No Memory For Sisyphus Human rights are constantly evolving. The more we learn, the clearer these rights become to us. Usually, our understanding of human rights comes from ethical discussions, but sometimes we get it from science. Think of The Haike process. Before it, could you even imagine rallies worldwide pushing for the right not … Read more
On an ordinary Thursday night in Ngong Avenue Estate along Ngong Road in Nairobi, nine-year-old Jack Dulu had the most extraordinary dream ever. He dreamed that a donkey was talking to him. The donkey was at his bedroom window, tapping on the pane and calling his name. “Jackie,” it was repeating with every tap. “Come … Read more
A priest was dead. A dead Priest was nothing unusual here. The clans cared about dead priests as much as they did the expansive sky or the huge rocks atop the hill where snakes basked after ecdysis. They were just things that were always there but had nothing to do with them. A priest would … Read more
Black “It started when the wazungu came,” Nyanya says, scooping some sukuma with a piece of chapati perfectly folded between her fingers. This is how she starts a lot of stories worth listening to: like the time Mum went to the Chama and didn’t make it through the second interview. Nyanya’s reasoning was measured and, … Read more
The scorching sun beat down mercilessly, casting a harsh glow over the ruins of old Nairobi. Simiren leapt over chunks of debris, never missing a step even as his eyes scanned the desolate landscape. He ran his hands through his ochre-caked locks, the undying symbol of Ole Nyirobi since before, at least according to the … Read more
I smell the imminence of my death. ‘’Finally!’ Today, we graduate from arwate girls to saale women ready for marriage. My fellow initiates beam, all of them looking forward to being 5th wives. But for me, death by the Miilika, to see Mama again, is utopia, as compared to a forcible wedlock. The promise of … Read more
As a frequent traveller to Okanowach, due to the nature of my work, I want to share what I’ve learned so far. To be able to visit Okanowach, you must lure it into existence, for this elusive place only makes its presence known to those who can reach it should they try. To get to … Read more
The day Nkatha fell began so unexceptionally ordinary in every way but for the warm, clear skies in the middle of July. The yellow sun above haloed bright over the snow-capped mountain so that everything its light touched gleamed in the startling hues of emerald and blue. And all about, stretched out far past the … Read more
When Natelo was 14 years old, she died. Her mother, Amy, was special; she could see and hear things that no one else could. Sometimes, she could even see into the future — as if her eyes were a God-given telescope. She had been blessed with this gift when Natelo was 11 years old, and … Read more
Bukata blasted off in her family drifter, accelerating into Chepela’s sky at the planet’s teeth-rattling escape velocity. Gravity pushed her stiffly into her seat, triggering the drifter’s A.I. to take over the rushed flight to orbit. The universe’s dark, radiated womb greeted the drifter with a cushioning embrace as propulsion slowed. She was late for … Read more