On 1st April, Sound of Blackness circulated a flyer with information that Ali Kiba, the popular Tanzanian musician whose beats have been well received across East and Central Africa, was destined for Stockholm to entertain his fans. Interestingly, Sam Pippo thought it was just another April fools’ day joke but Ali Kiba did come to town and he did rock his fans. An entry at KSB about the Ali Kiba show could summarize the storo…
“This could get out of hand but look at it this way. How do you re-tell the story at KSB when, in the middle of a “model dance” (in a black tight that gives you all the necessary configurations), the hindquarters are systematically brought down so low that a rough calculation between the “main goods” and the hard floor is just about two centimeters? It could be an awkward way of reporting the news but a guy who was apparently making a similar calculation cracked me up when he wished that his equipment “was pointing somewhere in the vicinity” on the floor as stuff came down!…”
The first few months of 2010 were nasty. From January to April, hardly a month passed without a Kenya-Stockholmer being bereaved. Four days into the month, Lisa Wanjera and Judith Wanjiru lost their brother prompting them to organize an emergency trip back home to attend the funeral. Returning home to pay last respects to a departed relative is normally very painful but the best friends can do under such circumstances is to show solidarity.
Although Sam Pippo back home have always accused Kenya-Stockholmers of being lazy or “just living in luxury ulayani”, Kenyans here are very hard working. April was the month when Pastor Beatrice Kamau opened a brand new Church in town which was touted as different from other Churches. The main concept was that the Church would train Missionaries who would then go out to convert people to believe in Jesus Christ. Pastor Beatrice is one of the few qualified Pastors in Stockholm, having studied Theology at Uppsala University. Preaching in Stockholm can be a highly controversial engagement because Kenyans here like politicizing matters especially religion.
In April, two other Kenyans who proved that they have been doing well are William Gilbert Wamae and Colins. Probably, they are the only known Kenyans to have started a business throughout last year and went public about it. After joining together in partnership, they set up the “Collins and Williajms Trädgådsjänst” whose market area included both companies and private entities. KSB could only wish them good luck.
Just as I mentioned earlier, it was as if the year 2010 was the year of bereavements. Jared Odero, a Kenya-Stockholmer lost his Dad in April and once again, friends and well-wishers joined Odero in solidarity. The Kenyan had to travel home at short notice to attend his father’s funeral and when he came back, he thanked everybody who joined him during his hour of need.
Many Kenyans must have heard about the Network for African Unity in Sweden, an organization in which Col Samson Mande has been playing a very big role. Together with Pablo Machine, who runs the Afro-Jam, the two organizations have been working together to promote African entertainment. In April, the Network organized several African gigs that helped bring the community together.
During any given month, there is always what Kenyans call ”vituko”, a Swahili word which roughly means something really “amazing”. In the middle of April, a very amazing storo was published at KSB – the case of lady Sigalame who was dishing HIV “like charity food at a refugee feeding center”. Apparently, the lady had been warned by Swedish Doctors that she had very limited time to live on planet earth and that this news made her to begin distributing the virus even to the lowest bidder.
It was a sad story because prior to getting out of control, Sigalame was a very respected woman within the Kenyan community despite her disease. The funny part was her motivation for spreading the virus. According to the KSB report:
“An agent who has been following the story, said that she mainly targets males (black and white) who do not know her with various levels of justifications. Her motive for targeting white males is to “revenge” against whites for manufacturing the HIV virus which has shortened her life while nigger bulls who fall into her trap are said to be under “punishment” because of the ill treatment she has undergone on the hands of Africans, many of whom she says, have exploited her sexually then dumped her without sympathy. Contacts say that the lady “has very little brain” left in her cranium and that she appears to be losing touch with reality almost on a daily basis”. HIV is like any disease but when one begins to knowingly and willingly spread it around, the is always cause for alarm.
Some rumours said that finally, the lady was arrested and sent to prison, others said she was isolated while some channels had it that she returned to Kenya. Can someone provide some “leaks” as to what happened to her?
Kenyan woman raped in Stockholm
Another tragic event that happened in April was the rape of a Kenyan woman who had to be admitted to hospital after her ordeal. According to information that reached KSB, the woman was drinking in a pub with four men and when the pub closed down for business deep into the night, she left the pub to return home. Apparently, the four men followed her as she passed through a park and raped her in turns until she passed out. She was found by a good Samaritan who took her to hospital. Despite the tragic nature of the case, some Kenyans did introduce some politics into the mix.
According to these people aka Watu Wengine, the storo was curious because they questioned how people the woman had been drinking with all evening could have raped her. “As a woman, you don’t drink with strangers then proceed to cross a park alone well after midnight”, a Kenyan told KSB.
The statement was so sensitive that it could not be published at a time when the woman was still recuperating in hospital. KSB’s Editorial Board thought that it could have been barbaric to carry everything some critics were saying at that point in time but given the amount of water which has now passed under the bridge, such details could be converted into “leaks” then released. Whatever happened, KSB did not take sides in the story which disturbed many Kenyans.
If you have never heard about Dr. Andy, then you may not be a KS-Beer. The guy is reported to qualify for a Guinness Book of records entry because of his skills in confusing women, hanyaring them at will then abandoning them with huge swollen tummies. Some of her victims have actually been trying to expose him at KSB. For the first time during the month of April, a lady sent a photo of the guy which was published at KSB. It is understood that the Kenyan police have been looking for the “Doctor” who is reported to have gone underground in Kenya. He is said to have ruined many young lives and in order to prevent him from causing further damage, authorities wanted to lock him up. It is not clear whether he is still free and confusing girls or whether he is in total hiding.
Then, came Apostle Karanja from the United States as debate focused on religion and Kenya-Stockholm’s Wafarisai. Whichever way you look at it, Kenyan Christians are a divided lot and to get them to agree on one single issue (even in the interest of Jesus) is very difficult. When the Apostle first came to Stockholm, there was a huge crowd that supported the move but after he left, Kenyan Christians basically fell apart.
The crisis came to light when the Apostle returned to Stockholm the second time. During this trip, some Christians boycotted the function while cash that had been raised to carter for the Apostle’s expenses had to be refunded to contributors because of a huge crisis that had exploded within the Kenya Christian Union which later disintegrated.
Despite the difficulties, something positive was that when the Apostle was here, some Kenyans did see the light and they got saved. Men were reported to have quit booze while women who were allegedly hanya hanyaring haphazardly accepted the Lord and ended their bad practices.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Martha Karua gained attention after she and a Catholic priest, Fr. Dominic Wamugunda, were carjacked and robbed on December 6, 2003. She said in Parliament that she was under no obligation to provide any explanation for why she was in Wamugunda’s car or what she was doing at the time of the carjacking. Her security guards were not present when the crime occurred; Karua said that when she did not feel she needed the guards, she did not use them.[12] Martha Karua is a divorcee.
How is Martha supposed to rescue Kenya? when she is part of the problem that Kenya finds itself in today!!
Until she explains to Kenyans why she stood up for rigged elections to keep her mentor in power? why she assisted Kibaki to be sworn in at night like a thief!! and if she can acknowledge that her actions in 2007-2008 endangered Kenyans life’s and brought about the clashes where many innocent Kenyans lost their life’s.
Martha should start by asking forgiveness from Kenyans.. first & foremost, while at the same time telling Kenyans the truth of what transpired during and after the 2007 elections.. she was Kibaki’s front-line Iron lady I recall… quitting her ministerial position was not enough to change Kenyans Views about her..
There are other women out their in Kenya who are more suited for the presidency than Martha Karua without tinted history
Martha Karua was the first brave person in parliament to call the killings being done by ODM as Genocide thus setting the stage for ICC.
KSB: Well said!