Modern Opinion

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga We need a new set of celebrities in Kenya. Politicians alone are not enough. Yes, there are actors and singers who we ‘all’ know. However, do we accord them the same attention that we do politicians? I am not saying that politicians are bad. Nevertheless, the same may not be said for all of them – a topic for another day. I once saw a video of the child who could recite the names of all the 47 Kenyan governors at the time. It was very impressive given her age. Though it got me wondering: how is it that they are so famous, enough to be known even by a toddler? It is then that I stumbled on a rather unfortunate realization. Every time we watch television or listen to our radios, it is politicians that dominate the headlines. This is the same case with newspapers. When was the last time your favourite musician appeared on the first page of your newspaper? or even as the first news item on television? Mass media ...

Sex sells S ex sells. That is a fact that is as sure as money itself.  Recently, a famous Kenyan songstress has found herself on peoples’ lips for all the wrong reasons. Her crime: doing a live stage performance half-naked. However, before we join her critics’ bandwagon, we need to understand a few things. Why does sex sell? Famous rapper T.I once said, “a rapper’s material is mostly influenced by their immediate environment”. This is after he was asked why African-American rap songs mostly preached violence and confrontations with the police. This was at a time when police brutality was at an all-time high in America. Some quarters may dismiss that statement. However, we cannot simply assume its logic. American rap group NWA sold millions of records in their time. This was from the production of such songs. Whether such songs are good or bad for the society, is not really the question here. There is only one thing that boldly stands out: the classic de...

Match-fixing is a rampant vice that is quickly destroying sportsmanship.   Recently, the international football governing body, FIFA, acknowledged it was currently investigating a Harambee Stars player. His ‘sin’: participation in match-fixing.  Failure to halt match-fixing, will always leave the questions: ‘did we really win?’ or ‘did we really lose?’. Where is the entertainment in that?  Dealing with match-fixing requires understanding why it persists, especially as a recluse of cartels. Online betting An article in the Daily Nation by Vincent Opiyo expounded on how cartels benefit from match-fixing. They benefit mostly due to their involvement with or ownership of betting firms. The more the people lose bets as a result of fixed matches, the more money they make.  Worse still, the more the gamblers lose, the higher the urge to bet even more.  In part, this is due to the promise of heaven-on-earth wins in daily advertisements. To deal with matc...