maskani254

[maskani254]

#UsawaFestival According to the Kenyan government, the youth duffer from 21% unemployment rate. The performances in Dandora' today clearly show that this can be turned around if we can only end inequality. (at Dandora-Dump Site)

[maskani254]

Share: In a public sporting event that is supposed to bridge political divides, Dagoretti South MP JOHN Kiarie decides to go all tribal. Worse, he decides to corrupt the national anthem. All for political mileage. #YouthPoliticiansWeDoNotNeed

[maskani254]

https://soundcloud.com/maskani-kenya/witness-the-story-behind-kayole-police-brutality-extrajudicialkillings

[maskani254]

https://soundcloud.com/maskani-kenya/extrajudicial-killings-in-nairobi-slums-voices-from-kayole

[maskani254]

It's happening! #MaskaniNakuru comes alive. Youth for youth. Youth for change. Youth for Kenya.

[maskani254]

#StopLamuCoal: When we finally start mining what many countries are stopping (coal), we also plan to build a power plant in Lamu to burn the coal. We are not concerned that the Chinese are working hard to close their coal power plants. All we want from them is at least 1400 of their men and women, to offer expertise in constructing the Kenyan plant at a cost of 200B shillings; a public-private partnership between Kenya government and 'investors'. Secondly, the investors are in quotes because, it is not yet ascertained what their real faces are despite one of the companies involved being well known and listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange. The company involved is now said to not have the capacity to build the plant, so has passed the deal to another company, said to have been part of the companies that had initially expressed interest in the plant. Third, causing even more worry, is the environmental impact assessment by the National Environmental Management Authority, which fails to capture key environmental concerns. Instead of conducting real research to, at the very least, come up with information that would inform whether the plant was worthwhile or not, what the authority came up with is pure guesswork. Unsubstantiated work. The image is from one of the many of South Africa's coal mine fields. You don't see people. It's understandable because of the angle of the photo. However, the realities from the communities surrounding the fields tell a different story. Cancer is a major cause of death. When Kenyans under the Haki Madini Coalition visited South Africa to learn a bit about coal mining from the communities. Apart from cancer, the numbers of people who report being sterilised in communities such as Mpumalanga are staggering. Such information is what the Kenyan government is hiding from its population. The history that is Lamu is in danger. The same awaits residents in Mui, Kitui. For a more intense on these effects, read http://www.groundup.org.za/media/features/mpumalanga/mpumalanga_0002.html

[maskani254]

Very few people understand what #feminism really means, or what it is. Many think it's a monster, but it isn't. In the words of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "I’ll Keep Saying I’m A Feminist Until There’s No Reaction... How are you training your sons to be focused on women’s rights and women’s opportunities the way you’re focused on telling your daughter that she can be anything?... That for me was a really important wake-up.”

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/justin-trudeau-feminism-fatherhood_us_56f448a1e4b014d3fe22a29f

Feminists and feminism

How exactly is feminism affecting the lives of anti-feminists?

How are they missing their daily bread? How is it affecting their air circulation? How are they going to lag behind their planned lives because of feminism?

Are feminists affecting their entire wellbeing? How?

When you realise you are directing your energy on people who don’t even affect you, you need to re-strategize. For instance, if you answered N/A to any of the above then how else can you use your great energy to build a movement you believe in? @maskani254

[maskani254]

Indeed. The happenings in Kenya today point to a scheme to put the Kenyan youth, who make up a majority, in a cage. Not only by coercion but also through use of brutal force. The freedoms that the forefathers of this great land fought for have neither been tasted by the freedom fighter's first generation of descendants, but also, the ground is set to deny those freedoms to the third and fourth generations.

Africa in past and future

Africans understand what it means to be ruled by a military state.

If it is not their country it’s definitely the immediate neighbor right at the border.

Whatever did we ever do to deserve us getting so humiliated by the rest of the world? Well, I know what we did.

It is like bringing a villager to town. Most say that a villager will work harder to behave like a born town than a born town.

Meaning, we were not immersed in wealth and power since medieval ages. The West took over and Africa has since then been hungry for these two things.

Finally it happened. The 20th century was our break through. We got the freedom to rule ourselves. The freedom to be and become.

The villager in us was freed. Fly away little bird here we are ready to blend in with the rest of the independent world. Who can stop us now?

So we all wanted a share. We grabbed, looted, we just wanted any sort of wealth and power.

In this process we were misogynistic. Forgetting to acknowledge that our mothers knew us better than we even knew ourselves. So, they were sidelined in the process of deliberations of moving ahead as a continent. They knew their children and their abilities but were not consulted.

This is what has trickled down to date. Having African countries trying to figure out how they can loop in women in reducing and/or ending conflict, radicalisation, poverty and more.

Let us not do this to the current generation. Let us not ignore our youth. The triple effect in a negative way will lead to a more than struggling 21st century. A century where we are supposed to have flying by cars and visiting some planet in space. Where an aircraft will be made of glass and you can see the sky while on flight.

We should build this generation. We need to have a better generation than us. Build and not destroy.

@maskani254

[maskani254]

#Zindukafest2015 Fahamu Africa, building strong grassroots movements. Networks for social justice. Focus on small scale farmers and their rights. (at Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium)

[maskani254]

International day for Eliminating Violence Against Women #16daysofactivism #orangetheworld #EndGBV #Zindukafest2015 https://t.co/rVeLFkY8QC (at Arusha City Centre)

[maskani254]

Well said and eye opening.

Teachers Strike

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, has just addressed the nation in regards to the ongoing teachers strike. Let it be known that this is the first time ever that children in private and public Primary and Secondary schools in Kenya, since the 1963 independence, will not have studied for a full semester. Despite the Supreme Court on 24th August 2015 ordering the government to raise the pay of teachers by 50-60%, President Uhuru has defied the ruling and, in his public address, told teachers that he will not pay them. In addition, he has compared them to teachers’ pay in other African countries. You see, Mr. President has forgotten to mention the massive disparity between what he and officials in his government earn compared to other countries, including those out of Africa. This government in its first term has managed to teargas children who were claiming back their grabbed playground, neglected security in North Eastern region, which led to the death of 147 students in Garissa University, officers committing human rights violations on children as reported on the preliminary report by Kenya National Commission of Human Rights and now, sending children home because of teachers strike. These are children who were promised laptops in the campaign manifesto by this government, and as you read this none of the children has even received a phone. The future of Kenya being a country considered to have well educated people, is in trouble. If we do not nurture this generation to be the next innovators on upcoming Konza and Tatu City, Standard Gauge Railway maintenance and other technologies leading to achieving vision 2030, we will regret it and forever have it in history that the country took a turn in 2015 during Jubilee Alliance’s leadership. It will go on record that students did not see a promising future with their current government and decided to move to other countries. We should not let our children miss the opportunity of moving with the fast pace the world is going. We need to be at par. The world is a competitive big bowl. The country needs to rely on its leadership and breaking the Rule of Law while serving with impunity especially when one has defied a court order, will take us further towards an underdeveloped, dependent country full of hopelessness. maskani254 #Presidentkenyatta #Uhuru #Kenya #Educationacrisis #StaeofTheNation #TeachersStrike

[maskani254]

Obama Karibu Kenya

Dear Mr. President, Obama

Mr. President, without beating around the bush, let me get straight to the point.

You will see flowers planted on the pavements that border the highway deemed as Mombasa Road. As I write this, the flowers have not yet even been planted, probably waiting for 23rd July, which by the way is my birthday so a gift would be nice :-) or for tendering.

Kenyans Jay walk on that highway all the time and many have lost their lives trying to get to the other side. Fine, we got two flyovers after ranting on twitter but they are not enough. You would think it’s is our right to get these kind of infrastructure and services, right? By the way # KOT, Kenyans on Twitter, will give you Kenya’s reality check, one that is neither stage managed nor thought through since the announcement that you were coming over. They will even accompany the truth with photos, videos, cartoons, you name it, any form of visual communication that will portray the reality. As I was saying, the flovers are so dangerous at night, night being 7:30pm especially for women. To add salt to injury, they do not have lights.

On a normal day, traffic is hectic. Just imagine what we will go through when you come? Talk to our President to allow Kenyans to have a holiday on your arrival day. Anyways, it will even easen the whole melodrama with our outraged traffic police (the whole country will be on shutdown either way). Am telling you these guyz can shout at someone as if one is in Turkana where Ben Carson allegedly ‘hails’ from.

I know our clergies have told you not to speak about gay rights. I wish they could also be that vocal in regards to Female Genital Mutilation, Beading and Early Marriage. Could you talk about these issues, probably?

On the positive side of things, a few days prior to your arrival, we will not have trash bales on the road sides, we will have flowers, well for a while at least, there will be security and we will have water and electricity.

Looking forward to your visit. Karibu Sana IM

maskani254

[maskani254]

#PBOActNOW: A combination of the overarching public feedback to the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Devolution and Planning – through the Public Benefits Organisations Taskforce – to commence the PBO Act, 2013 as passed. These views were collected from all over the country. (via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJK0hK5K0NA)

[maskani254]

https://soundcloud.com/maskani-kenya/hon-martha-karua-speaking-at-the-commemoration-of-the-supreme-court-ruling-2-years-ago

[maskani254]

https://soundcloud.com/maskani-kenya/hon-moses-kuria-speaking-at-the-commemoration-of-the-supreme-court-ruling-2-years-ago-and-its-implications

[maskani254]

Somalis in Kenya.

1. If you are a non-Somali Kenyan, how do you feel about the Somali community in Kenya?

2. If you are Somali-Kenya, how do you feel you are treated in Kenya?

[maskani254]

The excuse of poverty is not an excuse.

Africa has one of the most richest natural resources on the planet. However,because of greed, corruption and inaccessibility, the people (common wananchi) have not been able to benefit from these resources.

The killings, from #XenophobiaSA to #AlShabaab to...