Harambee Stars yapata kocha mpya

Shirikisho la kandanda nchini Kenya FKF limeteua wanachama wapya wa kamati ya kiufundi ya timu ya taifa Harambee Stars.

Akihutubia wanahabari hapo jana katika hoteli moja jijini Nairobi, mwenyekiti wa FKF Bw. Sam Nyamweya alimtaja (aliyekuwa) kocha wa klabu ya Gor Mahia Bobby Williamson kama mkufunzi mpya wa Harambee Stars. Nahodha wa zamani wa timu hiyo Musa Otieno ndiye kocha msaidizi huku Simon Muluma akikabidhiwa wadhifa wa meneja mkurugenzi.

Hatua hii imeafikiwa siku mbili tu baada ya raia wa Ubelgiji Adel Amrouche kutimuliwa kama kocha wa Harambee Stars kufuatia matokeo duni ya timu hiyo. Amrouche pamoja na wanakamati wote wa kiufundi waliachishwa kazi siku ya Jumapili, muda mchache tu baada ya timu hiyo ya taifa kupoteza nafasi ya kufuzu kwa michuano ya taifa bingwa barani Afrika. Timu hiyo ilitoka sare tasa na timu ya taifa ya Lesotho katika mechi ya marudio baada ya kupoteza 1-0 hapo awali kwenye mechi ya kwanza.

Bobby Williamson alikuwa mkufunzi wa timu ya taifa ya Uganda, Uganda Cranes, kwa muda wa miaka mitano kabla ya kuteuliwa kusimamia Gor Mahia mnamo Julai mwaka jana. Katika msimu wake wa kwanza, Williamson aliiwezesha timu hiyo kutwaa ubingwa wa ligi kuu nchini Kenya.

Moi university students on riot

Normalcy has been interrupted for hours at Moi University main campus following a massive and destructive students' demonstration that is still on-going.

The riots began early in the morning, after a today's student newsletter article revealed that current third year students may be subjected to a three months holiday after their first semester in September to create space for the admission of first year students.

The potential victims of the administration's plan from all faculties of the campus started by making noise around the Student Center, attracting a massive crowd which then matched around major areas such as faculty centres, library and shops, destroying property which led to their immediate closure for safety reasons.

They later converged again in front of the Student Center, where they sort to be addressed by an officer from their dean. In a bid to calm the violence, the assistant dean of students produced an internal memo, denying the 'rumours' and providing assurance to the rioting students that they will not be required to go for the said holiday.

However, the angry students ignored the memo and even teared it into small pieces, claiming that the paper has been released just to blackmail and deceive them. They demanded a more authentic confirmation and so are seeking to be addressed by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Richard Mibey.

Msalaba Mwekundu Kuimarisha Mazingira

Chama cha Msalaba Mwekundu cha wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu cha Moi, hapo juzi Jumamosi tarehe 26 mwezi Julai kilizindua rasmi mpango wa kuyarembesha mazingira.

Baadhi ya wanachama wakipanda miche

Shughuli hiyo iliyong'oa nanga mwendo wa saa nne asubuhi, ilihusisha upandaji miti katika maeneo mbali mbali ya bewa kuu. Aidha wafuasi waliitumia fursa hiyo kuutambulisha umma kuhusu uwepo wa chama hicho katika taasisi hii.

Moja wapo ya mikakati waliyoitumia ni kuandaa msafara ulioanzia nje ya jumba la ukumbi wa wanafunzi, chini ya uongozi wa mwenyekiti wa chama hicho Bw. Chris Kimanga. Msafara huo uliojumlisha zaidi ya wanachama hamsini, wakiwa wamebeba bango la chama, ulisonga hadi kituo cha magari kwa mwendo usiokuwa wa kasi, kabla ya kupiga kona kuelekea Magharibi hadi kituo cha ukuzaji miche, maarufu kama ‘Moi University Nursery’, karibu na soko la wazi la ‘Mabbs’.

Ni katika kituo hicho ambapo miche zaidi ya 500 ilipatikana, pamoja na majembe ya kupandia. Kulingana na Bw. David Mitei ambaye ni mmoja wa wasimamizi wa kituo hicho, jamii jirani imekuwa ikinufaika pakubwa na shughuli za kituo hicho. Kwa mfano, taasisi mbali mbali za karibu (kama vile shule na makanisa) zimekuwa zikiwahi miche bila malipo, hii yote ikiwa ni juhudi ya kuyaimarisha mazingira.

Kutoka hapo wanachama wa Msalaba Mwekundu walielekea hadi maeneo ya Hosteli L, ambapo walianza kwa kuipanda miti hiyo ili kujaliza mapengo yaliyoachwa baada ya baadhi ya miti iliyopandwa awali kunyauka au kutonawiri ipasavyo. Baadaye walitapakaa kwengineko, kulikoonekana na uhitaji wa miti, zikiwemo laini za kando ya kibarabara kinachounganisha eneo hilo na Hosteli za Soweto.

Iliyodhaniwa kuwa kazi rahisi ilipevuka upesi na kuwa ngumu na ya kuchokesha, kwani wanachama hao walilazimika kufanya kazi kwenye miale ya jua; kunyosha kamba, kupima hatua sita sita huku wakiweka alama, kuchimba mashimo, kuzika miche na kufunika. Ni shughuli iliyohitaji ushirika, bidii na uvumilivu kwa zaidi ya masaa matatu mfululizo kabla ya kufikia tamati mwendo wa saa nane mchana.

Hatimaye uliwadia ule wakati wa kurudisha nguvu mwilini, ambapo idadi ya wanachama iliongezeka ghafla hadi zaidi ya sabini. Walishirikiana katika riziki nyepesi iliyojumlisha soda ndogo, thuluthi ya mkate wa boflu na pipi mbili kila mmoja kabla ya kufumukana.

What was I hearing?

I woke up this morning, to some funny sounds whose origin and meaning I could not comprehend.

I am not the kind of a person who gets up early but today I had to. It is actually the last dream I had that woke me up.

I was walking along the corridors of a certain hospital when I accidentally spotted a lady patient receiving treatment in one of the wards. She was screaming in pain as the nurse continued to dress her wound on her left thigh.

To me, the whole thing appeared normal because that is exactly what one would expect in such areas. So I ignored and moved on. However, the more I kept moving away, the louder the noise became and the clearer I heard it. This caught my attention. I stopped for a few seconds and felt like it was necessary to go back and see the suffering woman.

I therefore walked back quickly and almost entered the ward when a security guard stopped me. He claimed that no stranger was allowed in before the official time of visiting patients, which was a few minutes later.

As I stood with the guard, the screaming was growing louder every second, to an extent of slightly disturbing the guard too. Soon the visiting bell rang but before I could make any move, I woke up!

Surprisingly, I could still hear the lady screaming. This really confused me because first, I was in my room not hospital and second, the hostel is for men only. I quickly raised my head, just to confirm that I was not still asleep. That is when I got a clue. The noise came from my neighbouring room.

For about two minutes, I tried to understand what was really happening in that particular room but found out that I would not. The sounds then began to fade and finally stopped.

Until now, I am still in darkness. The lady was screaming as if drowning in water or having some jiggers removed from her toes. What exactly was I hearing?

Whenever it rains at Moi

One early morning of a normal campus day, I wake up. I do not expect anything new or better. As usual, every day begins on a morning of hardship that might subject anyone to mourning in hardship.

After making sure that electricity is still present in my room, I quickly get up and think about breakfast first! However, milk and bread or maandazi are not found within. You must walk a certain distance to get them. It rained at night and it is still very cold now, am a bit reluctant to go out. But my final decision is; I am going!

As I walk down slowly, I am joined by comrades from hostels D, G, J and those that reside with me in C. I usually admire their look, men and women of great ambitions, who managed to pass over all the previous academic bridges and finally landed on main campus. They too want to keep up their strength and energy in preparation for another busy day. They walk with me towards the selling points for different breakfast items.

Some of them divert into the SOWETO MESS. I look at them curiously, wanting to find out whether they have remembered to carry extra sugar from their rooms that would add taste to the light-white hot water in the name of tea. I also pray for them that once they consider coming back for lunch in the afternoon, they would arrive as early as possible. Get there behind the first twenty customers and you will be forced to wait for a spoon from the early comers as your rice-dengu gets cold.

Anyway, mine are just prayers and wishful thinking. I hope salvation will come from whoever was/were lucky enough to reap the highest number of votes for the catering docket in the recent September 13th MUSO elections. Rumors have it that the director(s) may go an extra mile to advocate for rescheduling of the MESS operating hours that will favor even those who may not be awake before 8am, whose lunch hours may fall beyond 2pm and those whose wish is to take supper after 7pm.

After the long time sympathy with the MESS users is when I remember that I have my own issues to accomplish, about 50 meters away from the maandazi baking centre and the milk vendors. Now getting to the place is not a big problem, how to get there is the real issue. Just a few strides off the MES building and I am welcomed by several pools of brown stagnant water! Between any two adjacent pools is clay soil soaked in rain water, hence sticky mud.

How do I walk past all these? I ask myself. I do not have the long black boots like most of this area’s residents. But as I stand here confused, several comrades pass, go and come back holding their favorite items for breakfast. They struggle to walk on the muddy path without even complaining. They seem to have adapted to the situation, but I am not. In fact, they too, are not supposed to – at least according to me.

I slowly bow down to fold up my pair of trousers to a level that I suspect will be free from the dirty water and mud. Like the rest, I also want to try walking past. I look around and spot a few ladies around their hostel J. they are busy washing their clothes between the two wings. Something comes to my mind. 'Once I lose stability, slide and probably fall off, these people might laugh at me. I do not want to take chances. So what do I do?'

I remember of another place where hot maandazi and fresh milk are also sold. It is behind hostel H. my watch tells me that I still have around 50 minutes before the morning lecture begins. I know I will not get late by running all the way to that alternative place, for fear of the slippery mud ahead of me. So I take a reverse and stroll on a concrete path between hostels J and G, towards the better place.

To my surprise, the same problem that I was trying to avoid is also here, so it is not better. I realize that as long as I want to take breakfast, I must walk on pools of brown water and mud! The only consolation I see here is that the distance of doing so is slightly shorter.

Due to lack of any other better alternative, I resolve to join yet another queue of comrades and walk on the hard way, the only way. I wonder whether there are any hostel residents around main campus who do not face such troubles whenever it rains at night or very early in the morning. What about those residing in K, L and M; do they also get frustrated at such times? One of my classmates lives there, I will ask her.

What plans do the security and accommodation elect(s) have in mind that would at least reduce such problems among others? I wish I asked the aspirants this question during the cross fires prior to the elections. But still, I will ask them some. I have no reason to blame the outgoing director. His term is over and is no longer concerned about this, although he would have done something little, only if he wanted to.