Many have spoken of you, cloaked in satire.You are renowned in the literary world.I long to see your colour—to watch the crocodile shed its tears. How long do they flow, and where do they fall?Perhaps into the mouth itself.Why should a crocodile weep at all?Who has seen it cry—and how often?Does it wail? What sparks […]

By Shem Onderi For him, the night is working hours,He harvests all he can,Every creature caught in the net—even the unwanted,All that the net can hold. Sometimes the net returns empty,The night cold, the shacks, the breezeWearing him down.The tide rises, tossing the boat,Sometimes the catch is heavy,Making it hard to pull back. The fisherman […]

By Shem Onderi A busy, open room,where everyone watches everyone else,suspicion moving quietlyfrom face to face.Even the teller is strict,measuring every transaction,because here, trust is counted in notes. The bank manager hovers over each teller—no errors allowed.In the queue, everyone is late,late to transact, late to breathe.Yet once served, no one is in a hurry.Inside […]

They tell the childchoose earlyname your talent at tenand carry it like a passport. They saythe West did it this wayas if history were a templateand hunger a choice. They forgetthose countries built safety netsbefore they taught children to walk the wire.There, falling is survivable. Here, the ground is hard. Our engineers steer motorcycles,their degrees […]

By Isaac Dan Bw’Onyancha President William Ruto’s proposal to establish a National Infrastructure Fund is framed as a bold pathway to transform Kenya into Africa’s Singapore. The promise is attractive. Modern roads, railways, ports and energy systems appeal to a country eager for visible progress. Yet the real danger is not in building infrastructure. It […]

By Isaac Dan Bw’Onyancha Kenyans possess an extraordinary zeal for excellence. What we lack is not talent, ambition, or courage. What we lack is timely institutional support. Again and again, the state appears only after the struggle has been privately won, when applause is cheap and association politically convenient. Consider David Munyua. He requested government […]

By Dr. Wanjohi wa Makokha There is a quiet paradox that manifests itself across our motherland each time Xmas comes calling. It is a relational and social phenomenon which reveals itself because the cities we inhabit as the middle class throb with work and ambition while the villages we originate from as Kenyans, hold memory, […]

By Shem Onderi They rhyme without a voice,Though they exist for one purpose — to make sound.Each is crafted differently, held together by its own bolts and quirks.Some must be gripped tightly to sing,Others must be struck with force just to speak. There are those that lie flat for balance,And others that hang from the […]

Youth unemployment in Kenya is a growing crisis that requires immediate and coordinated intervention. Each year, thousands of young people complete their studies only to face a job market that offers few opportunities aligned with their skills and aspirations. This mismatch often leads to frustration, pushing some into crime, substance abuse, or other harmful behaviours. […]

By Wanjohi wa Makokha The village square waits like a suspended breath,flags now back high on their post, staring limply at the sunset on the low lake of our high ancestors,and I walk between shadowsthat remember his voice before I ever knew mine.Every step is a question,every silence a drum I cannot strike. I touch […]