The Bahatian

When I met Gikara, a time he wanted to share some insights with me, after many of his attempts to reach Wamakothi, who by this time had blocked him, he told me something startling. Wamigunda and Wamakothi were not the only ones who overnight had changed and developed a hostile attitude towards him, but some of his other known friends. Each time he reached out for help, some immediately began to give him unsolicited investment advice he never asked for. How do you tell a hungry man to invest in a food business with zero capital injection and stock to start with in order to fend for himself? In some instances, he'd tell them to cut their crap and answer either yes or no to his request, not make him look like a pitiable beggar that first had to be humiliated before given that soft loan he was looking for. He told me a truth many don't know. Not everyone is cut for business. Not everyone is cut for employment. He had tried business as a side hustle while still employed ...

If there is anything that gives the current crop of political leaders in office the Achilles heel, then its the Gen Z youths. Note how they mobilize, online and organically on the ground. No mobilization funds spent the way the old guard of leaders are accustomed to. No hired buses to ferry them to meeting points, unless where it becomes necessary to crowd fund for out of town rendezvous points. The "Tuko Kadi" slogan that surfaced the other day caught the politicians off guard, with even the State House digital strategist, Denis Itumbi, chancing on it and trying to steal the narrative and twist it to mean Kenyans "Wako Kadi" with president Ruto by trying to highlight Ruto's development record, but Kenyans, as usual, landed on him and politicians aligned to the government using the slogan by telling them they lacked creativity and were trying to hijack a movement that's not theirs. Tuko Kadi aims to mobilize young voters to register in numbers, a...

You are in that social media group and you see a spike of posts where the demise of someone is being announced. Whereas its not uncommon to use social media platforms to convey such messages to the public, there's this common trend of total strangers unknown to the bereaved families being the heralds or bearers of sad news without the affected families approval. We live in era of instant communication, and such posts, when reshared, amplifies the message to a wide audience such that close family members of the deceased, who may be living far, gets to know firsthand of it before calling home to confirm same. That said, funerals in Kenya seems important during electioneering time or premature campaigns where incumbents and aspirants alike uses them to drum support or market their candidacies. Think of that free organic crowd of mourners. No funds spent in mobilization. No logistics headache. No invite of sorts. Just gatecrashing with pomp, with a mounted loudspeaker in fu...

He was a jovial man, generous to a fault. He had worked with a big organization for years, until one day when his troubles began. One morning, as usual, he drove to the workplace. If something was wrong, like an ominous hanging cloud, he should have read it from the security guard's face as he raised the barricade bar to allow him to pass through. As he walked into his office, where he held the level of a senior officer but not the superior one rank, he could feel a kind of change in the atmosphere. Silent stares from staff. Was something wrong? He was about to find out. He settled in his swivel chair behind the mahogany desk. There was a letter waiting for him at the desk. He read it three times in total disbelief. His heart racing. Face pale. Breath almost suspended. He had been fired! No warning. Not that notice giving him like a month or two weeks notice of intention to terminate his terms of employment. No usual counselling that employees were put through when the ...

Living with any form of disability can be challenging. Think of being the subject of ridicule or kind of offensive gestures made to mimick sign language to the extent of developing low self-esteem and leading an introverted life in name of avoiding public or mingling with crowds. More, it humiliates when others think you're object of empathy and sympathy like you can't function like a normal human being, and you're treated like a lesser human being. I've been there.   I suffers from hearing loss, which was gradual especially when I was a child. Back then, I could sit even on the back of class but by the time I was in the equivalent of grade six under CBC currently, the loss was that severe that not even hearing aids would remedy the situation, given my ears produces very thick wax that blocks audio canals of a hearing device.   Having attended normal day primary and secondary schools, I was like any "normal" person in society but though I never hea...

The other day, a Nakuru based entrepreneur in hospitality sector was lamenting on a social media platform how business wasn't picking up despite investing massively on it, with a bank loan in tune of a million and accrued interest yet to be paid, and contemplated ending her life. Kenyans, in their uncharacteristic true self, rallied online and organically met at her facility in name of supporting the business and giving her the needed moral support, with reports some travelled all the way from Nairobi just to have a plate of food.   Hers is not an isolated example as businesses are struggling with notices of vacant spaces for rent plastered on doors where once thriving businesses used to operate at, but have since closed shop. Here's the reason why businesses are struggling or closing shop. No money in circulation There's little money circulating in the economy that many Kenyans don't have any disposable income to spend. It has nothing to do with holiday fes...