Whenever the Kenya national football team (Harambee Stars) loses a game, many Kenyans are quick to call them names like "Luo Fc", "Omena United", "Jaruo team (sic)", "Kisumu boys" etc. And there are yet others who are quick to point out that the team doesn't represent the face of the country. I had heard these allegations many times before but I sort of just brushed them aside as not deserving of any attention. But my experiences with the Four Nations Tournament woke me up a little bit. Maybe there really is unfairness in team selection in Kenyan football after all. Maybe Luos and Luhyas are unjustifiably favoured. Looking at the Harambee stars squad - both senior and juniors- that represented Kenya at the Four Nations Tournament in Malawi, I couldn't deny that there was an over-representation of Luos and Luhyas. As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing even a single Somali, Kisii, Kamba, Kikuyu or Kalenjin name on the team-sheet ...

 After twelve rounds of games, the free scoring Posta Rangers sat pretty at the top of the Kenya Premier League table. Their form; imperious, their attack; second to none, and their pockets deep enough to swallow a dinosour. Everything seemed to be working in their favour. With no real rivals to condend with, no derbies to cotest in and no weight of fan's expectations to deal with, nothing stood on Posta Rangers' way except perharps their inexperience. And while they have no fanbase except perhaps the employees of Kenya Postal Corporation, they have a real buzz around them. Neutrals would want them to win this year's Kenya Premier League title, if not for anything else, just to break the Gor Mahia - Tusker monotony. But will they? After 12 rounds of games Posta Rangers had scored a league high 18 goals in 12 matches and boasted an impressive point total of 25 points, one more than the defending champions (guess who?) Gor Mahia. This means they (Rangers) have already surpass...

 The just conclucled Talanta Hela football tournament - a national under-19 boys' and girls' football tournament organized by the Ministry of Sports and the National Talent Academy - has proven once again the undeniable wealth of talent and sporting brilliance that reside at the Kenya's grassroots. Homa Bay county emerged champions under the boys' category after beating Kisumu City 4 -2 in a thoroughly entertaining encounter played at Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday 12th December, 2023. Homa Bay, with their trademark passing game and beautiful free-flowing football, proved to be a cut above the rest. Under the tutelage of one George Ouma Sonko, Homa Bay just had a spark of brilliance about them. Their talisman Cecil Miller proved a constant threat in front of goal with his trickery and movement. Cecil managed to score 7 goals in 5 games in the tournament, one short of the 8 that the tournament golden boot winner Austine Odongo of Vihiga County managed. So, what did we...

 Learning a new language can be an exciting experience. But, without the proper resources and guidance, it can be quite frustrating. Now, Lingala language can be a little frustrating to try to learn. Because, despite the widespread use of the language and the huge interest people have in it, there isn't much in way of resources available online for those who want to learn it. The available youtube videos sadly do not go any further than introducing you to some greetings, courtesies and leave taking. And sadly, they all seem the same; it's like someone once wrote a script that everyone else has since been using.  If you aren't a Swahili speaker or a speaker of any Bantu langauge, the task becomes much harder coz even the little resources available online won't help you much. Because translating Lingala, a Bantu language, into any of the European languages can be a daunting task. Allow me to explain. Sentence structures in Lingala are so different from say English, making...

Kenya national football team (Harambee Stars) finally won a competitive game of football and the whole nation was euphoric like we just discovered fire. This rarity occurred on the night of 20th November, 2023 when Kenya won a competitive away game for the first time since.. (who remembers?). Granted, it was a good victory; five goals without reply cannot be taken lightly. But still it was against an injury-rocked team, ranked almost 70 places below Kenya and themselves on the back of a heavy defeat. For context, Ivory Coast beat the team in question (Seychelles Islands) by nine goals to nothing. And while we also had injuries of our own, the game or the result thereof, does not reflect the true strengths of both teams. We were lucky to meet an already demoralized team, in near free-fall state of decline and at its worst moment. And while the scoreline doesn't reflect it, Seychelles mustered chances of their own, with which a decent team would have punished...

 If you have been listening to Ohangla or Luo Benga for a while then you'll probably be familiar with the name Okoth Niang' Loth. I don't know, but his name just pops out a lot in the dedications (or what Congolese people refer to as "Kobwaka mabanga"). The Kobwaka Mabanga culture is a phenomena associated with sending dedications to often rich people - mostly patrons of the art - who in one way or another has supported an artiste's craft. Translating literally to "throwing stones" it has been a huge part of the Congolese rumba tradition. Names Like Patrique Luwowo, Tchatcho Mbala, Adam Bombole, Didi Kinuani, Kayembe Chez Temba, Jose Kongolo FBI, Tabou Fatou "Mama na Compressor", Eddy Badiata and Ahmed Bakayoko pop up a lot in the dedications. The Kobwaka Mabanga culture is a phenomena associated with sending dedications to (often) rich people  mostly patrons of the art. Well, Luo music has a version of their own. You'll hear names lik...