Our Lame Media

Human beings have a noted bias towards those of their kind and creed. This explains why Kenya's media has been the equivalent of a Nazi propaganda machine when it comes to Kenya's war on Somalia.  The media has been forever overlooking the serious crimes the army has been accused of committing in anyplace it has ever been deployed to; be it Mount Elgon, Mandera and now Somalia.

I'm not sure if its tribal. Tribal loyalty mainly consists of judging people solely by which side they are on and if the coverage is anything to go by, the media has been nothing short of cheer-leader for this effort.

It's not so much as being patriotic, it's that they've been consistently pursuing hatred and bigotry against Somalis for half a decade now.

The media eschews fairness and accountability, writes editorial urging the government to invade Somalia and casts a blind-eye on all the shortcomings of the military and the political class. It's like they've been paid to shill for all that is bad about this country.

Joseph Goebbels' (Hitler's propaganda minister) infamous propaganda principles included this

"Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the target of hatred."


Clearly some at NTV, KTN and Citizen have been reading this.

I hope this instills some cognitive dissonance in you and makes you seek information from unbiased sources. What we have in Kenya is a sham hate mongering machine that masquerades as MEDIA.

Let's all pray for peace and brotherly love.

NTV's Bull's Eye Lampoons Aden Dualle [Video]

Aden Barre Dualle is no stranger to self destruction or to saying really stupid things in front of crowds. If you are a self-obsessed rookie politician with the intention of getting in the news cycle as often as possible, what do you do? Go to every open Mic and say whatever stupid drivel that rolls through your head with no sense of shame or self censorship.

The flip side of this: such attention will come with a degree of (substantiated) mockery, satire, lampooning and of course a stable diet of tailored insults. Comes with the game sir!

Video of TJRC Hearings in Garissa

Kenya; The African Mexico, Its Stockholm syndrome and what Somalis can do to change their fortunes

 Kenya is being over-run by drug cartels and narco-hitmen. Its unprofessional and untrained police officers are getting whacked Mafia style right in the heart of Nairobi while they are pre-occupied with explaining their bad fortunes on non existent 'terrorists' and burqa clad femme fatales.

The uptick in clashes between Police and drug traffickers is a sign that Kenya's long running drug problem is coming of age. We have now entered a new phase where drug barons feel powerful enough to take on the weak  and co-opted police force. Kenya's is fast morphing into a Mexico. Its now the equivalent of a Brazilian Favella. Traffickers have heavily embedded themselves deep into every level of society and  are virtually controlling law enforcement on this almost failed state.

Thursday's police killings in Eastleigh and Roysambu was a show of force by the God fathers. Expect a new wave of assassinations carried out by commando-style hitmen. On Thursday, the Police's, or shall we say kenya's ragtag militia's weaknesses were layed out bare for all to see. Instead of cordoning off the place, collecting evidence and re-assuring the public, they went on to allege that  terrorists were behind the heinous act. How could they know in such a short time? They heard it from someone, who heard from someone that saw something. This engagement in rumour mill village policing only heightened the media's hysteria and vilification of Somalis.

To decipher this inexplicable obsession with Somalis, you don't have to look any further than Kenya's two biggest Media houses that are both beholden to their Indian owners and benefactors. These Indians and their allies in Parliament are engaged in wanton destruction of the country's future by plundering its wealth, selling narcotics to its youth and corrupting every public office in the land.

If I may paraphrase Frank Rich in a different context, to understand Kenya's subservience to Indian businesses and their interests, all you have to do is consult Wikipedia's article on "Understanding Stockholm syndrome"." It explains that hostage takers are mostly successful in winning the loyalty of their subjects if they temper their brutality with a bogus show of kindness. Before you know it, the victim will start concentrating on his captor's 'good side' and develop psychological characteristics to please them. 'Dependency,lack of initiative and an inability to think, act or decide."
Kenya's people and media have been under Indian hegemony for so long now that they are fully under spell of Stockholm syndrome. Ever since Somali merchants started to break this foreign strangle hold on business and finance, pro status quo forces have been agitating for a return to the old days of Indian ownership of half Kenya's GDP.
Somalis have to counter this concerted racial attack through a number of means:
(i)   Bleed the media houses financially by suing them through legal apparatus. Forming a legal body that sues them for defamation every time they write a fake story will waste a huge chunk of their profits  on legal fees.
(ii) A blanket boycott on products that are advertised on KTN and NTV. No Somali businesses and affiliates should also advertise on any of these media houses either.
(iii) Buy the services of journalists and columnists. These guys are even more corrupt than the police. A small fee will go a long way in getting you a lot of positive coverage.
(iv) If the media is not giving you a fair shake, start your own media. Frame your own agenda and don't let others brand you names. Aljazeera's success in shaping how the world sees the middle east is prove that it can be done. There must be a few Somali millionaires with the resources and  the will to do so.
(v) Somalis should form lobby groups whose purpose is to forward Somali interests in the legislature. This corrupt Godforsaken place is ruled through the checkbook.
(vi) Somali businesses and companies should also be a force for common good. Giving a little back to the slums that surround Eastleigh and South C will go a long way in dispelling the myths that are propagated by KTN and NTV.
(vii) Our brain dead representatives in Parliament should make some noise about this continued racism on the floor of the house. This might instigate some media self flagellation and reduce the intensity of this sustained racial defamation. To solve this, bellicose reprisals will be necessary but they have to be grounded on pragmatism.
(viii) Finally, as youths we should  take to social media such as Facebook and twitter to defend our brethren. I'll summarize by quoting Edmund Burke, "All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

The Scourge of FGM & Early Marriage in Garissa

I'm not an oracle but I'll try and draw on whatever meager oracular powers I possess to claim that the girls housed at Dr. Ekman Girls's Home will in very measurable ways transform the role of women in society and our perception of islamo-neo-feminism. Right now, I'm all bubbly because this institution is solely breaking down deep rooted cultural misconceptions on womanhood and the role of a strong female in society. I have been to this school, talked to the girls and will be writing a review on the performance of this school cum home.

Save for preppy middle class private schools, I don't think there are any other schools in Garissa that have students whose mastery of english is so flawless whose desire to succeed despite all obstacles is boundless and whose generosity is so genuine. 

I thank NTV for telling a story that needed to be told in a voice that is so authentic.

Video is below here:

NTV Takes on Clanism in Garissa

They say no media  is bad media, so going by that philosophy, the people of Garissa should be happy that an anti-clanism message is sort of taking root in our city and in the larger NEP region. However, What irked me the most about the video is the selective editing of images to just snapshots of the cities in-glorified places. They filmed masjid ibnul Qayyim but were unwilling to show the highrises that are just opposite to it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but you can't say my visceral reaction is misplaced given the media's interest in trying to make sweeping negative statements about our region and people.

Here is the video:

Garissa's Changing Fortunes