When I first moved to Kenya, in 2002, Kilimani was was an idyllic, leafy suburb, dotted with tall, green trees. The area mainly consisted of colonial-era bungalows with lush spacious 1-acre gardens. It was the embodiment of Nairobi’s nickname – The Green City in the Sun! The neighborhood is home to State House, so security…
Election lauded by the international community Friday August 11th. Kenya voted on Tuesday. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is expected to announce the winner of the Presidential tally anytime soon, but keeps postponing the moment everyone is waiting for. Based on the preliminary results announced, it is already clear that President Uhuru Kenyatta…
Throughout most of 2017, Kenya has been in an election fever mode. Being here while it happens, is a peculiar experience, as all activity grinds to a standstill, while all eyes are on the campaigning. Africa’s most expensive elections ever The Kenya 2017 general election is estimated to be the most expensive in the history…
Police corruption exists in all countries. In some places, the vice is more prevalent than elsewhere, though. While all African countries have their fair share of dirty cops, the phenomenon manifests itself in quite different ways from country to country. Having traveled across the continent for 14 years, I am no stranger to police corruption…
Kenya ecstatic about Obama’s great “homecoming” When I first moved to Kenya in 2002, the then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama was already a name in the news, before 90% of Americans had even heard about him. To most Kenyans, the historic night in November 2008 was more of an apotheosis than an election. Today, every…
Nigeria is a fascinating country with a lot of potential. The country is much better than its reputation. The Nigeria Police is, if anything worse though! Constant harassment by the people who are supposed to enforce the law is one of the most stressful aspects of life in this otherwise so promising country. Actually, it…
Unless you live in a cave, you have probably heard about the rising influence of China on the African continent. Over the past decade, Kenya has attracted significant attention, and substantial investments from the world’s most populous nation, and the presence of the Chinese is particularly visible in Nairobi. That increased presence is also evident…
Breivik’s Manifesto: The Mind of a Madman! Just hours before the attack, Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the Oslo attack, posted his 1492-page political manifesto online. At some point in the late evening hours yesterday, the press seems to have discovered the political manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the Oslo bombing….
A siege-like situation The day after Anders Behring Breivik’s attacks, Oslo was like a city under siege, with armed soldiers patrolling the city centre. Yesterday was a day of national shock and paralysis in Norway. The reality had only begun to sink in: Norway had been hit by a terrorist attack, leaving at least 92…
Terrorist attack in Oslo! Yesterday, on July 22nd, my home city Oslo was attacked! At 15:22 CET, a bomb went off in the government HQ area in central Oslo, killing at least 7 people, and injuring many more. The terrorist was a self-proclaimed white supremacist, Christian fundamentalist called Anders Behring Breivik. My current visit to…
