a fan. A kawaida shabiki. Allow me then to get off my chest what I consider to be your obligations to me. I love the electrifying atmosphere that a full stadium generates. I recall with nostalgia the All African Games final between Kenya and Egypt way back in 1987. I can re-live the sights, sounds and smells that rent the air on Thika Road that night. Like many of the 80,000 other Kenyans in the stadium that night, I was on a high for weeks! I have since gone on to experience a handful of similar memorable moments watching cricket, hockey and athletics. It is an experience worth spending money and time in pursuit of. Fill the stadiums for me. Fill the stadiums with me. I love football for its entertainment and recreational value. I would love to share the experience of a packed stadium with my seven-year-old son. His only “stadium” experience is limited to the paltry 5,000 annual rugby crowd during the Safari Sevens tournament. Who would not want that experience every other weekend? It’s your duty to facilitate that. In view of the chaos and disorder that has taken place in our football stadiums, I would be an idiot to risk my life for “mere football”. You are duty bound to ensure that every fan that walks through the stiles of any venue you have hired will leave in one piece. The fan need not be well behaved. It is your duty to prepare for any eventuality. If you must hire a security guard or policeman for each fan, so be it! Assure me of my security. Along with that, it is your duty to ensure that arrangements are made for every one of the fans to get to the venue and back home with minimal inconvenience. How do you dream of filling a stadium with 40,000 people, but don’t care how they get there or leave. However much I love football, I don’t want to get home at 11.00 pm from a game that ended at 6.00pm. Transport logistics are a part of the package. Sports’ marketing has elevated football earnings to levels un-imagined a few decades ago. Even in a ramshackle football economy like ours, you see money made through pay TV and merchandising of both genuine and counterfeit football related goods and services. Unfortunately this business is not big enough to create substantial jobs and most of the income is repatriated to South Africa, Taiwan, China or UK. With my kadogo disposable income of two thousand shillings, I and another 300,000 Kenyans could support a 600 million shillings monthly spend on football. Local football first and later on foreign football. Find ways of getting my disposable income. I have a friend who regales me with stories of his erstwhile fanatic support for AFC Leopards. He watched every single game they played in the country, traveled to out of town match venues on a shoe string budget, and slept in buses just to be there at kick off and final whistle. His life was centered on the team. He was a member of a community. The AFC community. The twist in his story is that he was not drawn from the usual bastion of AFC supporters as would be expected. He is not even from a very football-fluent community. His experience and that of tens of thousands of other Kenyans, tells me that tribalizing football is retrogressive and has no place in today’s sports arena. Lets it be an accident of proximity, but don’t encourage Maasais, Kambas, Rendilles, Pokots, Taitas, etc to come up with a tribal team for the sake of it. Football is a universal language and does not need to be dressed in tribal garb. Keep politicians and their balkanizing tendencies out of football. The Kenyan stocks market has gone through a metamorphosis that has re-drawn the realities of finance mobilization. As a country we are now confident about our ability and response to investment opportunities. Football can be managed as a business and attract both the capital and human resources that would ensure success. We all understand football as a product and if you ask me, I know many fans that would invest in a business they understand. I don’t like the impression created that Kenyan sports should be a perennial receiver of other people’s gratitude. Sports can make profits. Football can be a profitable business. Incubate such teams that can be an example to others. In ten years every team in the National 1st, 2nd and 3rd division leagues, provincial and district leagues should all run as viable business. Work on assuring the investor’s confidence. You won’t believe it but I know the finer details and the small print of Alberto Pereira’s contract with the South African FA. I know that they are paying him US $10 million to be their head coach. I am also privy to the pay package for England’s Mc Laren, or even Real Madrid’s Beckham or Arsenal’s Wenger. I know their every professional move. Buzz is generated by personal details of football stars all over the world. You may not think such issues concern you and your serious mandate to get Kenyan football on her feet again, but the success of everything you want achieved is hinged on how you manage information. Information is generated so as to keep the masses interested. It is a soap opera with intertwined story lines. It is a modern gladiator’s ring from which the spectator wants to see every gory detail on display! Within bounds of decency, I want all the information there is to know. Keep me informed to keep me interested. Of course the credibility and integrity of the people running the show is as important as the show itself. So is the image and reputation of the institution you wish to start or revive. Remember I want to associate with people and institutions that I can believe in. A food business with the world’s best recipes cannot go far if it does not open at meal times. Keep the promises of a regular schedule and stick to the rules that govern such schedules. Keep the promises you make to me. Infrastructure both physical and institutional is very important. Let’s start with only five secure stadiums or even a 1st Division league of only 10 teams if that is the entire infrastructure that our system can support. Let us not stretch the definition of a stadium to placate regional egos. If your town does not have a stadium fitting the general description, then your home matches can be at a neutral venue. Let us think viability. Away from my personal musings and wishes, I know that football is many things to many people. I recognize that it is a source of recreation to the youth with potential to keeping the idle away from crime and other anti-social behavior. Football also offers a career path for youth from poor backgrounds. A national league supported by provincial, district, locational, estate leagues and schools can be a viable industry employing thousands. To the business sector, the game is a channel for advertisers to reach their markets as well as offering an opportunity to investors wishing to inject capital in start-up or profitable teams. For large corporations, the development and sustenance of football infrastructure offers a social investment channel. For the masses, the entertainment we can derive from football is well known as well as social glue to keep citizens of diverse backgrounds cohesive via interest or positive inter-team rivalry. A successful football structure will take a place of pride on the economic front with positive impact on various businesses like transport, infrastructure, sports clothes and gear, TV productions, security and others. Whatever you do, remember that only about a thousand people believe that football was invented to enrich and deliver them to potential voters. The other million or so Kenyans know and treat the game with respect and are watching to see if you will join the one thousand scavengers who will sink their fangs into the carcass of a dead KFF hoping to draw some blood money or you will be the saviours who nurture our beloved game back into life for the benefit of many millions of Kenyans who truly love football. If only you can be able to see football beyond the 8,20 or whatever point jargon contained in your appointment letter. If you can see your appointment from a shabiki’s perspective, you may just distinguish yourself from all the previous boards and committees that were here before you. That is not too hard to do. The kawaida shabiki is watching you. Yours Tekelea the fan

An open letter to KFF Caretaker Committee and Harambee Stars Management Board (HSMB) from a kawaida football fan.