Kenyans should improve on oral communication.

Whenever an accident occurs or another occurrence—good or bad—Kenyans flock to the scene to witness .A little later, members of the fourth estate jostle there to record the happening as well as witness the eye witness. In many instance than not, the interviewees struggle to narrate the actual thing that took place. At the end of the day, the information is distorted to a great extent. The worst case is when the police officers are interviewed. In political forum, a good number of politicians find themselves on the receiving end over their remarks. In most cases, such politicians make their remarks innocently but due to the poor communication skill. It is interesting to note that even well-educated professionals make the same mistake when addressing the public or in similar forum. In the above situations, one can deduce that communication skills are lacking. It is therefore important that our education system should put emphasis on oral communication skill. This form of communication is absolutely necessary as it can mean life or death in sensitive professionals like medical or aviation. It is for this reason that it should be nurtured in formative learning institutions so that everybody can grow up knowing how to communicate effectively to avoid misinterpretation of message. James Mwangi Kanyi Nairobi

Why I will not be going to Kikuyu in the near future.

For more than five times I had promised my childhood friend Michael Maina a visit in Kikuyu. I decided to make good my promise in November 2008.That idea crossed my mind when I was walking along Moi Avenue in Nairobi. I walked briskly towards Kenya National Archives and caught a 105 matatu near there at 11am. Half an hour later I was in Kikuyu township. I called my Michael and he joined me a few minutes later. We exchanged pleasantries as he suggested that we get in a café for lunch. Later on, we left for his home some 500 meters away. We found his wife,Lilian, relaxing in the house.Apparently; she was recovering from a bout of malaria that had brought her down. “Where have you been all these months, Mwangi?” she asked me. “I have been busy in my work but at least I have found time today to honor my promise,” I replied. For the better part of the afternoon, the three were engaged in a jovial chit chat as we caught movies. It wasn’t until 6pm that I realized that it was getting late and I requested to leave. “Why don’t you spend the night with us here today?” Lilian implored. “I will do it another day, today you have to excuse me as I have some important matters to attend to tomorrow morning,” I pleaded with her. With that, I bid her goodbye. Michael accompanied me to the township as we discussed important matters pertaining to our families. When we got near the bus stage, he suggested that we take nyama choma in an eatery a few meters away. This accorded us time to discuss some important matters in a nitty gritty. At 7.30pm, we walked together at the stage. I was fortunate to find a matatu almost immediately. He bid me goodbye when the matatu was full. I sat on the seat directly behind the driver’s seat.Minutes later, we drove off towards our destination. Some passengers alighted at Gitaru as others boarded. This took more that five minutes and some passengers started complaining. When we made it to Kinoo, the driver stopped the matatu as more passengers alighted.Meanwhile, the passengers who wanted to board the matatu literally fought to secure seats. Some hooligans extorted cash from the tout for what they explained as searching for passengers. I learned that is a normal occurrence in Kinoo especially at night fall.Ten minutes later, we drove off. Hardly had we driven for a kilometer along Waiyaki Way than a dramatic twist of events took place in the matatu.The passenger who was seated near the driver brandished a gun and hit the driver in the head. He then pulled him out of the driver’s cabin and he took control of the 14-seater matatu.He ordered the driver to pass through the metal contraption behind the driver’s seat. The frightened driver stepped crawled over the passengers until he was got to the rear seats.Meanwhile, three other passengers ordered us to remain silent and hand over money and phones to them. They too had guns. It occurred to us that the matatu was under the control of hijackers. Everything happened so fast that I thought I was in a dreamland. The hijacker who was behind the wheel swerved from right to left before he could manage to control the matatu.It was so scary considering how dangerous Waiyaki way is. We were hapless in the hands of dangerous criminals. I gave them the cash I had and also my phone.However,I managed to chuck out the SIM card discreetly. The criminal who assumed the role of the tout, continued picking unsuspecting passengers along the way. Once inside, their possessions were likewise taken away. The hijackers exchanged some words and decided to divert from the main highway. They drove us along James Gichuru road as they threatened to shoot us should they realize that we could be hiding any money. We had no idea where the hijackers were taking us and we had every reason to be scared stiff. They drove us to towards Kawangware.Once there, they once again divert the vehicle along a bumpy weather road. I couldn’t tell where we were. Ten minutes later, we made it to the slum dwelling. The four criminals alighted from the vehicle casually and melted into the sprawling slum. The driver of that matatu drove us to Muthaiga police station where we recorded our statements. Most of us had lost our valuables but amazing there were those had managed to hide money in their inner wears. As I was wondering how I would make it to my home since I had no money with me, a middle-aged man who I got acquainted to as we drove to the station promised to take care of that. He told me, “Imagine it is just the grace of God that those criminals didn’t frisk us too much. I have Kshs.12000 I managed to hide in private parts.” The driver was kind enough and he drove us all the way to Nairobi. I was fortunate in that my newly found friend was going in the same route as myself. He gave me Kshs.200 and I made it home safely. It was such a nightmare. I called Michael when I made it home. It was hard to convince him what had happened to me. The only conviction that he had was the fact that he had tried to call me when we parted but I was unreachable. James Mwangi Kanyi.

Fight against terror will be won at last.

The killing of fugitive master of terror Osama bin Laden by the American soldiers in Pakistan on Monday was the best news this year on fight against terrorism. Many innocent people have lost their lives around the world as a result of his wicked plots.
No justifiable reason can stand the ground as to why lives should be taken away by a person who swore enmity with American people. It is good riddance that at last he was smoked out and his extinguished at the height of combating terror globally.
This should serve a lesson to his henchmen who are hiding in various countries like Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The message to those terrorist is that their days are numbered and they will be exterminated no matter how they feel safe at the moment. It has taken more than a decade to catch up on Osama but at last he is resting in misery (oops! peace) somewhere under the sea in Pakistan.
No stone shall remain unturned in the quest for terror combat.


James Mwangi Kanyi
olewakungu@gmail.com
Nairobi.

Need to reform Petroleum industry.

The footage of long queues by the motorists around the country to buy fuel from the filing stations last week was very embarrassing to say the least. It depicted a state of confusion and irresponsibility by the key players in the Energy sector.
To start with, there has been no disruption of supply of the precious commodity on local or international scale. The unavailability of petrol in the filing station was by and large attributed to unethical trade practices such as hoarding.
Therefore, it is very important that Government’s intervention in this sector should be aggressive to avoid such a recurrence. The loss in revenue collection for the four days the shortage was there runs in billions of shillings.
Even as the President Mwai Kibaki directed that the Energy and Finance ministers to put their act together to ensure that supply is done normally and at an affordable price, there need to be radical reform in this sector. In the past, the petroleum industry has been run by cartel-like operators and this is the main reason the oil prices have been adjusted upward in an arbitrary manner.
Now that South Sudan will be an independent country on July 9th this year, it is imperative to grab the opportunity of outsourcing the precious commodity from there on a long-term plan. This will go a long way in reducing the costs and thus matching the prices.

James Mwangi Kanyi,

Nairobi.

Government should address police needs.

In the year 2006, I reunited with a bosom friend in Nairobi.Naturally; he recounted to me his whereabouts for the last nine years. He informed me that since we sat for our KCSE exams in 1997, he stayed at home for two years after which he was enrolled at Kiganjo Police Training College in 2000.
That time we met, he had just been posted at Wilson Airport police station. He was optimistic that his new station would give him a new lease of life having spent about five years in Meru.
I took the opportunity to ask him about his working conditions in the police service now that was an “afande”.I knew for sure that he was the best suited person to disclose to me the nitty gritty of the career I had given a thought in 1998.
He candidly told me, “Kanyi, I am frank with you; I have been in the police service for close to six years and I can tell you that I’m truly disappointed about the working conditions. We work long hours at night and in the process we get exposed to dangerous criminals with sophisticated weapons.
“We are not provided with bulletproof jackets and you can be sure that death is imminent should there be a shotout.What irk us is that there is no insurance policy to cover us for any eventuality. If one of us dies in the line of duty, he is on his own.
“Another thing that troubles us is that it takes so long for one to be promoted. You can’t imagine I am still a constable and I have no idea when I will be promoted to a corporal. By and large, promotion in the police is on a who-do-you-know basis.
“I don’t want to talk about the salary issue because it simply sucks! We just hope the Government will review our package so that we can lead a decent life to avoid temptations of engaging in crime to make ends meet.”
I spent the whole day with him and I learned how frustrated the police officers are with their work. I urged him to soldier on and maybe one day he will smile all the way to the bank.
Fast forward this month, a police officer at Parklands police station shot dead his boss and fatally injured his colleague before he turned the gun on himself. Such an incident happened in Naromoru police station on March this year. It is a worrying trend that police officers—administration and regular—have in the recent years taken the law into their hands and killed their colleagues and civilians over unexplained reasons.
Evidently so, there are a lot of challenges facing police officers and it is the high time that the Government takes a bold step in reforming the police service. Police plays a very important role in the society and it’s important to motivate the officers by addressing their numerous needs amicably. Most of the extra-judicial deaths caused by police stem from issues that can be addressed before getting out of hand.

James Mwangi Kanyi

Nairobi

President Salva Kiir should resist war.

On 8th September 2009, the residents of Juba and its environ woke up to a rude shock.The roads to and from the fast growing capital city of South Sudan were cordoned off by army and police officers belonging to Sudanese People Liberation Army(SPLA) and Southern Sudan Police Service(SSPS) respectively. As if that wasn’t enough,they had also positioned themselves along the main and feeder roads for a major exercise that lasted for more than a week.
President Salve Kiir had ordered a disarmament exercise following the revelation that many civilians held with them illegal guns and other deadly ammunitions. The house to house exercise was successful since a cache of deadly weapons including pistols, assault rifles, anti-aircraft guns and explosives were found hidden in residents’ houses.
That was a clear indication by the Government of South Sudan that it was truly committed in promoting peace.
The world witnessed a peaceful referendum process on 9th-15th January, 2011.The citizens of South Sudan voted overwhelming for an independent status. It is therefore worrying that of late President Omar Bashir has been provoking the Government of South Sudan by attacking its citizens in oil-rich Abyei.
It is obvious that the Khartoum Government is not interested in honoring the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was signed in Naivasha,Kenya in 2005.. The 21-year civil war that ended in 2005 left more than 2.5 million people dead. As I was working there back then, I witnessed first hand the devastating aftermath of that war. President Salva Kiir should totally resist war under all circumstances to for the sake of his people.

James Mwangi Kanyi,

Nairobi.

How to be a Kenyan and not pride in it.

Firstly, when you want to travel using public means, you don’t need to bother whether the bus or matatu you are traveling in is full. You just need to squeeze yourself in it since the conductor has convinced you that some passengers will be alighting at the next bus stop to create a space for you.Once,in you need not be concerned how dangerously the vehicle is being driven.Afterall,the other passengers are silent and you don’t want to start a verbal exchange with the crew.
Secondly, when you get enough money to construct a storey building, you need to realize that there is something called time value of money. Money earned today will be of more value tomorrow. Bearing this in mind, you need to bribe the relevant authorities to hasten the process of construction. With their blessings, your building will be constructed in a record speed without paying attention to the basics of buildings. When an “accident” happens and the building tumbles down like house of cards—killing and maiming tens of innocent youths—you blame your architecture and contractors.
Thirdly, if you are minding your own business near a major highway and a 22-wheel tanker loses its break and tip over at your vicinity, you immediately fetch empty containers for a windfall. Oblivious of the danger, you need to gather as much as you can to sell the loot at half-price at a future date. If anyone reminds you about an accident that happened in a place called Sachagwan that claimed more than a hundred people, you just tell him or her that someone is taking care of smokers.
Fourthly, if you are lucky enough to be employed by the Government, you never bother to check whether your salary has been credited at the end of the month. Why should you when you can make a lot more through dubious deals? You should look for ways to pay ghost workers; embezzle funds meant for crucial projects; overprice invoices and initiate elephant projects.
Last but not the least, you need to quench you thirst. You need to realize that work without play makes jack a dull boy. Since you don’t have enough money to buy a bottled beer, you need to realize that there are things called substitutes in economics. They are things that serve the same purpose for a specific need(s).Like tea and coffee. Bearing that in mind, you need to pop in Mama Pima’s den to down a few glasses of cheap but lethal demon drinks. Only after your sight has been lost will you realize that it have been wiser to be a teetotaler.

James Mwangi Kanyi,

Nairobi