Bursting The Myth: Africa Is Not A Country by Alex Nderitu.

‘So geographers in Africa maps,

With savage pictures fill the gaps

And over uninhabitable downs

Place elephants for want of towns.’

- Jonathan Swift, author of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’

 

I was surprised and a little amused as I listened to a BBC Radio programme on Africa earlier this year by a field reporter on assignment in China seeking locals’ knowledge of the African continent.

Reactions barely scratched the surface as answers came intermixed with laughter suggesting the world’s second-largest continent is composed of lions, elephants and bushes. There were mentions of Mandela, South Africa and the film ‘Out of Africa’ but some said the continent doesn’t have any towns to speak of.

But what shocked me the most was the suggestion that Africa is a single country, so profound was the belief that the field reporter missed 54 countries and gave 14, at most.

50 years after the scramble for Africa by European colonialists that gave the current borders, the answers amused me.

In fact all attempts to marry up all the countries – to create a United States of Africa – have been futile with diversion being created like Eritrea moving from Ethiopia, Somalia being divided to Somaliland and Puntland. While Zanzibar is itching to cut off her umbilical cord from mainland Tanzania.

And here are more facts about the continent: former Sudan, before South seceded was the largest country. Lying just above Uganda on the map it’s nearly 1-million-square-mile makes it spread towards north to rub shoulders with Libya and Sudan.

While Nigerian in West Africa is the giant in population size with over 100 million people apart from a huge number of people in diaspora strutting US, Europe, Asia and other African countries.

South Africa, apart from giving the continent icons like Nelson Mandela and Miriam Makeba is the king in development. From the southern tip of the continent the country is the home of minerals, Castle Lager, De Beers, DSTV and ‘Cry the Beloved Country’.

In social life aspect, the continent is based described in tribal line. Even in the 21st century tribes are ties that bind to define marriage, voting and conflicts like the infamous 1994 Rwandan genocide between the Hutus and the Tutsis.

You can often tell an African’s tribe from his indigenous name. My surname, Nderitu (pronounced “Day-ri-to”) is a dead giveaway that I come from the Kikuyu tribe of central Kenya.

At first sight, all Africans may look the same but in reality most tribes have distinct features that set them apart – height, skin tone, build, dialects, hair, teeth and even talents. Most have their own language which are over 2,000.

Even though all Negroid (Blacks) originated from Africa not all Africans are Negroes. In northern part of the continent (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) Semites (Arab-Jew heritage) are dominant. Here is the home of our sons Muammar Gaddafi and Bhoutros-Bhoutros Ghali. Others are found further south in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somali, Sudan and along Indian ocean coasts.

Further south of Sahara Negroid, like me, dominate like former UN SecGen Kofi Annan from Ghana. Further south we find the race with lighter complexions and hooded eyes (Nelson Mandela and musician Usher Raymond have Capoid features).

The continent also has Caucasians (Whites) and other non-Black people like Asians not to be confused with tourists and other visitors as they are descendants of settlers, missionaries and traders who are as African as the marula tree. In fact some are more African than the original Africans.

South Africa has the biggest ‘jambalaya’ of races – Blacks, Whites (including Boers), Browns, Yellows and, for all we know, green people from Mars (that’s why it’s sometimes referred to as “the Rainbow Nation”).

Eastern Africa is widely believed to be the cradle of human life with the earliest human remains, 4.2 million years old found here. According to history a great trek north from Tanzania and Kenya through Egypt to cross over to other continents.

But this history poses some hard-hitting questions. If Africans were the original owners of the world, how come only missionaries woke the continent to advance academically and otherwise? Why is the second-largest continent still the poorest?

The question of non-development, of Africans’ seeming lethargy, is easily answered by Prof. Ali Mazrui’s famous documentary, ‘The Africans’, in which he narrates: ‘If necessity is the mother of invention, then bounty must be the mother of inertia.’

In a land where you spit out a seed and return to find a fruit tree sprouting, the early Africans were under no pressure to advance technologically as the continent still supports the widest varieties of plant and animal life.

And even though Africa is wealthy the reeking poverty is what i can’t get a ready answer for especially the ever widening gap between the rich and poor. While the super rich command customized cars and even private planes the poor majority die from curable diseases like cholera and malaria, and their children walk for kilometres on bare foot for schools and water.

Kenyan 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai (RIP) captured this when she said as a kid the were so poor growing up that she and her friends used to play with frog eggs! (Did Wangari has to say everything? Wonder is I’ll be able to show my face in public when I tour Europe to promote my books)

Across the globe, diamonds, gold and silver gleaming in jewellery shops and boutiques around the world come from Africa. Even the aroma of coffee, tea and flowers come from Africa.

Sadly were these raw materials and wealth are produced the most are under intense conflict fuelled by colonisation and scramble for Africa mentality. These are places like Liberia (diamonds), the DRC (assorted minerals), Nigeria (oil) and Somalia (heaven knows).

What Does It Mean To Be African?

But what does it MEAN to be African? If a Negro was born and lives in the US, can he still claim to be an African? What if a Caucasian (like best-selling author Wilbur Smith) is born, lives in, and loves Africa does that make him a certifiable African? Here’s my circuitous and open-ended answer:

A long, long, time ago (way before the first man loved the first woman and a child was born) all the continents were stuck together. Various disturbances on the earth’s crust coupled with the spinning of the earth (which makes it bulge out at the sides) caused cracks and, ultimately, separation.

You may take it that all continents and islands are jigsaw pieces and all humankind is one large, chequered, family. As I said earlier, the first people lived in the tectonic fragment now known as Africa.

Like an American tourist once said during a recent interview in a Kenyan TV, people should make a Mecca-like pilgrimage to Kenya at least once in their lives because it is our mutual ‘home’ after the Leakeys discovered the cradle of human kind in lake Turkana.

This is the reason the lack of interest in Africa expressed in the BBC Radio programme amused me so much. Chinese, American, French, German, Russian, British or whatever our nationality, we might all be Africans in diaspora!

Alexander Nderitu (www.alexandernderitu.com) is a Kenyan-born novelist and entertainer. He has also expressed interest in fashion design, music production and sports entertainment. This article was first written in 2006.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) condemns recent elephant killing

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has condemned the recent slaughter of 11 jumbos for their ivory at Tsavo National Park.

WWF has termed the attack as the worst to have ever been recorded in the country and called on Kenya wildlife Service and international community ton step up and save elephants threatened by poaching.

“This horrific crime demonstrates the lengths that poachers will go to get ivory – even killing a two-month old calf.  It highlights the need for the international community to work together to address the global increase in poaching and wildlife crime,” Drew McVey, WWF African elephant and rhino specialist said.

Drew said that to help curtail the poaching menace African states as source of elephant populations should work closely with destination countries in Asia where consumers drive demand for ivory as well as transit territories through which illegal ivory and other animal parts are being smuggled.

The fund said that with the increase of wealthy consumers in Asia countries like China and Thailand for ivory jewellery and ornaments elephants poaching and ivory smuggling has increased across Africa and is set to undermine Kenya’s 1989 ban of ivory trade which was in line with the international CITES control.

“The epidemic of elephant killings that has ravaged populations in Central Africa is now spreading to Kenya – and that’s troubling because Kenya in recent years has largely had a solid track record of elephant management and protection,” Matthew Lewis, WWF’s African species expert said.

Lewis said in an online statement that to ensure that the trend doesn’t continue and poachers are brought to justice the county’s weak and antiquated wildlife laws are modernized as swiftly as possible to ensure that poachers receive appropriately stiff penalties for their heinous crimes.

“WWF is committed to helping the Kenya Wildlife Service adopt the latest systems of law enforcement monitoring, and also helping Kenya work more closely with its neighbors to counter regional poaching syndicates,” Lewis said.

In a statement to KWS Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that last year the country lost the highest recorded number of elephants in the recent years at least 360 jumbos which was 71 m0re than 2011.

“Our wildlife is a major source of income as a nation  and almost the sole source of our earnings from Tourism which has come under serious assault from poachers in recent days,” Odinga said.

The PM called on a quick response from security agencies and treasury to kelp KWS to address the menace by aiding in equipment, personnel and logistical needed to ensure secure parks and protect our wildlife.

“We need a well coordinated, well-financed and properly designed crackdown on poachers. This must involve the police, the relevant ministries and Interpol,” he said.

He also called on the international community to help strengthen the national and international policing to deal with wildlife trafficking as a serious threat to conservation, rule of law, governance and economic development.

© Manuel Odeny, 2013

Sewerage, fertilizer pollution choking River Galana – KMFRI

Fishermen pushing their boat at River Galana which passes through Tsavo East National park. Research shows pollution is affecting the river. 

River Galana in Coast region of Kenya is highly polluted following a direct input of sewerage and fertilizer into the river, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) research has said.

The finding follows a research carried by KMFRI in the river following complains by the management of Galana ADC farm regarding the water quality and recurrence of algae blooms in their farms for the last two years after using the water.

Researchers carried out investigation by analyzing samples collected in sites like Darajani in Galana ADC ranch, Sala gate and Tsavo East National Park.

“The results showed high levels of E. coli bacteria which pointed to discharge of raw sewerage into the water system and high levels of phosphates, nitrates and ammonia which can be attributed to use of fertilizers in agricultural activities upstream,” the research institute said in a press release.

Dr. Joseph Kamau, KMFRI’s researcher and Edward Waiyaki, a socio-economist say the pollution will affect fish population in the river, create scarcity of clean drinking water which will cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach ailments among the community members which could directly be linked to the E. coli bacteria.

“Algae blooms occur as a result of excessive input of nutrients into the aquatic system from human activities with some species certain usually attaching themselves to the fish gills and thus compete for oxygen”, said Dr. Kamau.

Although the finding couldn’t attribute to any recorded fish kills as a result of harmful algae bloom but it says its high level can kill fish due to suffocation especially in instances where there are low levels of dissolved oxygen in water.

“We recommend interventions in prudent agricultural practices by creating buffer zones between farms and river banks, treatment of sewerage before discharge into the rivers and creating public awareness to enable the community take precautions to avoid health complications,” KMFRI says.

To further protect River Galana aquatic life KMFRI says it will embark on a comprehensive research upstream to determine the points of release of the identified inputs and advise the relevant government agencies to enforce the relevant laws and ensure sound management.

© Manuel Odeny, 2012

Dubai based Jumeirah Restaurants serving South Asia cuisine enters Kenya, East Africa market

Kenyan hotel and tourism industry have got a new player after the Dubai based Jumeirah Restaurants signed a licensing agreement with Global Hotels Management Africa to bring the Noodle House brand in the market..

The deal will see seven Noodle House Restaurants opening in the country over the next five years with the first opening it’s door in Nairobi early next year followed by a location in 2013 followed by a location in Mombasa

The move is set to tap into the Kenya tourism market through the Noodle House brabd which already operated in 16 countries globally.

The entry follows an agreement signed between Phil Broad, Managing Director of Jumeirah Restaurants LLC, and Masood Hashim, CEO of Global Hotels Management Africa Ltd.

In a press statement the two companies say the agreement will be key in growing the Noodle House brand in Kenya and East Africa region and has been urged as a response to a growing demand for great quality restaurants in the market and that the noodle house sits perfectly in the casual dining segment of the territory.

Noodle House serves delicious South East Asian cuisine in an informal yet stylish environment that takes inspiration from the food and nightlife of exciting cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Jakarta.

"I have had the pleasure of experiencing Kenya on numerous occasions and we are excited about taking the noodle house brand to this dynamic country. The partnership with Global Hotels Management Africa Ltd is another significant step forward in the implementation of our international growth strategy,” Phil Broad said.

Broad added that the collaboration will provide the Dubai based hotel with an opportunity for its worldwide expansion plans of their home-grown brand since Global Hotels is the perfect partner to develop and operate the brand in Kenya.

Masood Hashim CEO of Global Hotels Africa LLC said that they are excited to take Noodle House brabd to East Africa through Kenya as there is achance for, “significant growth opportunities in Kenya and the noodle house fits in extremely well with our planned growth strategy.”

Hashim says they have previously worked with Jumeirah Restaurants on other projects and have been delighted with the strong support that they have provided to open and operate this wonderful brand.

The Dubai based luxury hospitality company which is owned by Dubai Holding was started in United Arabs Emirate since 2002 and now operates in eight countries globally and is set also enter Russia, Lebanon, Great Britain, and Bahrain.

© Manuel Odeny, 2012

Review: The Rwizi Arch Hotel in Kampala, Uganda.

The Rwizi Arch pub at the underground in the backyard of the hotel

I was privileged to share abode at Rwizi Arch Hotel at Kansanga area, Kampala together with seven journalists from six African countries from 24-29 June this year.

Together with an equal number of local Ugandan journalists we were attending Financial and Economic reporting course from Reuters Foundation.

During the stay we loved staying at the pub in the back of the hotel taking up the backyard space and the underground floor with a capacity to seat close to thirty patrons.

The pub’s atmosphere though set with a outdoor gardens have the ambience of an extension of the hotel’s dining room with the chairs set at a distance on a soft lighting shades for a quite conversation and dating scene but not for the rowdy football watching crowd as experience in Kenya.

To compound the atmosphere further there is no pool table, ballroom lights or the longer counter bar stools making watching a game to be akin to twiddling with a remote control in your sitting room with the children reading in the background and your wife trying to get her sleep, a quite no shouting affair.

But the huge board which projects games and music is a plus for football watching, though the music is pre mixed and not engaging as there is no dance floor without any DJs.

Though the food is sumptuous as the bar shares the kitchen with the hotel, their drinks are expensive. Kenyan Tusker Lager and Tusker Malt, brands at the bar, go for USh4,500 and USh4,000 respectively while Ugandan special Nile Special goes for Ush3,500. Being a teetotaler, for the two games I watched from the pub i settle for Norvida pineapple and a 300ml Stoney which went for Ush3,500 and Ush2,000 respectively.

The bar counter

I realized the prices were high as which forced me to watch German being bundled out of Euro2012 finals by two Mario Balotelli’s first half goals on pubs along the Kabalagala Street wher drinks are Ush500-1,000 cheaper.

Critique:

With the quite atmosphere for conversation the pub is best for a business meeting and dating and you can easily reach the hotel,6Km from the CBD along Kabalagala Street in a 30 min drive.

On the down side, for foreign revelers seeking the feeling of Kampala’s night life the pub isn’t ideal with setting and would recommend the numerous pubs along Kabalagala streets which has several East African universities.

                              ©Manuel Odeny 29 June 2012, Kampala-Uganda

Burning Lens: A stuffed chicken at the Kisumu Museum

A stuffed chicken at the Kisumu museum

Travel: Out and deep into the Rift Valley…….By Okoth Oluoch

A lonely man satnding over the Rift Valley, Kenya

‘Welcome home’ Jean Paul Fourier, warmly greets me moment after I had just stepped out of the car and into the neatly mown lawn at the Kerio view point, the pint, any visitor will attest is the best to have a glimpse of the breathtaking Iten landscape.

I couldn’t help but notice that Jean had put a slight stress on the word ‘home’. I had called him a day before and informed him of my interest in having a look at the Iten landscapes, famed for its stunning mountainous scenery and he assured me he was more that ready to show me around.

The short ride from Eldoret town to Iten was uneventful. Either side of the road farmers tilling on the farms, a clear sign that the timeless rhythm of the agricultural life which has been associated with the residents of the ‘bread basket of Kenya’ has not lost a thing.

As we take the final bend and into the valley, a group of athletes on practice zoom past us, a reminder once again that I am at the home of some of the countries best athletes. The driver, following my gaze promptly informs me, his voice filed with both mirth and pride that before me lay the former Jelimo’s and Tergat of this country.

Inside the valley, I take the opportunity to fill my lung with the fresh air, slightly scented with wildflowers but extremely refreshing.

My view inevitably shifts to the valley, which the area has been fro along time famed for. For five second or so I am lost in my own world.

The valley, about 2000 feet away is just breathtaking. From the colorful landscape, golden rock surrounding it and covered by the blue skies, its just fascinating to stand and look at it.

‘I felt the same when I came here, and I still feel the same whenever I see it’ Jean tells me following my gaze, his voice bringing me back as we move towards the edge of the cliff.

Robert’s Rock

Our first stop is at a rock standing just on the edge of the cliff. This rock, he informs me is referred to as the ‘Robert’s Rock.

Robert Creten, he explains to me is a Belgian who used to like reading at the rock when he stayed there in 1997 although he has since gone back to Belgium.

‘Whenever anyone wanted him they only had to come here’ He explains adding that from here, Robert could then watch the agama lizards and the behaviors of monkeys deep inside the forest.

I muster just enough courage to sit on the edge of the rock but flatly decline the request to state down the cliff despite several pleas from the other couple who had just joined us.

On the other side, not too far away a group, definitely braver than me are engrossed into their hiking.

Going by the between the valley, 1300 meters above the sea level to the escarpment forest at 2400 meters and eventually to the cold heights of Cherangani at 3500, I have to admit the area will give any experience hiker a run for his money.

‘People are always coming here to test their hiking and biking abilities’ Jean says adding that given its terrains, its the bets place fro the hikers.

Monkeys can be heard chattering as we leave the rock and head for the other side of the view. On our way, more athletes are passing by and I ask Jean if they have a training facility at the valley.
High Altitude training.

‘We accommodate a number of athletes here during their training’ he explains adding that the athletes however train by themselves at the valley.

Athletes training in the high altitude in Iten town

The place, I am told has also been frequented by a number of international athletes who are eager to learn the reasons behind Kenyan’s dominance in the middle and long distance running.

The likes of Saed Shaheen, formerly Stephen Cherono who is the former world 1500 meters champion is one of the athletes who have used the facility and I promise to come back late and use it for preparation for my Standard Chattered marathon debut.

We leave and on the way, we pass the Elnino hut, a special place for barbeque on the valley. Set above the steepest cliff on the view, Jean explains to me that it was named Elnino after the rains of 1998 when a digger load machine which was being used to make it slid and stuck on the edged of the cliff.

‘It was quite an incident, very scary’ Robert say, his mind visibly still on the incident which happened about a decade ago. He later informs me the place is mainly used for bird watching and also watching the colobus monkeys below.

A few meters away, a family is having their lunch at a nearby traditional hut while three children are clearly enjoying the swinging game. They invite me and for a second I am tempted to join them before deciding against it; there is still a lot of the Iten to view.

We move to what is referred to as the pajero point, the largest view point in the area.

Down, I can see beaters and hornbills slowly going about their businesses. On top of us are the hovering buzzards and the lanner falcons and Jean informs me that there are occasional high altitude eagles.

As we walk away from the scene, he explains to me why the area was named ‘Pajero point’

‘Unoccupied Pajero once took off from packing and crash-landed here’ He explains adding that the pajero wasn’t damaged and is still on the road.

We pass the monkey house, a barbeque hut with one of the finest views of the valley below and here, another couple is having their meals. True to is name, I can see several monkeys just behind it and he informs me they come to look for fresh fruits and leaves everyday.

On our way to the dining room, Jean decides to show me around the Furier room. A conference room partially underground, the room equipped with a television has got capacity of about thirty people.

Just above the door is a stationed glass which I am informed has got a history dating back to 1939.

‘It was a sign in front of a hardware shop in Belgium’ Jean says in matter-of-fact manner. The shop was owned by Eugene, Jean Paul’s father and his three uncles.

It’s almost time to leave the view as I inform Jean I still have to go over to Tambach. As we settle down for a bottle of cock, Jean makes yet another revelation to me.

Paragliding

A tourist paragliding over Kerio Valley

‘Care to paraglide?’ He inquires. He then goes ahead and explains to me that a number of Para gliders come over to the view each year to have the opportunity of paragliding into the valley and fly over the Kerio view.
‘Most of them are Germans’ He explains and goes head to take me to the room fully equipped with parachutes and other equipments.

‘I wish you could try it. It’s real fun’ He explains after I had decided to put off my maiden paragliding to rush over to Tambach. On our way to the gate, he explains to me the regular patrons they host at the view.

‘Former President Moi was here just last weekend’ he explains adding that Prime Minister Raila Odinga is another visitor they had hoisted recently. He is however quick to add that the view was just to ensure people had the perfect view of the valley.

He bides me a heavily accented ‘Kwa heri’ and soon I am on my way to Tambach, on the other side of the view.

Tambach

On either side of the road lie beautiful hills illuminating the sun, the hills forming steps from the road. Occasionally the driver has to sop to let the cattle cross over and I have to admit the way the road has formed zigzag on the floor of the view is simply amazing.

We are soon in Tambach and I realize that just like Iten, it is on the valley.

‘This is the last frontier at the valley’ the driver Tambach informs me as we walk to the edge of a cliff.
Hundreds of meter below, people are going about their normal businesses as usual although one can hardly make them up from this far.

I decide to ask been, the driver it is true the myth I heard in college that the locals used to bring up old people on top of the cliff and throw them down in time of wars to stop them from being captured.

‘I have heard the same myth, nothing true about it anyway’ He replies laughing as we walk around the stiff cliff. He informs me paragliders also come here but that the place is best known for hiking.

We decide to go down the view and have a feel at what it feels like to be in there. Three or four monkeys quickly disappear from the road when they see us and on our way, three groups of athletes trying to get accustomed to the high altitude passes us.

The air is just fresh. And save for the chattering o the monkeys here and there and bird cries, its dead quiet inside the valley. Both sides are surrounded by hills and for the next one hour, I have my maiden hike, Ben having turned into very able teacher.

It’s getting late and we join a group of ten athletes into a warm up before leaving for Kerio valley.

Naiberi Campsite

A guest at Naiberi Campsite

The next morning, I decide to spend some time at the Naiberi campsite, just 17 kilometers off Eldoret town and famed for its natural camping sites and serene environment.

On the gate, I am received by Jacky, one of the stewards at the site and I am immediately struck by the silence in the entire site.

‘Anyone home’ I enquire as we make our way through a stone walled tunnel with hanging lanterns on either side, a question which elicits a grin from her. Off course there are people, she explain adding that the site has mainly thrived of the peace and the tranquility it offers.

The tunnel eventually leads to a surprisingly modernized opening; Jacky calls it a ‘modern day cave’. In front are a water fall and about three streams, stone pillars and wooden bridges on top of either of the streams.
Our first stop is at the swimming pool, which I have admit is nothing but impressive.

Surrounded all over with indigenous trees, it’s simply fits into its surrounding. Just on the edged of it are a water fall and a stone carving and on the other side are a beautiful table surrounded by some four seats. She informs me this is for people who would like to enjoy their drinks by the pool side.

The sky blue water is simply inviting and when she asks if I can swim, I momentarily toy with the idea of jumping right in the water.

We then make our way to the disco hall, just in the heart of the site. It’s not crowded but the air is of carnival and I, this time round fall to the temptation to grab the ice cold drinks served here. We settle on a table as she gives me more information on the site.

Naiberi, she explains has be mainly a camping site for cooperate bodies and families interested in having some time out of the busy town life.

‘Its Nature’s own creation’ She explains to me adding that it had been designed to take its guest far back to the stone age with little touch of modern day luxury.

I take a look around the site and I can’t help but marvel at the irony. Here is a place where almost all constrictions are on stone. But the disco hall is truly modern. There is a pool table, darts, a card table for eight, and even a digital satellite television.

She then leads the way to the campsite. From the quietness surrounding it, to the well maintained lush green lawns set aside for the campers to pitch their tents, and the soft sound of the waters of the streams passing by the site, the site simply offers a resting place.

A group is trying to erect their tents at the site and we join them for a moment before passing over to the stone cottages, another feature Naiberi is so well know for.

The cottages, about fifty meter from river Naiberi are all made from thatch stone and precious cedar wood, the same material used in the constriction the disco hall.

We the go through the dormitory o large groups, the cabins before paying visit to the fish pond, also just within the camp.

On our way, she insists that I have to taste the meals at the camp. I just have time for a bite and the meals, she explains are served to the guest’s convenience in the designated dining areas.

It’s getting late and as she escorts me to the gate, two more groups are just getting in for a camp over the weekend. She forces me to promise to come back for a weekend next time, a promise I am honesty keen to fulfill.

Who won’t like to spend a night at Naiberi!

Nick Okoth Oluoch

All photo credits from online

(Okoth Oluoch is a travel blogger and writer with The Standard in Kenya. This post was first published on his blog link: http://nickoluoch.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/out-and-about-and-deep-into-the-rift-valley/ )

Burning Lens: A lonely Toyota Corolla under a withering tree

A car packed under a withering tree as dry spell sweeps across Nyanza. I just took the picture for the lonely way the car looked in the midday sun. Manuel Odeny/The Burning Splint

A car packed under a withering tree as dry spell sweeps across Nyanza. I just took the picture for the lonely way the car looked in the midday sun. Manuel Odeny/The Burning Splint

Poem: Nairobi by Manuel Odeny

This concrete jungle
striking, confusing
with a dearth of appeal
like a doodle,
an open man hole
gaping, grasping
insatiable,
maggots slimy
squirming, squelching
trip in-
and
before rock bottom
you dare dread
the slimy you
when surfaced!!!!

PS: I have created the Facebook page for The Burning Splint. you are welcomed to 'Like' and 'Share' 

VP officially launches The Kenya 2009/2010 Yearbook

Masai morans, they have been a cultural symbol in kenya. The Yearbook will contain authoritative and authentic information about the country.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka  has officialy launched the 2009/2010 edition of Kenya Yearbook today at Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi.

As an official source of information for the country the yearbook covers a wide range of subjects like Kenya’s history, culture, economy, sports and infrastructure development amongst others.

“The Kenyan yearbook is an authoritative and authentic source of information about historical and contemporary governments, private sector and individual in development of the country” Mr. Kalonzo said.

The VP added that information contained in the yearbook is an invaluable resource locally and internationally to students, teachers, researchers and tourists interested in the country.

The book has been launched in both hard and digital copy to embrace the country’s digital advancement through the 20,000 kilometers fiber cables that has increased broadband and ICT services.

“By going online I challenge Kenya publishers to take full advantage of digital technology which is cheaper by reduction of physical storage, production and revision” the VP said.

Publishers should also use the internet to seamlessly with consumers and other stake holders to share information, queries and sales by forming an online community.

Mr. Kalonzo congratulated the Kenya Yearbook staff lead by Catherine Waweru for their efforts in editing and compiling the 1.150 page publication saying the book will be available for institutions country wide.

He challenged the team to translate the Yearbook in Kiswahili to promote the use of the national language.

The occasion was also attended by Minister and Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Information, communication and Technology Samwel Poghisio and Bitange Ndemo respectively.

Neglect on Ndere Island National Park bad for the region.

I (carrying a bag) and a friend on our way to Ndere Island National Park.

For a national park that was gazetted 24 years ago the Ndere Island National park in Lake Victoria and only 35.8 Km from Kisumu city the standard of the park is low for Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) slogan of providing world leading parks. Actually, the potential of the park is yet to be fully unlocked for the benefit of the region and government.

Most Kenyans attention to the park was drawn in a visit by Prime Minister Raila Odinga to open the park (I wonder when it was closed!) together with the impala park in Kisumu. Prior to the visit someone from KWS hastily dotted signposts from Kisumu to the park, after the visit it the same old story.

Personally, my attention was drawn to the park on a recreational team building hike as a member of Maseno University Red Cross chapter in last semester. Sadly, since 1986 the campsite is till under construction without even a reception desk. Visitors will be content to carry their own packed food and beverages. What is seen on Asat beach before a 2Km boat ride to the island is a mere fence and white washed stones with tickets being sold on a bench!

The KWS officer in charge pointed out the Lorries we found carrying hay from the park to Nakuru and other parks for drought stricken animals shows the potential of Ndere.

Standing picturesque and majestic among other four islands; Ochola, Rambugu, Imra and Gera, the 4.2Km2/Sq park teams with baboons, impalas, statunga, hippos, crocodiles in addition to several bird species for an ornithologist haven. If marketed appropriately the feature of an island park nestled in the sparkling waters of the second largest lake in the world will attract not only foreign but local tourists like students from learning institution in the region and other Kenyans.

A fisherman, David Migot-Nyaluo who ferried us to the island says he only manages a trip a day. This is the same plight of the matatu drivers and conductor who we had hired, telling us they hardly make a trip a day. Like varsity students with blank stares on the park, the drivers and conductors playing the Kisian-Bondo route couldn’t pinpoint the way to the park; this clearly shows the level of neglect.

I know the recent opening by the PM is not sufficient enough and the KWS plan to relocate buffaloes, giraffes and maybe elephants to the park should be sped up. With proper marketing and resources the park can benefit the government and locals like Mr Migot-Nyaluo.

Opinion published on The Star issue of 7/9/2010 and Daily Nation issue on 8/9/2010 and DN online 

Cites ban on Tanzania Ivory Trade will save the Jumbo

Kenya Wildlife Services officer with confiscated ivory

The recent decision at the cites meet to prevent Tanzania from selling its ivory stockpile worth $20 is a step in the right direction.

Had Tanzania been given the nod, not only would this have endangered the county's jumbos but those of neighboring countries like Mozambique and Kenya as well.

The recently released Briefing Report of the Panel of Experts on Ivory Trade on March this year by London and Tanzanian environmentalists, notes that Tanzania is the largest ivory trader in Africa on a scale surpassing China.

Tanzania has been reported as having a thriving illegal ivory trade which has lead to poaching at it game reserves like the Selous in southern parts of the country.

Additionally, large amounts of tusks from the country have been intercepted en-route to East, who are the world largest users of ivory products.

With the alarming poaching of the Jumbos the trading ban should be implemented to help save the Tuskers from extinction. Wildlife should not only benefit corrupt big cats but all citizens in the region.

Thus effects of allowing trade would spill over to the region considering that elephants roam freely from say Kenya's Maasai Mara to Tanzania's Serengeti national parks.

Besides, the lack of tight security in the region as well as porous borders would encourage smuggling of tusks.

the only way to save the elephants from extinction is by adhering to the ban on ivory trade.

This calls for concerted efforts from all nations around the globe. Wildlife is not meant to benefit corrupt big cats only, but all citizens in the East african region.

Published on Thursday, April 1, 2010 by The Standard/Kenya

published by The EastAfrican april 5-11, 2010
Available online at SaveTheElephant
Posted too by A Mozambique news site mznoiticas
 

Bamburi nature trails: a Kenyan rehabilitated Eco-Tourism site

Imagine a derelict cement quarry being turned into a rich coastal tropical ecosystem bursting with life. This was how Bamburi nature trails was 36 years ago, an open waste land, before receiving international recognition for rehabilitation as a leading tourist site.

Owned by Bamburi cement factory in Mombasa the Haller Park and Forest Trails are a kilometers apart on Mombasa-Malindi highway.

The nature trails diversity is reflected with over 400 plants species with around 200 bird species. An ornithologist guide tourists and visitors on a bird safari to watch the narina trogon, golden weaver, waders and migratory species are a common feature at the trails.

During the evening feeding times visitors can get close with giraffes, crocodile, buffaloes and hippos at the animal sanctuary.

The trails about 20km stretch are designed for leisure walks, exercises and cycling around a dramatic kaleidoscope of landscape from open, active quarries to the lush forests with docile elands and Oryx along the way.

The night walk with romantic intense scents of forest is class of its own with life teaming with water bucks, genet cats, fire flies and bush babies.

Other animals in the sanctuary include mongoose, suni, duikers, giant aldabran tortoises, bats, owls amongst others.

Stated more than a decade ago, the butterfly pavilion exhibits a leisure stop point for visitors to admire the floating insects in their lovely iridescent colors.

Owen and Mzee

A place to unwind

When booked in advance the grounds at Haller Park and the forest trails forms an ideal and serene environment for social events.

The sunset terrace extending over a quite forest lake is ideal for an evening drink with friends and family to unwind in nature.

The secured fully fledged playgrounds offer kids fan and safety during family outing like birthday parties and weddings.

Companies on team building, product launch, theme nights and co-operate launch can access the modern conference facilities at Haller Park pavilion in a rustic forest setting.

The auditorium seats 80 people in a serene surrounding inspiring creativity.

For foreign tourists the gift shop supports local artists by catching the diversity of Kenyan rich culture with souvenir and beauty accessories for friends and family back home.

For more information and booking about Bamburi nature trails go to:  http://www.lafargeecosystems.com/