Kenyan Wits

The Milimani Law Courts set the hearing of the petition against the students’ election bill for Wednesday 25th January 2016. Top student leaders including JKUSA President Anyungu Wanyungu will be present in the courts from 12 noon to fight against what they term as draconian university act of 2016. During the Christmas Holidays, a bill was passed by the national assembly which takes away the rights of Kenyan university student to participate in student activism and accords them to a small group of leaders who represent the rest. The amendment was published in the Kenyan Gazette, 30/12/2016 notice number 198. Many student leaders across the country have considered this bill which gives only seven leaders from every college regardless of the size, the responsibility to fight for the rights of every comrade, shortsighted and severe. Some have claimed this amendment takes us to an era characterized by inefficiency, impunity, and powerlessness of the common comrade. In a statement this morn...

Most of us, if not all desire to be loved by everybody. Yet when we get the opportunity to make others interested in us, we screw up. In today’s society, who you know matters a lot. So these are some basic principles you need when interacting with people to make them like you. Inspired and derived from Dale Carnegie’s Book; How to win friends and Influence People . 1. Be genuinely interested in other people. The hardest way to get friends is by trying to impress by people and living according to their standards. Rather, you should invest more time in getting interested in the people you want to be friends with. For instance, know their birthdays or other special days and surprise them with gifts in such days. 2. Know people by both their names and a little bit about their families. The average human is more interested in their name than any other names in the world put together. When you master someone’s name and call them the next time you meet, they will feel precious and recognize...

It’s Friday evening, I’ve just had my supper, half a loaf, and 4 bananas. I am seated in my room watching The Goldbergs, a 2013 sitcom about a geeky boy who uses a video camera to document his family’s crazy life. Suddenly a brilliant idea hits me; it’s Friday, I should go take a walk around Juja and see what college guys are up to. I fit into my jeans, put on my Timberlands and in a jiffy, I’m out of the hall. On my way, I spot a close friend, I walk up to him, wide-grinned because apparently, when am not smiling I seem grumpy. Guys tell me that. But it’s at night, so what the heck. “Hey man! How are doing?” I greet him as we do our usual guys-salutation; an echoing clap of palms followed by a mighty brush of shoulders. Thank God this guy is an inch taller than me, am so tired of brushing peoples’ spleens and pancreases, let alone ribs. My guy was talking to a friend before I interrupted. So, as courtesy dictates, I greet the guy too then am back to my guy. “Dude, you doing a gr...

With the current prevalence of social media platforms in the society, any rumor can spread like wildfire due to a large number of judgmental and hungry news gluttons ready to take in whatever is given to them. The week has kicked off with the news of Lulu Kamau, a student at JKUAT who is accused of allegedly infecting the dean of students, Mr. Nyarika and his wife with an STD and intending to use the dean to rig the upcoming elections in the institution. Alleged screenshots of the conversation between the student and the dean’s wife have spread like wildfire through Whatsapp and Facebook making this rumor a hot topic at the moment. However and quite unfortunate, we might be crucifying this young lady, accusing her of things that might not be true. Take a keen look at the following details. Lulu is contesting for the post of Academic Secretary in the upcoming elections. She faces fierce competition from Kevin Alunga, Wanyoike Daniel, and two others. Don’t you think the conversation migh...

Throughout life as a kid, my community has associated land tilling as an activity for failures and wrongdoers. My parents would sit me down and warn if I didn’t work hard in school I will till the land until I get old and it really scared me. While in school I slashed through grasslands and tilled acres of shamba as punishment for wrongdoing. I couldn’t have loathed farming more than I did until I reached 20 when suddenly something hit me. Farming requires a lot of energy, makes farmers dirty and has very low returns compared to other so-called ‘better jobs’. Yet farmers feed the world. They nurture the poor and the rich alike. They nourish the most powerful people in the world. Farming was present from the beginning of time and is still present now. There is no way we can survive without it. As a young youth, I can attest that the society had cast a shadow on my understanding of farming. The media which is the biggest culprit, made it very hard for me and most of my close friends to d...

Have you ever wondered what your student leaders earn or asked yourself why student politicians campaign so viciously to secure positions? They will say; it’s not all about the money, I want to change the face of the university, it’s a calling, the voice of the people has spoken and it says that I should lead them and many other BS statements you hear out there. But all these chaotic speeches trivialize the wages and benefits they acquire. Okay, I’m not condemning anything, I just want you to know and so, here is a list of JKUSA remuneration     SALARY HEADS  TOTAL Executives       1. President 11,600 1 11,600 2. V. president Admin 10,400 1 10,400 3. V. president social welfare 10,400 1 10,400 4. Secretary General 9,400 1 9,400 5. Finance Secretary 9,400 1 9,400 6. Other secretaries 10,500 8 84,000 Parliamentarians   1. College representatives 2,500 5 12,500 2. School representatives 2,500 17 42,500 3. Department representatives 2,500 42 105,000 4. Hall rep...

1. The era of being lazy and dependent is over . You are now a burden to your parents and hence you have to go into the world and strive to survive on your own. You will work hard just to put food on the table. There will be no space for laziness because the consequences will be upbeat. 2. Learn to get what you want through your own effort . Don’t wait for people to solve your problems. Nevertheless, never pass a free offer of assistance 3. Procrastination will drain your life . It is one of the biggest time wasters, entertaining it reaps bitter results and pulls you further away from your dreams. One way to conquer it is by focusing on the results you expect rather than the work to be done. Don’t think ahead, just think of now, don’t plan to do, start doing 4. Don’t complain. Another big time waster. Either do something about it or shut up and move on. Also worrying doesn’t change your future 5. Understand that there is life as an individual . Happiness should come from within. It ...

University unions have issued a strike notice requesting that the government indulges into negotiations with them over better pay as stipulated by the 2013-17 CBA which the government has failed to honor. They have threatened to boycott until the Kenyan government heeds to their demand even if it takes an entire year. Wait a minute, what’s a CBA? A collective bargaining agreement (CBA), is a legally enforceable contract for a specified period between the management of an organization (in this case government) and its employees who are represented by independent trade unions. It defines employment conditions (wages, working periods, benefits, etc.) and procedures for dispute resolution. In 2011 November, Kenyan lecturers went on a weeklong strike complaining of the delayed implementation of new salaries and allowances by the government in accordance with the 2010-2012 CBA. In addition to the wage grievances, the lecturers were against the government’s decision to double the student inta...