Kenya Party On June 14th At Sätra
Sound Of Blackness would like to inform all our fans in Stockholm that we are going to have a summer jam packed with quality entertainment kama kawaida. We have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that muta-enjoy videadly…
You are all invited to our kick off event, BANJUKA NIGHT on 14th of June at our new location The Redline Disco which is conveniently situated by the Tunnelbana station at Sätra Centrum. All the Sound Of Blackness fans, friends and family are welcome to party with us from 9:00 pm 3.00 am.
Have no fear, the Official GRAND NYAMA CHOMA 2008 will be hosted by Sound Of Blackness on July 26th 2008 so mark your calendars. Inform watu wenu from all over Scandinavia that all roads will lead to Fittja this summer.
We thank you again for your continued support and look forward to seeing you at the Redline Disco in June, Nyama Choma in July and of course we will keep you informed about our August event as soon as plans are finalized.
Sound OF Blackness
Trubadur Bounces Back With Videos From The Archive
Moses Trubadur is officially back into circulation. In a recent contact with the Kenyan musician, he said that he has been unavailable, both due to circumstances and urgent engagements. He appreciated the fact that some Kenyans were very concerned after he reportedly went out of circulation in Stockholm.
When he returned, he had an assortment of video clips, some of which have already been uploaded at Youtube. The clips were fetched from the archives and KSB wishes to share them with readers. No doubt many Kenyans in Stockholm will recognize themselves in the clips which reminds one of the good old days.
We begin with a clip when Wangari Maathai came to Stockholm soon after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize some years ago. The Narc government had just seized power and Kenyans met her in Stockholm to dig out from her details about the new government. Trubadur was the main entertainer on that day. KSB takes this opportunity to welcome Trubadur back to business in Stockholm.
Stockholm has been rather quiet following the post election crisis in Kenya, a phenomena which pundits have linked to the need for a “cooling off period” from the post election crisis and lack of parties after party organizers also went underground.
Sound of Blackness, an Entertainment group that took Kenyans by storm last year, has suddenly gone quiet. The last time they threw a bash was on December 15th. Kenyans in Stockholm went through Christmas and New year without a single opportunity to shake stuff. Bachelors and Bachelorettes who expected to take advantage of the Christmas and New year Party opportunities to lay or get laid after some kinda a hook up had to make do with closed circuit link ups of known friends where not much usually happens.
Open seduction among Kenyans in Stockholm is rare because of two things. Once it’s known openly that so and so is scratching with this or that Mkenya, both the dude and the duddet begin to run the risk of not catching a new prey and, according to one Bachelor who spoke to KSB last year, the big problem is that once the “paring process” is identified, potential customers (especially the ladies) begin to keep their distance and if you are just looking for a one night stand, the thing may be interpreted to mean that you are already hooked. The situation is more serious with the ladies who fear being referred to with negative epithets – anafyekwa vi deadly.
A virile Kenyan dude who had a kinky reputation of orbiting around the central axis of almost any Kenyan girl who could consume beer got the name of “mufyekaji” from the girls but only after they had been fyekad. He reportedly holds the record of having brought down at least ten pants in a span of one year before the girls eventually blew the lid on him. There was total panic among girls in Stockholm last year when the guy got entangled in a legal snare with a Swedish woman who succeeded in putting him out of circulation.
The panic was linked to possible HIV business and that kinda a stuff. Talking about the “Party draught”, it’s the worst ever in Stockholm and may be the community needs to communicate with some “Aid agencies” who could send in “Entertainment supplies” and fix something at Norsborg because the Disco famine in Stockholm is also linked to post election violence which saw DJs and Music groups hooked on their TV/Computer screens to follow what was happening to their relatives in Kenya.
February, Match, April and even May have not witnessed the calling of a “Grand disco”. The situation looks gloomy because indications are that for the first time since 1998, the Kenya Grand Nyama Choma Festival may also go missing on the Menu if organizers do not volunteer to come up and fix the event.
Leaders of the Kenya United Weflare Association (KUWA) like Mark Gaya, Pastor Beatrice Kamau, Laban Mberi, Enock Otuga, Jared Aruka, Gerry Midenyo, Joseph Goga, Kenneth Wamburi Munge aka Ofore, Peter Gitau aka Man Gitash and other “Party veterans” who fixed Nyam chom from 1998-2003 have gone into retirement while Kenyans who filled in between 2004-2007 have not shown any interest in organizing the event.
If it doesn’t take place this year, Kenyans will have to make do with Mini-Nyam-choms organized around friends and close contacts. KSB will continue to monitor where Nyama choma smoke is likely to show up in the skies of Stockholm as the sun opens up and as wazungus also download their clothes along sandy Stockholm beaches to burn their skins, a compulsory Mzungu way of enjoying the summer.
You rarely see a Kenyan lazing around these beaches topless, shoeless and with an underwear even if you scan all beaches in Stocky. If it is burning hot, the typical Kenyan will prefer to grill near some shady tree just to take shelter under the tree ie run away from the heat when wazungu prostrate themselves in that same sun for hours. Is it because of melanin or is it simply because many Kenyans in Stockholm were brought up in shags or cities where going to the beach was not part of the vocabulary?
Barry Owino called me this week and hinted that some Nyama event could be cooking but he is yet to return with the details. We can only hope that Barry ties the strings meticulously and works out the magic because it will be a huge negative if the Grand Nyam-Chom fails to surface this year. I hope that the Bagarmossen Church will call upon the Lord to help Barry pull the thing.
Okoth Osewe
Bereaved Flo Arrives In Kenya For Father’s Funeral
Florence Akoth, a Kenya who lost her father last week, arrived in Kenya on Monday this week for the funeral. On Saturday, Kenyans gathered at Flo’s residence at Bålsta to mourn with the bereaved family and to offer any kind of support. Several Kenyans attended the event. Flo travelled to Kenya with her sister Lillian on the same flight.
Addressing the gathering, Prisca Försman, a Kenyan, told the audience that Flo was a very hard working person. She regretted the loss of Flo’s father and asked Kenyans to pray for the family. Prisca is a member of “Maendeleo Ya Wanawake” which is active in Stockholm. Prisca said that the big turn out at the event was a signal that Kenyans and friends liked Flo and family. “People don’t come to this kind of event in large numbers if they don’t love you”, she said.
The mourners were also addressed by Mrs Hellen Opwapo, the Chairlady of ODM-Scandinavia. Mrs Opwapo said that she had known Flo for a long time and added that losing a close relative was not easy to deal with. She hoped that the family would have the stamina to go through the process of mourning. She said that bereavements are part of life and which everybody had to face at different points in time.
The occasion was presided over by Flo’s family in conjunction with the Kenya Support Network in Sweden (KESNET), an organization that was formed by a group of Kenyans four years ago to help members whenever they are bereaved. Flo is the Treasurer of the group while Charles Otieno Owiyo is the Chairperson.
Despite the mourning mood, Kenyans from all walks of life shared stories and got time to reconnect after a long time. There was plenty of food and drinks and some Kenyans killed the night at the residence. There was no major incident although at one point, a Kenyan male was deemed to have been out of order after he took one too many.
Okoth Osewe
Luo Language In Stockholm’s Kindergarten
I have two children aged 2 and 5 with my Swedish wife. Even though I constantly speak Luo with them, it is difficult for them to achieve fluent Luo. I am aware that even in families where both parents speak for example Luo it can be a constant fight to strengthen the mother tongue.
Children in Stockholm can get modersmålsstöd /support in mother tongue even at Kindergarten level. This is an excellent way of strengthening our children’s languages. At present apparently only my two children are the ones that have had their application done for them in Stockholm Stad
.
Modersmålsstöd is free of charge and the application is being done by the kindergarten. I am aware that not all kindergartens bring the question up with parents speaking other languages than Swedish at home.
Utbildningsförvaltningen will advertise for a qualified person for modersmålsstöd in Luo if they have request summing up to 10 hours per week. (I think a child gets 1,5 hours of support/ teaching per week at this level.)
So, I call on all you parents in Stockholm to also apply for modersmålsstöd. On the link below you find more information in Swedish, and from there you can obtain a form for your kindergarten to fill.
Sincerely
Barry Owino, father of Akoth and Odour
KSB NOTE:
Other communities in Stockholm could do the same to get Kenyan languages to kids alive in Stockholm. Good move.
Questions & Answers About Sweden
My name is Betty and I am a Kenyan citizen. I am 26 years old and I would like to come and settle in Sweden. I found your contact in the Internet and I am writing to request you to send me an invitation letter to come to Sweden so that I can start a new life in that country.
I am a University Graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. I am very beautiful, hard working and obedient. I don’t mind taking any type of job as long as I can arrive in Sweden and settle down. I am currently working for a small Company but I am not satisfied with my job. I have read about you in the Internet and I believe you can help me. I and my friends in Kenya read your blog regularly and we find it very interesting.
I am very saddened to learn that after coming to Sweden, some Kenyans commit crimes and get to prison. I hope you will be able to help me or give me any advice that could help me because I want to leave Kenya. Politicians are cheating people and I think that I should depend more on myself than on the government. I believe that if I leave this country, opportunities could open for me. Waiting to hear from you.
Betty.
Nairobi, KENYA.
Thanks for your letter. To begin with, I cannot just write you an invitation letter to come to Sweden because I do not know you. The situation here is not as simple as it looks like. You could get a tourist visa to come and visit someone in Sweden for three months and even extend it to six months but after that period, you will have to return to Kenya.
In order to continue staying in Sweden on a long term, you must either enroll as a Student at one of the country’s Universities, get someone/company to employ you or settle down on grounds of a “Family re-union” or something in that direction.
You have said that you are hard working and that you are in a position to take up any kind of job despite your University education. The problem is that to work in Sweden, you need to be issued with either a “Work Permit” or a “Permanent Residence Permit”.
To get a Work Permit, you must show that you have already been hired by an employer in Sweden while the law stipulates that the employer will have to prove to the Swedish authorities that by hiring you, there is nobody else qualified to take up the kind of job you intend to do in Sweden within the Swedish Labour Market.
To settle down on grounds of family re-union, you must have a family connection. You could still make it to Sweden on a tourist visa, fall in love with a Swede or anyone holding a Permanent Residence Permit and make an application to stay here on these grounds.
You have mentioned that you are a beautiful girl but in case you sweep some man off his feet and he falls for you, you will be required to make an application for a Permanent Residence Permit with one key condition.
You will be required to travel back to Kenya to submit your application for residence at the Swedish embassy in Kenya unless there is a “special circumstance” surrounding the application.
A special circumstance could, for example, be a pregnancy. The Swedish authorities believe that if you come here, fall in love and get pregnant at the time of applying for residence, you don’t have to return to your country to await for a Permit because by becoming pregnant, the relationship will be deemed serious enough to warrant an immediate permit to stay. There are several “paper marriages” that have worked in Sweden with varying degrees of success and failures.
As a person who does not know you, it is difficult for me to write you an invitation letter to come to Sweden because by doing so, I would be making several personal commitments which cannot be guaranteed by virtue of you being a stranger. This does not mean that I may not be able to help in any other way.
You might have found my contact through the Internet but that is no ticket for my help on such sensitive matters as a visa application. I hope that you will find this response useful and wish you well in your struggle to leave Kenya for whatever reasons. Once again, thank you very much and good luck.
Okoth Osewe
Florence Asum’s Father Is Dead
Florence Asum, a Kenyan resident in Stockholm, has lost her Dad in Kenya. News about the tragic loss arrived yesterday Monday May 5th. The Dad has been ailing.
An “Open House” has been set up at the residence of Florence at Manssängstigen 3 in Bålsta (Surface train to Bålsta) where friends, sympathizers and well wishers are meeting daily to pray and console the bereaved family during this trying moment.
There will be a collective gathering for Prayers at Florence residence on Saturday 10th May from 16.00 hrs. All are welcome both at the Open House and at the prayer meeting on Saturday.
KSB sends deep condolences to Florence and family as a result of this tragic loss which has put the family in a sad and gloomy situation. The loss of a parent is a very difficult experience and a turning point in the lives of the bereaved.
We hope that the family will find the courage to go through this difficult period when they also need every support from all people of good will. May the soul of Florence’s Dad rest in eternal peace.
Okoth Osewe
Kenyan Arrested By Police In Stockholm
A Kenyan male is currently in police custody after being arrested in Stockholm. According to information gathered by KSB, the Kenyan was arrested in an apartment in Stockholm after another Kenyan called police following a disagreement.
The arrested Kenyan is not documented and police had no problems arresting him because he had already overstayed. The Kenyan arrived in Sweden in September last year on a tourist visa which has since expired.
Details of the story are murky. But according to a source, the Kenyan was called to a meeting in a Stockholm apartment to resolve a long standing crisis that was tearing the relationship between him and a group of friends.
The crisis had been precipitated by a romantic affair between the Kenyan and another Kenyan girl who had just turned eighteen. The problem was that the Kenyan was moving “very fast” with the “just 18” girl who was residing with one of the complainants. The view from opponents of the relationship was that the Kenyan was taking advantage of the “just 18” lassie with the agenda of making papers and that it had nothing to do with love.
The crux of the matter was that the guy was 32 years old, was married in Kenya with two kids and that instead of confusing the girl, the guy ought to have been concentrating on making his ways out by seeking a more mature woman who was in a position to understand the situation and who was capable of making mature decisions.
The Kenyan had been advised by several friends in the circle to leave the “Sweet 18” alone but he just continued to consume the goods. Concerns began to mount that with the high level of mapenzi heat that was developing between the Kenyan and his new lover, the circle would one day wake up to find that the lassie had been ballooned and rushed to the immigration department in a marriage arrangement thereby deepening the crisis.
When a crisis meeting was called where all stake holders were summoned in an attempt to resolve the crisis, the meeting turned stormy as the guy was unapologetic and militant. In the confusion, police was called and the Kenyan was arrested. He is currently in custody awaiting deportation.
Okoth Osewe
About KSB
New Book On Kenya December 2007 Election Crisis: In Circulation
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