Category: Others

 In the era of so much hokum and bunkum, I find it more relevant to save these critical elements of the ole time as a pro-kale culture. It is for my own good, however, I will not restrain the readers- that will be a difficult task especially with the fanciness of the Gizmos and the gadgets. The subject is of Nandi pre-wedding and the elements that relate to the modern interview. As a man for instance, when you are ready to settle, an individual decision as to be made and a lot pretense will be put in place to find  a girl- perhaps you will attend a church to appear, Christian,, and others have found it easy to scavenge online for pretty faces, single status or any girl online. In the gone days, the task was timely and a tedious interview process. First, you would wait for the sound of the ‘kasageetab kipkurguroik’- inai ile kirotyin lakwa eng koin and to avoid the obvious language, the sound signifies that some girl or girls were readied for marriage.

And as a man ready for marriage, you will gather your certificates(korosek) and head out to try your luck in the interview process.  Of the certificates of eligibility, you will need certificates of priori application ( korosek)  with a minimum of – alayait, senetwet and ngechepchat for eligibility. A contentious candidate will add extra- curriculum in the form of seretyot to indicate the seriousness of his intent –somset. You will head out to the destination, where you will check in with the family and submit your paperwork to the clerk- itor korosek. The committee will deliberate on the best candidate based on so many inexhaustible questions. Whoever will be told Namteke koroseguk– hold onto your certificates will be selected for the next step. In today’s society, you will be told to wait until they call you- a kind way of saying you are not selected.

Secondly, this is almost the last step in the interview process- first is the oret– tied to the idea of totemism which establishes the bloodline and whether you are related to the girl. Other than establishing blood relationship, some were already flagged based on the fact their daughters were not productive and also the general fear of association with- fire- maat. Maat in kale is deemed to be a cause of infertility. Commonly rejected ortinweek included but not limited to  Kibir-aon (with power to chased lightning) and or notable Kitong’ik  (motomi maa- prone to infertility )because they use hot furnaces. You fail this quiz and the whole process is canceled. Passing the first question, opens the door to more tough questions- Otinyei werbotie?( To the married daughters of this family have sons? If yes, Ibinweek tugul hi ( all age sets)- this questions assumes generally that failure to have had sons predisposes the family from having sons.

Lastly, is the negotiation of the price- yaat motiet.

To be continued or debated!

 

 

 

MEDICATION CONTROL SYSTEM: BARINGO COUNTY.

A. OBJECTIVES.

1. To create an efficient system for dispensing medication for purposes of Accountability.
2. To improve systems of Data collection, recording, and analysis.
3. To create space and time for future Telemedicine.

Continue reading “Baringo County! Is it a worthy proposal? Your take counts?” →

I have been accused of being an Idealist whose views at times are divorced from the reality of living in the village. Whether that is true or not, this time karma has come to my rescue. Human activities have significantly affected the environment and The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) must take expedient measures to curb this catastrophe. First, it started with an obvious observation when I was in my home village in Nandi county, wetlands have been completely drained to the bottom rock.  It is April and there is no significant difference between The North Eastern part of Kenya and Nandi county- the rivers, the wells, and the springs have or are drying up. There is an all-season swamp between Tulon and Kilibwoni, 15 years ago it was a no-go zone for unaccompanied children under the age of thirteen. Today, even with prolonged rains, the swamps cannot hold any water because of human activities which include farming and the planting of exotic trees that have altered the ecosystem.

The people are in a state of amnesia complaining of problems they have inflicted upon themselves for the love of money. When you say there is no water and you are cutting down all the ‘Lamaonik’ and replacing with the Eucalyptus, what do you expect? That is like sticking a knife on your toe and running around asking why you’re bleeding. I have argued before that nativity is key in conserving the environment- what is native to a place plays a key role in balancing that ecosystem. People are becoming so myopic and several species are disappearing without any worry. We used to share the swamps with the hare, Dik dik and ‘Mengitab bek’, and most of these species have been pushed to unknown places. The mosquitos are at your kitchen looking for water. Who is next?

Last year, NEMA issued an ultimatum (I fully supported) that all Eucalyptus trees in wetlands and other water catchment areas must be cut down before January 2019. It was a bitter pill to swallow; people were up in arms to defend their nefarious acts.  My attempts to persuade them to see the big picture failed. I was told that I did not understand Kenya well to give any advice concerning the matter. People defend their acts in terms of ‘why wait’ until we have planted trees and then come and ask us to cut them. There were many court cases brought against NEMA by mostly the rich people, yet the same organization is currently being blamed for prolonged drought.  It seems that in their own sense, they have heeded the former member of Parliament from the South rift that rain comes from the sky and not from trees. Other arguments in defense of this ignorant endeavor are that it is my land and I have a right to do what I want. Others choose to take the political approach: that the economy has left them with no choices other than to hug the slow death of environmental degradation. No one can point to specific marginal returns that have been accrued from choosing these alternatives.

Environment justice is urgent, and 2022 politics can wait or else all will be lost at once. Immediate measures must be put in place now and be enforced with the full force of the law or else hell will break loose.  It won’t be the famine of Cherengendet or Mog’eek or Kimeut Sigiriet, but an Armageddon.

Is there a possibility that President Uhuru Kenyatta was putting out one of his new tactics. Perhaps he was or that he may not have been: I am not a futurist and therefore I will not claim that this time he will spice his word with some action. What I can only argue is that from previous experience he has been employing some sort of an emperor style of governance in Kenya. It is not an Emperor style in the traditional sense but in its application and the intended outcomes.  What does an emperor do? Exactly as Uhuru Kenyatta is doing, come out strong on some idea and let the media spin it and sooner the people will be busy arguing and tearing themselves apart with speculations. Milton Cooper known American Conspiracy theorist in a TV interview argued that the Emperor doesn’t like to be questioned instead, he pre-occupies the people with some activity- so that they lose the ability to think and question. Keep the idiots pre-occupied, with some meaningless activity or conversation as they enriched themselves. Uhuru doesn’t want to admit Corruption in his Government nor his new political outfit with NASA nor pre-dynastic alignment or the starvation instead he feeds the masses with a dogma that we can debate for a few months.

Unlike the Roman Circus, where the emperor created some meaningless activities, for instance, sports to pre-occupy the masses, Uhuru is engaged in the creation of meaningless Ideologies that have put the society in Silos that do not communicate. First, it started with the BIG FOUR agenda, a few people within the circle understood this as campaign rhetoric. Ironically, health and Food security, the key elements in the BIG FOUR, have been massively affected by Government policies. Some of the major scandals revolve around Maize farmers, water and Milk production. In the inner cycle, the rumor is out that there are policy changes that are being debated and are aimed at monopolizing the milk industry leaving the farmers at the mercy of the giant corporations.

Secondly, the War on Corruption is one of the magical creations of the president with no meaningful outcome. It is pretty in its outfit, but toothless in its functional mode. Scrutiny indicates that this is another of Uhuru’s tactics, it is just there to occupy space in speeches and to give the masses an illusion that something is going to be done. However, it has become a good political tool, especially when it affects a political opponent.  Corruption in Kenya as I have stated before in my writings is not the biggest problem. The enemy of Development in Kenya is pre-campaign or pre-employment fraternities- political parties or campaigns are launches with illegal agreements that renders members untouchable when they attain power. These agreements guarantee individual contributions to parties with the assurance of a better return in the future. These agreements cross the borders and multinational corporations buy political parties so that they become insulated from national scrutiny. Take for instance the SGR, the process had to happen seemingly because it was in the Jubilee internal memo.

Thirdly, is the Handshake- what is it all about this handshake? It comes when real questions are being asked for instance Maize scandal. What does the handshake do? It divides the country and re-ignites the political fire and the society are again destructed from facing the real problems and asking timely questions. The list is endless, the latest is the Huduma number which is a mere distraction from the real problems that are affecting Kenyans. Rampant starvation and woes of the farmers in the North Rift are real and timely, however, the media is spinning around the idea of Huduma numbers and slowly pushing people to engage in this meaningless activities they do not understand.

This trend in Kenyan politics is new and it is quite a scary twist, every meaningful activity must undergo a political test. Take for instance hunger and starvation, before any measure is taken politicians must ask themselves if it does pay or is it good for my PR or the PR of my opponents.

N/B: My opinions subject to debate.

 

 

Some hypothesis has been postulated concerning Kenyan athletes and their competitiveness in distance running. Some conclusion suggests genetic predispositions, others have pointed to anatomical advantage, others have adduced the talent to Climate and terrain. There also those who have correlated their success to certain push factors for instance poverty. In this writing, I wish not to refute or counter these assumptions, but to secure another area of possibility. There is a body of knowledge that has been tested over the years and passed from generation to generation concerning running and training. I presume it didn’t begin in the 1960s, but it is in this time frame that most African nations gain independence and were accepted to squarely compete with the world. Over this period, they have invested in the evidence-based running- what works best is passed to the next generation.
This body of knowledge – the derivatives of the term ‘master Tactician’ often used to refer to Kipchoge is vital in any training platoon. It is the understanding that training and competition have esoteric characteristics and most of the times they are not fungible- the input doesn’t always translate to the outcome. First, I will comment on training and secondly, I discuss the parts of a race as understood by the athletes. I was one of them and therefore I deserve a page to share my understanding. In every organized training camp or group, there are four different types of runners: Spoiler, Novice, experienced and Expert. The spoiler is the ‘mad’ man in every market, everyone knows he is there, and he doesn’t follow any rules and never gets anywhere. In any competition, he tries out in any event and always takes the first lead at the start for camera purposes.
Secondly, is the novice athlete who is very serious about his or her career and has some talent but does not have any experience in training. He is the most obedient athlete who follows every rule and adheres to the schedule and timelines. He never leads until he is commanded by the experienced to take the lead. The experienced group is the majority and they have a duty to emphasize the coaching plan. The experts are part of the experience group; however, they have engaged in the highest level of competition for instance Olympics or city Marathons and they have posted remarkable times. They are the resource pool to the group and are often in the middle of the pact, and strictly follow the workout.
The rules of the game are to stick to the plan, the clock and never to engage meaningless talk. Over time, they train themselves to be able to connect running to the soul, the mind and spirit. They will be able to understand the pace and distance without looking at the watch or being told. They will run 400 M repeats- twenty times at 68 seconds without necessarily looking at their watches. They also emphasize certain behaviors common among competitors and the appropriate response i.e. should anyone dashing out be chased? They must learn to deal with some kind of “Prisoners Dilemma” as it pertains to running. Should we trust each other and assist one another for the Gold, or should I go for the gold personally?
Thirdly, in any serious training group, the purpose is always geared towards the prize in any given race. To get the prize, it implies an understanding of race dynamics. First, is to peruse through the media for information on all the upcoming races in the world and to prepare in accordance. What is important is the attendance and who is the competitor in a race. Once they have that in place, they begin to work on the three parts of the race: take off, altitude and landing. Take off involves putting yourself in the proper place in the race, it is often very fast and in some rare cases slower. The key here is to be able to see your competitors and to avoid being locked behind the herd or at worst chasing after the spoilers. Secondly, is the altitude-the race settles at a certain pace for a longer period. Many at this stage succumb to natural selection if you cannot endure the pace or you have used a lot of energy unnecessarily you pay the price. Suspicion is so high that any simple ejection triggers a response, one must be careful about the remaining distance and the pace and whether it is sustainable.
Finally, is to land- it isn’t about slowing down- it is running for your money. At this time there is no winner, whoever is left with anything goes for the prize. Careless moves often lead to misery and subsequent falls and the water is spilled at the doorstep.

In summary, Kenyan athletes have certain evidence-based practices that they have incorporated into their training ethics. Most of these practices have not been captured in the big screen and I have taken the initiative to point out other key areas worth investigating.
N/B: I had not much to offer to the Kenyan Athletics, Even though I graduated with a distinction from Chemai-Sewage Academy of Running.

I once applauded that there were signs of progress in the source of Champions and that the ray of light approaching signaled the end of the tunnel.  Brethren hold your hope, it could be a passing train. It gets more confusing when there is too much hype on social media that Nandi county is ahead in many things, but when I tried to investigate it personally with my glasses on, I did not see a thing worth lauding. I think they are talking about a tall building in Kapsabet town at the end of the road. It looks very nice, but it is on the road or that the road is in the building.  Other than the buildings that are emerging, and the fact that it is too early to predict doom, I must admit judging from the basics that the dangling carrot belongs to some but not all.

First, there are basic indicators of a healthy approach to development. For instance, how do you treat the taxpayers who are the legitimate source of power? Does mama mboga have access to clean water and toilets considering the nature of the job? How do you recruit staff? Is it based on merit and proven record or by previous encounter and influence? How does your staff manage time or how do you empower employees and society to be creative and innovative? I am writing this piece with Grief of the loss of an innocent soul due to negligence. I was optimistic, but honestly, there are things that happen, and you wonder why? The ‘WHY’, is why I write.

It is worrying I must admit, that a one-week Old baby just died in the hands of a helpless Nurse and in her own composure she said that perhaps the two that were there won’t last a day. There is no confidentiality here folks it is my brothers’ baby. As if that wasn’t enough, my cousin sister lost another baby who was barely a week if I may approximate.  It could be, as theologians would say it is ‘God’s plans’ and the theorist would argue that “Correlation does not equal to causation”. This occurrence in my view and with my basic knowledge of health is a consequent of negligence from those in authorities. The staff is equally qualified for the task; however, they are handcuffed by inefficiency. Staffing is horrible and the equipment may be available but may not function at certain times of the night. We lost the baby because she vomited in the evening after feeding and following the incidence, the mother took her to the Referral Hospital with a concern of her breathing after vomiting. They took her to the Hospital in the evening and she died at 3 a.m. only after a bolus of fluids. She succumbs they say to possible Pneumonia and Diabetes. Really!!

The Kennedy Intellectuals (Reinhold Niebuhr and George Kennan) whom I vehemently disagree with the context they applied, might have been correct when they argued that “Rationality is a narrowly restricted skill, only a small group have it”. Where is rationality in this context? Ooh we open this, we dispatch drugs worth 50 million and some unnecessary PR’s but there is no tangible evidence to suggest that health care is improving. In fact, we have headed the wrong direction, despite Cancer that has risen lately, I found rather astonishing that there are so many people under medication for Goiter. These cases are confined to a certain area and trust me there are no measures taken to review evidence that has change over time leading to these sporadic cases. As we embrace globalist ideals, we ravaged local ideas and dismiss them us uneducated. People don’t manually weed anymore, they spray with chemicals and then share the river with cows. KFC’s are in town and slowly becoming the Big thing. How are we going to manage these changes in lifestyles?

We can cast that aside and look at other basics, in Chepterit, for instance, they have a good market center, but people must hold pee for hours or just go behind the tree because there is no decent place to relax the sphincter. How much does it cost to have clean and decent Toilets? Where is rationality here? I pay Taxes and the police at the corner and I can’t find a place to pee? In Kapsabet for instance, people take refuge in a place where no county administrator will dare set their eyes.  Realistically you must report to ‘tissue man’ as to whether you are going for long or short goal and give him or her dues to get a tissue. Pole mama mboga.  Try it yourself, go there and you will be surprised with garbage disposed of everywhere, pavements are unmarked and there is no designated parking. I stood there and watched this County legislator yelled at parking attendants who locked his car for parking at the wrong place. It is a fact, I was there and guess what he said, “you should know people’s cars, don’t you see the sticker”. The fact remains it was in a wrong place. There is also another problem of members day, on Friday at 2.22 pm to be exact, I went to four offices and I found only secretaries turning people away because the bosses have left for the day. The excuse was because I went there early January and it was still Holiday. A gateman told me that you can’t find anybody here at this time unless you call them. I only found one passionate lady, who works at the Agriculture Department.

Let me mention that there are great parchments of work that have been done, for instance in Hospitals there are different and improve units, machines and other cosmetic work outside the buildings have been done. However, for the engine to run well, some simple but common problems must be addressed immediately. First, the Trickle-down attitude that emanates from the Top of the County Administration all the way to the janitors (some exceptions) do not create an atmosphere of togetherness and healing. Most of the staff for instance in the Clinics treat the sick as though they have Munchausen Syndrome. Problems well understood within a certain department are discussed outside and more so by individuals who spend the day in between KCB Plaza and county assembly minting millions supplying air. Over time, staff become less motivated because those with less education and good PR get the top dollar for doing nothing. Secondly, is this recurrent culture of buying and buying new equipment. The Equipment that is there already do not communicate with its functions instead they serve the PR part. We have spent and spent, and you can see that and that and we requested a certain Japanese contractor to come and do this and that. Machines wear off over time and because we lack self-motivated personnel to learn the intestines of the machines for purposes of improvement, repair, and maintenance and maybe creating new ones. We have succumbed to Globalist dogma and being the least creative in the World we will buy and buy until we sell the last acre.

Thirdly is the Utopian culture. There is a notion that somehow some Western nation or corporation will solve our problems. Everybody keeps ranting that we have talked to some investor or we went to Australia to see blah blah BS. Development is local, and it is based on local need- it is a patriotic act. What happened to the Geniuses who took risks with stems and finally settled on ‘ senetuet as good for milk in a Sotet?

There is much of a cry to come, Ignorance is the disease and our grandparents will soon wither way, they will die of the disease of the Educated but Ignorant leaders, bringing in corporations to feed their own with food raised from farms that have thrown human dignity into the deep sea. If we cannot manage Pneumonia what else are we good at? Goiter is killing people and Cancer is taking every piece of land to India. We must be real and speak real to politics or else we will feed the West with Avocados and in three years we import Maize at unimaginable costs. The Bread BASKET is slowly becoming the basket case itself. I don’t think we will be good enough to import Maize ourselves.

The title of the writing indicates a ‘why’ and the expectation therefore is of reasons and that I intend to explain. However, I must clarify at the onset as to what heresy I have been accused of (i) that the antonym of not being a Christian or any other organised religion is to be an Atheist and that I am not (ii) to defy the teachings of Christ is to prep self to be casted in eternal flames and that is dystopian.  I do not subscribe to either of this Dogmas, of Christian or Atheist but I hold myself to be a complete being. Since a thing cannot create itself from nothing, I am a complete ‘Art’ and that Artisan  I call ‘God/ASIS[1]’ .

Why then to I stand outside yet I subscribe to ASIS?  My divorce from the Christian Dogma rest fundamentally in the MEANS.  The means here implies a process through which we arrive at a certain end and in this case HEAVEN. This is the place I hallucinated so much about when I was young, closing my eyes and Imagining a place right above the ceiling with a beautiful garden and a place plenty of honey and milk. Having Faith, believing in God and understanding the Bible in theological sense is the surest way of reaping the fruits of heaven. These in my own view abstracts the reality of being human and having the ability to think.  Faith negates existence, because ACTION is what a mortal being in any case can be judged.  ‘GOD’ exist outside my being and was present in my pre-existence. Looking at the precision in me I have no otherwise but to conclude that he ensured my completeness and tested my functionality to absent self from my daily existence. I have two hands to hold food, two legs to run away from danger or to take me where to find food. He ensured that I have a memory to find my way around and to remember what is edible.  Completeness implies that you do not have to engage in daily cries for help but to work- Action.

In addition, I have very few but fundamental disagreements with Bible however it remains one of the best written novels. It is very hard in the African sense, to subscribe to the first five books of the Bible as it relates to the Author, location and the timeline. First, the books were written by Moses the founder of a different religion and whom he was convicted of murder but acclaim that he gave us the first rules? If that is so, then how was he judged of murder. What happen to the 42 negative confessions? Who reduced them to 10? Secondly, if you are an African, the dichotomy puts you in the odds, you are either of the chosen few followers of Moses or of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s- the answer is obvious. Thirdly, In King James Version (KJV), Genesis 4:15 King James Version (KJV) it reads “And the Lord said unto him, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him”. In the Christians sense this is a statement of fact, However Cain and Abel in my limited knowledge are the first children and yet it indicates that if ‘whoever’ finds him. Who is whoever? It is a good story, it satisfies the absence of ‘time’ as to when we came to be- that is it . At he FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA – 325 AD (where the books of the Bible were compiled), there were challenges as to who Jesus was. If God had a son what about us? Or why did he need a son? The treatment of those who hold the dissenting opinions implies that the process was rather political than religious.

I have no otherwise but to go back to the religion of my forefathers. The days when Women would sing Ingo’ and their demands were answered. When Wazee would curse a tree and the leaves would come falling. When they would say Iwee memuny and the outcome was visible to all. The days when they would gather to block a curse upon a family and they would unlock the womb of the barren woman.

Keep your stones at bay, I am just thinking loud!

 

http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0325-1965,_Concilia_Oecumenica,_Documenta_Omnia,_EN.pdf

 

 

 

 

[1] Nandi  God.