THE STORIES UNTOLD

"Every person has the freedom and liberty to express his or her opinions without fear or favour...But in this, the freedom of expression does not extend to public incitement or hate speech or words that insinuate discrimination of any kind against another's tribe, colour, religion or background." This is a loose paraphrase of the Bill of Rights in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution upon which I will premise my arguments. As far as my memory dates, history has - for times not few - upheld and indeed proved that curtailers of the freedom of expression have almost always had ulterior intents up their sleeves. Either they have a blackish background which they do not wish to let out of the bag, or they feel intimidated by the  liberals' views. Simply put, they fear the truth; real as it is. Retired President Moi was hasty to limit the KANU renegades' freedom of opinion and expression because he was very much privy to the fact that they would sell him out. He, like all ot...

A little sleep, then a dream: A new world order, In the horizon's lining, Ants are mammoths, And the big pigs; minute. Paupers become givers, And the ample donors, Become beggars on the streets; A classic case, Of grace to grass. Domineers become domineed And the barrage of slaves, Masters. Sweet irony-things fall apart, In a house of rocks. Beasts tread the land, Free from fear of the whip. And man; Superior in stature and thought, Is subjugated. A little more slumber then awake, Just a dream it was, A foreshadow of sort. Satirical and allegorical though, A dream in the offing. @oiraqaleb Esq.

Revolutions eat their own children. Governments eat their own people!" Those are the very words of Siaya Senator James Orengo on the floor of the senate on the 19th day of July 2016 during the electoral laws debate. His sentiments were directed at the Jubilee legislators who were defending their party to their last. Over time, the truism of Orengo's allegation has become apparent beyond reasonable doubt. Let me tell you why. I will draw my  analogy from George Orwell's allegorical novel-The Animal farm - in synopsis. Old Major, a senile pig of the Manor Farm in the suburbs of England, alleges to have had a very satirical yet important dream. Duly, he summons all the animals of the farm to a prompt meeting to narrate unto them the worthwhile vision and its claimed significance. All the animals thus assemble in the barn and ready themselves for Old Major's speech. Old Major sets the ball rolling by stating that for so long, man has mistreated them - the animals of th...

For quite a long time, actually since independence, Kenya has perennially been he ld hostage by a few predominant personalities majorly in the political arena. Our lives, futures and even more profoundly, our destinies, have been dangled maliciously on the palms of a bunch of self  acclaimed leaders. I actually, for a moment, tend to surmise that 'leaders' would be too much an appraisal to mount to such fellows. These are a pack of power hungry hounds who along the years have considered the vast majority of Kenyans not as fellow countrymen and compatriots but rather as mere voting machines who are due to be used and later dumped upon achieving their unpalatable Nirvanas. Our interests as due citizens of this republic have always been bulleted first in the politicians' to-do lists (manifestos) only to be trashed by the very same drafters upon ascension to power. We are taken for a ride every five constitutional years but we don't seem to be privy to that. And quite in...

                                                                               3-10-2018 They who say, have for times not few, alluded to the truism of the old adage that the waters are never missed till the well runs dry. It was not until just recently that a majority of the Kenyan citizenry acknowledged the paramountcy of a long standing and credibly viable opposition in the country. I was far beyond profound shock and amazement when last week I saw the very same people who presumablypresumably- per the status quo of course- vehemently shunned the idea of an Odinga presidency crying foul at his dec...

                                  21-10-2018 It is 12 noon EAT, the 21st day of October 2018. A day after the Mashujaa day celebrations. The sun is burning hot and the students, save for me, as well as the teachers are standing beneath receiving its first hand impact. I am penning this article from the comfort of my desk in one of the 25 classes of Kapsabet High School-one of the few to be appraised as a national school. And today, this very day of October, they are in anxious anticipation of a visitor whom they have acclaimed as 'very important'. I have been just meticulous enough not to use 'we' in place of 'they' for the simple reason that unlike those I am referring to, I'm not so desperate to receive this visitor. This very important visitor has been called upon to launch a just completed project vthat has been named after him in an evident showcase of obsequiousness. I don't know why but I am...

I happened to have listened and hitherto watched Juliani's symphony; utawala. This is a song that was produced in 2014 to lament and critique the poor governance streak that had rocked the country. It came at a time when corruption had soared to the zenith. When Kenyans were living in deplorable conditions. When Injustices were being meted upon the citizenry without measure. Juliani stood up against those atrocities. Four years later, Kenya is still the same. Money laundering in government parastatals has not changed a bit. As a matter of fact, its worse now. Corruption still lurks within us. Sadly, it has even eaten deep into our social protectors;agencies and bodies that we're supposed to look up to in the condemnation of such. Parliament, City Hall and Kenya Power are just but a few of the quotable victims. The people of Kenya are suffering in the vicinity of leaders whose sole bother is how and when to enrich themselves! Abomination! People die under evitable circumsta...

                                                                                                                                            15/08/2018 My fellow countrymen, I seek to take you down memory lane to such a period in the preceding year. I wish to evoke the grim portraits that defined our nation just one year prior to today. At such a tim...

Borne of peasants And bred in utter poverty He knew the bitters and sours of life Poor boy from the countryside For shunning falsehood And proclaiming truth He was accused of the revolutionary spirit And ostracized from his kindred His only crime,they claimed Was admonishing royalty And soliciting justice In a havoc wreaked society Predicament after the other The boy knew naw peace For it is what he was A stirrer of trouble But like the caged falcon Which said to its falconer That freedom was inevitable So did the boy from the countryside. oiraqaleb esq.