When I learned of the passing of Ali Pesa, the lead guitarist of John Junior's Beautiful Voices (BV) Band International, my reaction was that of shock and disbelief. It had been barely a month after I had met him at Downholm, Nairobi at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Frail and emaciated though he looked, he appeared happy and energetic; wearing his usual dimpled smile. He had a guitar on his shoulder and was apparently going to perform at show in the area that evening. It therefore came as shock to me when I heard just a few months later that he had passed away in April, that very year (2020). Ali Pesa was without a doubt the best lead guitarist Kenya has ever produced. His unique guitar playing style was high on energy, danceable and rhythmic, producing intricate, fast-paced, and interlocking melodic lines reminiscent of Congolese rumba. It was this unique style that endeared him to the fans and artists alike. Any serious Luo benga or rumba artist knew t...

 Listening to Musa Juma's tracks one quickly realizes that he knew some Lingala (Lingala is a Language, not a genre of music). It is however difficult to tell exactly how much Lingala Musa Juma could speak. Can we be able to tell how much Lingala Language Musa Juma knew by analyzing the lyrics of his songs? We hope we can make a pretty solid estimation. Musa Juma was a Luo from Kenya and there is no evidence that he ever lived, worked in or even visited either of the two Congo republics where Lingala is predominantly spoken. But we also know that a visit or stay in a country is not the only way to interact with a language. From a face-value analysis of Musa Juma's lyrics it is evident that he could at least mumble a few Lingala words. For a person who worked with and lived amongst mainly Congolese immigrants in Kenya for most of his adult life, it should come at no surprise that he would try singing in the language. The Lingala language is held to a rather higher esteem i...

 If you had read that headline just two years ago you would certainly have asked, "Are you kidding me?". But the truth is, this year is not 2022, and no, I'm not kidding you. It is the worst kept secret in Kenya today but the former prime minister of Kenya and the current President are working on a political alliance, that is sure to shake the country. No one saw it coming. It wasn't meant to happen. The whole of Mount Kenya political establishment has worked their asses off to keep it from happening, but it is now sure to happen. The only question is when But how did we get here? We have to go back - way back - to 2007 to get to the genesis of it all. 2007 seems like a long time a ago, but the events that transpired pre- and post- the general elections of that year still cast a dark shadow on Kenya's political future. The seeds of madness sown during that dark chapter of Kenya's history have grown into a giant tree under whose canopy the current and future po...

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...