THE AFRICAN SAGE

There are new entrants into politics for every election year. The veterans understand the game but many green horns get burned very quickly and live to hate politics. I have observed the political landscape and here are some things aspirants should consider. A political campaign is no different from a sales and marketing campaign Good marketers understand that brand (image) is everything Good trade executioners know that volumes depend on VISIBILITY, PENETRATION and  ACQUISITION Visibility is about how often the customer or voter gets in contact with the politicians image Penetration is about the reach of the politician in terms of networks and heart to heart connections Acquisition has to do with actual closing of deal; the numbers of actual people verified as supporters Political Branding in Kenya is party, economic, cultural, religious and track record based Political party choice is everything because parties define people’s persuasion on many things Economic...

Kenya became independent in the 1960s; in the post-world war II era and the glory of Marshall Plan for Europe was mesmerizing thinkers. The modernization thinkers were advancing the thinking that transformation of traditional structures to modern structures; mechanistic alliances to organic alliances were the developmental path. Different thinkers strived to show how rational “the modern” was against the archaic traditional structures. Thus modernization thinkers like Rostow prescribed stages of growth and development. In the 1960s still, frustration was beginning to be felt at the seeming impossibility of all countries to transform as prescribed by the Eurocentric models. The foreign aid justifying theories such as focus on colonialism and its impact were questioned. Consequently, thinkers started considering determinants of structural change. Focus on balance of trade made import substitution a most celebrated economic model. Thus countries were urged to focus on comparative advan...

I walked down the tiny path A path that weaved down into an abyssal sheath Covered on either side of the breadth I could feel the trees breathe I felt one and the same, I am a tree, a tree I am I felt the wisdom of the tree come I am a live, for the tree same Oh, the powerful mkhonge tree Swaying its branches announcing it's free I was send into a random thought spree As I listened to the whispers of the Oak tree See, life is life; all should know that For us trees, life is all that We care not about hustle and strife Because our existence is only about life Silently, the roots anchor and search Quietly the branches extend and reach Efficiently the leaves suck the sun and breathe Insidiously, through unique and special we create We go up and sway in the breezy winds In gales of storms we find strength in numbers We have never cared about the straights In in the face of...

The sage says, despise the free lunch. The wise one says, they that eat together live together. I have noticed that food is a great measure of relationships. Look, do not trust a poor man or woman when he or she says he has not appetite. No, to a poor man or woman lack of appetite is only when already full, when the food is bad e.g. rotten or when the man or woman is sick. When a poor African woman says she has no appetite, if not sick, then often it is passive resistance. She is either frustrated, angry or in dire need of the husband's attention. A poor African man will never lack appetite. No, actually a poor African man never gets satisfied until the food is over on the plate. When a poor African man has no appetite, either truly he is about to die of a sickness, has already eaten or truly hates the one who prepared the food. I realize our grandmothers taught our mothers that the way to a man's heart is through the stomach. For all the intelligent African women, they...

I have met them, They who comouflage in all shades and colors I met them They that spoke of the word superfluously Oh the poets, Masters of cooking like the pots They weave all dots and spots Muttering, sputtering, they fire accusation shots A poets world, Virgin with imagination like unadulterated maidens Running wild with hormonal thrusts Expressive of all, both warm and cold I have met them, in their dramatization I have watched their suspense I have seen the sentimentalization I witnessed their emotional simulations Not only do they personalize, They speak with onomatopoeic finesse They not only satirize, Armed with apt imagery, they eschatologically serialize The Irony is abundant, Funny when the poet believes the act The show becomes repugnant Funny like the cloth man's penchant The clothe people are good at personification In Anthropomorphic feats of simplification, They create emotional states from imagery worthy indignation Then they seek i...

On the surreal virtual space, on social media, Under the idle, whispering thunder of updates , Before the growling, ever typing lads, I met a thief, who guessed I had An innocent heart for him to steal. He took my hand and led me under The intimate waxed words which reverberated The shiny praises in the bleeding words. He jumped and plucked the fantasy for me to share ; He sang and laughed and pressed close I gazed: his hair was like the wool of a mountain sheep, His eyes, a pair of blazing fiery balls. Heavy and stark as steel His legs, arms and neck, a hairy, pillowy chest And staircase steps- a curvy dominant six pack; His throat uttered fresh banana juice Matching his face - smooth and chiselled fine Well polished shoes and a matching belt The hound, stark reminder of Juakali endowment Twirling a magical car key, Spitting the Queen's lingua like a true sikh He communicated the confidence, just like the comfortable man I touched - but long before I even tasted My hear...

Dear African sun Dear godly son of the unseen Dear holy daughter of heavens Dear grand father of life and seas Hear me oh ancient warmth Hear me divine providence sheath Listen sustainer of all growth Understand me kiss of strength Where are you my love? How my body misses the caress of your rays How are you godly slave? How your distance slays our senses Come back African sun Draw close sweet friend, don't be gloomy I implore you African warmth, without pun Smile again and put the cold to shame