The Kenya  Male Senior National football team is called Harambee Stars. And while many may argue that a name has nothing to do with success or failure on the pitch, a case can be made that it actually does. In the current era of marginal gains, small details are what ultimately make a difference.  You see, in the realm of sports, a team’s nickname is not merely a label; it is a psychological banner. It is the first line of attack or defense that inflicts mental terror upon the opponent. When our national team steps onto the pitch as the " Harambee Stars"   they are carrying a name that, is fundamentally ill-suited for the ruthless, competitive arena of modern international football. In sports, names are designed to project power, speed, dominance, or ferocity. Look across the African continent and you will find a savanna of formidable entities :   The Indomitable Lions  of Cameroon,  the Super Eagles  of Nigeria,  the Teranga Lio...

Let me just say it off the bat; there is no football club in Kenya more successful than Gor Mahia. Gor Mahia has won the Kenya Premier League a record 21 times and 10 times in the last 14 years. Gor Mahia is the first and so far still the only football club from Kenya to have won a continental title. Perhaps that's why Gor Mahia fans fondly refer to their team as "the husband of teams" .  A husband because it protects and provides. In an African homestead there may be many wives but there must only be one husband and that one man, that husband, in Kenyan football arena is Gor Mahia. Gor Mahia is not the richest football club in Kenya, it is not even the oldest. It is just the most dominant, the most successful. People may argue about opinions and preferences all they want but there's nothing that can be taken away from winning 21 league titles. Gor Mahia's storied rivalry with Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, better known as AFC Leopards, is perhaps t...

 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 may not have been known to many even though  millions of Kenyans were entertained by his work. But to the few who knew him, Albert Mutuli Kenyatta was without a doubt the best lead/solo guitarist Kenya has ever produced. His unique guitar playing style was high on energy, producing danceable and rhythmic, intricate, fast-paced, and interlocking melodic line...

 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. These allegations resurface over and over again on social media but many people just brush them aside as not deserving of any attention. Those who attempt a reply only point out that national teams are not "constitutional offices" and therefore the representation of every region of the country is not required by law. But on the back of the Four Nations Tournament held in Malawi in 2024, these allegations became too loud to be ignored. Maybe there really is unfairness in team selection in Kenyan football after all. Maybe Luos and Luhyas are unjustifiably favoured. Let's dig in deep into this. Looking at the Harambee stars squad - both senio...

 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 why, 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 musical journey. 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'l...

Well, this is rather weird. Trouble is something we all try to avoid. But for some reason, you are here. Our natural animal or human instincts abhors trouble and craves peace and pleasure. But sometimes you just want to get into some trouble, for the sake of it. It's good for your nose - sorry - your brain and then again, we'll all die some day anyway. So, trouble is not worth avoiding, if you think about it, and even more so if you don't. It will rear its beautiful head into your life regardless. Love it or hate it, believe it or not, trouble is part of life (and death). The good book says, or so I've heard, that "a man born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble ". Read that again (I know you won't, but I don't care). My guess is that you're a man and that you were brought forth by a woman and that's why you're here, trying to make your life short and full of trouble.. There are all sorts of (good) reasons why one might want to get...

When Okatch Biggy sang in his song "Nyathi Nyakach" the words, " Sianda mabeyogi nonega nono. Sianda madongogi nowita oko "(These beautiful buttocks will kill me for nothing. These big buttocks confuse me) he wasn't trying to be funny or controversial. He was simply making music. Yet these words have come to define how his life and music will forever be viewed and have gone on to inspire a generation of artistes to shake of the shackles of religious-cultural norms of modesty and decency and find the courage to spew all manners of lewd messages and insults all over their music. Not long after that he produced yet another work "Adhiambo sianda" which took lewdness to new heights. In fact this song, plus other Biggy's works have been the subject of a doctoral thesis by the renown Kenya scholar Dr. T.M. Mboya, who argues that these loose expressions and the casual manner in which the grave issues of Sex, HIV and AIDS were talked about in the entertain...

 Okay, fine they did win it, they're third on the league and are still in contention for a rare quadruple. Manchester United look like a team on a roll, and the only question is: who's gonna stop them? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This analysis requires some levelheadedness, something rare and very rare indeed among the United fan-base. You'll remember Liverpool were at the exact spot just 6 months ago and we all know what happened. But before we address all that, let's spare a moment to analyze the game - something the mass media and the pundits don't seem to be able to do. Jose Mourihno once opined that that the pundits analyze the result rather than the game, the outcome rather than the means. In fact, that is the same thing we've been treated to since last night. No one is talking about how brave Newcastle United fought. No one is talking about the kind of negative football Man United played just to get the result. But that has been the Man Un...

 "Freres Soki" is the eighth track on Kanda Bongoman's 1991 album tittle "Zing Zong". It is a tribute to two brothers Emile Soki Dianzenza and Soki Vangu who were the founders and band leaders in Orchestra Bella Bella Band in which Kanda had a brief stint as a vocalist. The tittle of the song "Freres Soki" is French for "Soki Brothers" in reference to the two brothers. Tragically the two brothers died within a year of each other. Dianzenza passed on in 1990 and Vangu closely followed behind in 1991. Kanda Bongpman's song is a tribute to both of them. With legendary Congolese guitarist Nene Tchakou on the lead guitar, Mimi Kazidona on rhythm guitar, Kaber Kabasele on the percussions and Kanda Bongoman on the vocals, the song is soft, smooth and melodious as you would expect of the legendary muscian. The song is sang almost entirely in Lingala language. Without much a do let's get right into the lyrics, shall we? (The translations are b...

Emily Nyaimbo - Ng'at Mahero Lyrics Translated from Luo language of Kenya (Translations are bracketed). Nyathi gi Ajuma atumo nduma   (Ajuma's sibling, I start my song) Nyaimbo akelo rumba-na mos ji-miela   (Nyaimbo I deliver my rumba slowly as people dance) Akelo wer mos, kawero wuoyini wuoyi mahero nyakwar Agunda bii inena , ( I deliver the song slowly as I sing about this man whom I love, I call him the 'grandson of Agunda' come and see me) Awach ang'o mamori herana, tiwinjo Amilo nyakwar Owili mosiepi?   (What can I say to make you happy, my friend, since you can hear me, I'm your lover, the granddaughter of Owili?) Yuora rateng' to muol   (He is black and polite) Mamoro ja-choir nayiero Odero Dier chuo te noromo    (I chose him among many men becaouse he's perfect) Atim ang'o?   (What can I do?) Tiromona wuoyi   (You're the perfect man for me) Nyiri madwari ochung' chien mondi   (All the ladies that clamor for your love can stand aside)...