Showing posts with label #THETREND. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #THETREND. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

LOVELY VERA SIDIKA GETS AN EXCLUSIVE AL-JAZEERA INTERVIEW

 #EXCLUSIVE

Ted Malanda, writing for the Standard’s Crazy Monday notes…  “let’s get one thing straight: Vera Sidika’s ample behind is not fake. That girl comes from the land of Mulembe, where daughters are made strictly to the manufacturer’s specifications.”
When she appeared on #THE TREND with NTV’S Larry Madowo, men were smitten by her curvaceous assets. Women, some green with envy called her names.



Call her names or not, but the international media also wants a piece of Vera, as The Aljazeera team came knocking for an exclusive interview. Check out some photos she posted during the interview with Aljazeera and her visit to The BBC…. 






@LIBOSSOH

Monday, June 23, 2014

FINALLY LARRY MADOWO AND CAROLINE MUTOKO GO ON A DATE LIVE ON AIR

#THE TREND


So Ghafla said they had two great egos to fit in the same room, until last Friday when they went on air on a live date. Yes, Larry Madowo and Caroline Mutoko had a great date!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

H_ART THE BAND FINALLY GETS FEATURED ON NTV’S #THETREND

#THE TREND

F
or me as a writer; I remember the first time I heard H_Art the Band perform at the Pawa-254 during a regular event now on poetry and music dubbed Fatuma’s Voices (read it here- http://nairobizblogazine.blogspot.com/2013/08/backstage-pass-with-hart-band-ask-my.html). Tracing that and how I went ahead to blog and write about their new sound-music from the heart (H_Art) meeting poetry, and the other day, I couldn’t be proud to see the band get featured on #TheTrend.

Mark Masai did an awesome job interviewing and hosting the boys. Sing such a band get featured on a major TV station such as NTV was massive for me. And their performance for their hit single “#Uliza Kiatu” just blew me away literally.
#TheTrend; a highly followed evening show; provided that much needed platform to highlight where Kenyan music is now going- and what followed, fans in their legions and numbers online tripling on the social media!


“So where are we now watching H_Art the Band?”  The age of youthful musical bands is here with us. It is a season when artists are not only releasing records but also bringing together all the elements together: music from the heart; rhythm, beat, poetry and melody; to create that ‘good to the ear’ sound.
We have moved from “throw your hands in the air” stuff. The question is, are we ready to embrace this change? The show on #TheTrend also featured Poet Teardrops- a performing spoken word artist. Check him out!

By Embukane Vincent Libosso.






Friday, May 16, 2014

The Rise & Rise Of Xenophobia In Kenya

Walking down 1st Avenue and 14th street, in the heart of Eastleigh, one senses fear in the air. People hurriedly walk down the untarmaced road. It is sunset and the muaddhins’ call to prayer from nearby mosques echo each other. I stop a young lady to talk, but she has no time, I could see the nervousness in her face. This road has suffered more than a dozen terror attacks in one year and is now undergoing a police crackdown which begun as a hunt for terrorists but has morphed into a harassment of Somalis in their own homes.
The heightened tension has spread to Somalis in South B and C where the crackdown has been tinged with outrageous demands for bribes, regardless of citizenship. Khadija Malik, a single mother of three retells of a loud banging at her gate. “They came in at about 12:00 am reeking of alcohol. There were five who walked in and demanded to see our papers. We showed them. Then I asked if they wanted to see my house-help’s documents and they replied, ‘That one is ok’. My house-help is not Somali. They made us pay KES. 5,000 before they left.” The frustration wells up her eyes as she rummages in her bag and hands me her Kenyan Identification. “I was born in Kenya. This is my country and this is how they treat us,” she says.
The next morning, I visit the South C neighborhood where the eerie silence of the streets is an ominous sign of the nightly police visits. At a kiosk near Five-Star Estate, Mama Njeri, the shopkeeper tells of stories she has heard from residents in the vicinity. “People are not happy. The Police treat them like ATMs. It must be hard being a Somali. They are my customers and they are just innocent. We don’t have problems with them here and they are being punished for nothing,” she says. Swaleh Abdi who pops in to buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk retorts, when asked about the nocturnal police visits: “We are suffering walahi. My grandparents suffered like this in Somalia. There is nowhere safe for Somalis, even if you are born here.” Swaleh is distraught when he tells me that he is a student at the University of Nairobi and has ambitions like everyone else. It is clear that the acute marginalization of Kenyan Somalis feel will do little but foster resentment.
Amongst the unfortunate Somalis who have been rounded up and held at the Kasarani Stadium is the son of Ismail Osman, a 63 year old Kenyan citizen who is an ethnic Somali. He says that police officers in his neighborhood had arrested his 32-year-old son who has a mental illness and was not carrying identification. “We don’t know where he is,” Mr. Osman said tearfully, showing his son’s Kenyan citizenship papers. “The process is confusing.” The camp internment of Somalis at the Kasarani Stadium is carried out without any form of trial or hearing for the Kenyans, refugees, asylum seekers or illegal immigrants. In April, Tana River Senator Ali Abdi Bule was close to spending his night at the ‘camp’ when was arrested as he was driving on Juja Road with his two children and a bodyguard on board. He was charged with being in the country illegally. The humiliation dragged on for hours at the police station after his identification was at first dismissed as being fake. He was eventually released when the police acceded to its validity.
Since the invasion of Somalia by the Kenya Defence Forces, there have been 84 bombs and grenade attacks around the country, not to mention the Westgate tragedy. Although there have been few convictions of any suspects and Al-Shabaab itself has not taken any credit for many of the attacks, the onus is on the police to prove that it is a Somali problem. Even though many of the suspects are non-Somalis, the entire Somali community in Kenya has been tried and found guilty by a growing number of the Kenyan public. Former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga released a statement on April 9 regarding the misdirected and ill-informed nature of the crackdown, “We have seen in the past that it was not just Somalis who are involved in acts of terrorism. We saw some young people from the Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu and other communities arraigned in court on suspicion of engaging in acts of terrorism,” he said.
Finding people with strong anti- Somali opinions is not a hard task on social media where anonymous bravado fuelled hate speech is the norm. We caught up with people working in various places in town to hear their views face-to-face. Karen Thimba, a store owner says, “I think the government is doing a good job. These outsiders are destroying our country. If you are not guilty, why are you afraid of being searched? It was Otieno Kajwang who created this Somali terrorist problem by opening Kenyan citizenship to illegal Somali terrorists. They should go back and build their motherland instead of buying fake papers and bringing us bombs and terrorists.” When we ask of the human rights violations against the Somalis, she tells us, “What about the thousands of lives lost and hundreds of hostages held by Somalis in Somalia? Why don’t you talk about that? Who are doing all those nasty things in Somalia and making the country unbearable for anyone to live in including Somalis! Somalis! And now they are bringing it to us.”
Willis Omondi, a matatu conductor at the Odeon stage tells us the solution to the Somali ‘issue’. “If you Somalis could save your energies to resolve the issues in your country all your problems will be 75 percent solved. Kenyan Somalis have failed us in allowing terrorist to thrive and flourish amidst them and we are paying for it. It is time to bring back peace and security back to the country by all means necessary.” On the question of whether human violations against Somalis is justified, he answers: “That is the only language they understand.”
A by-stander who was listening to the conversation, later just identified as Mwaura piped in emphatically: “Kenyans are only fed up and it’s high time for the government did something before it’s too late. Even people in South Africa are fed up with them.” Sensing rising temperatures, I quickly moved away and walked on to Moi Avenue where I met Phyllis Makau an attendant at a perfume shop. We speak of the Police operations. “You know many of these people send money back to al-Shabaab”, she said hesitantly, “and then the al-Shabaab hide amongst them when they are here. I don’t trust any of them.” When asked about if she had any proof, she was adamant, “people know these things. Where else does this terrorism problem come from?” When asked why there wasn’t a terrorist problem in Kenya’s history before, she admits, “I don’t know. But it’s here now and it came from Somalis. Look at their country, now they are bringing war here.”
The blind prejudice against an entire community reminds one of the run up to the 1984 Wagalla massacre which is yet to be fully addressed by the previous Kenyatta government and subsequent regimes.
After enduring dreadful conditions at the unsanitary Kasarani caged stadium area, a woman died while in custody from what the police reported as a ‘common cold’ as she awaite deportation. Her ailment was agitated by the lack of blankets, adequate food and medication. Al-Amin Kimathi, social justice activist and human rights defender together with officials from the Kenya Human Rights Commission, were the first to be let into the Kasarani Police Station where those rounded up were being held before they were taken to the Kasarani Stadium. The footage of their visit showed Somali men, women and children, many of whom had their Identification Cards At hand. Al-Amin tells us that it was a question of money. “We spoke to people in the cells who told us that the Police were demanding KES 20,000. Later on, the bribe was reduced to KES. 5,000 but there were still people who could not afford that.”
Despite the laws protecting all immigrants, security officials seem to be going about their business of deportation with a hand of impunity. While human rights are clearly being abused, many Kenyans we spoke to are okay with this, so long as security is restored. Probably the worst outcome of the whole affair is an escalation of violence on both sides; police on the one hand continuing a ‘shock and awe’ approach to crackdowns and terrorists on the other, hell-bent on revenge.

The legality of police operations
• The forced entry into the homes of any person requires a warrant under the penal code, which has not been issued to the Police conducting the operations.
• There is no system of monitoring how many people in total have been arrested and their specific charges, how many have been released and how many are still at the Stadium.
• Detention for more than 24 hours is unlawful as per Kenyan and international law. The Terrorism Act does permit the Police to apply for an extension of the 24 hours but none have been applied for. There are people who have been detained since April 5.
• Persons detained are in an open stadium with no protection from the elements, they are not allowed to use the facilities such as the toilets and they are all mixed together, children, men and women. This goes against a wide array of domestic and international laws against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
• On 10 November 2013, a tripartite agreement was signed between the governments of Somalia and Kenya and the UNHCR, following months of negotiations. The agreement establishes the framework governing the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees over the next three years. A pilot phase will take place from January to June 2014. The current forced repatriations go against Kenya’s pledge.
• The repatriations are also a contravention of the non-refoulement principle enshrined in the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of which Kenya is a signatory. The principle ensures that a refugee cannot be returned to the dangerous place from where they fled. This includes all illegal immigrants because they have 40 days to apply for refugee status as soon as they are detected by authorities.

By Amal Mohamed
http://www.upnairobi.com/dt_portfolio/the-rise-and-rise-of-xenophobia-in-kenya/

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

LARRY MADOWO'S #THETREND SHOW NOW MOVES TO 8.30 PM STARTING THIS FRIDAY...


Kenya’s popular trends’ show- #the trend; hosted by Larry Madowo on NTV; now switches time from Friday at 10pm to 8.30 pm starting this Friday. Here are some messages posted on the facebook page of Larry Madowo:

We had way too much fun with these fine actresses on#theTrend last night. Catch the repeat tomorrow at 1.30pm and get ready to start #theTrendEarly at 8.30pm from this Friday!


Sautisol are our first guests for #theTrendEarly which now starts at 8.30pm on Friday. Don't say we didn't tell you! So, what exactly do you think of their new Nishike music video?


Heading to France tomorrow morning and back Stateside next week, in Los Angeles. Stay out of trouble while I'm away, OK?

‘Atwoli’ Weighs in On Sauti Sol’s Nishike Video

The hullabaloo surrounding local quartet Sauti Sol’s  Nishike video seems to be fueling itself every waking moment. The video is by no chance doing badly. Clocking  almost 230,000 views in 6 days, Sauti Sol must be a happy lot. So are their female fans who just cant resist watching the video “one last time”.
Apparently, there are two sides to the coin that is Nishike. Men are not happy with this development. If  Atwoli’s words are anything to go by,  the the likes of Eric Omondi fled town immediately the video was posted on Youtube  fearing for the worst.
Atwoli took to the nearest camera to air his grievances on the video and he minces no words. He leaves no stone un turned as he drags everyone and their mother into his rant. From Grace Msalame to Kalekye Mumo and Safffie ‘Werunga’ to Nonini.
Have a look at the hilarious video below.
story courtesy of-http://niaje.com/blog/atwoli-weighs-in-on-sauti-sols-nishike-video/

Thursday, April 3, 2014

RAPPER STL'S NEW LOOK WHICH WE LOVE AND HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO-"KOOLIO"

she was recently in Nairobi to release her new single- #koolio; and her new look got the city talking...check the video here-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMF18nj0gd0&feature=youtu.be















Thursday, November 14, 2013

MEETING NICK ODHIAMBO: THE MAN BEHIND THE KEFF JOINANGE VOICE ON XYZ SHOW!



A couple of days ago, I had a great chance to attend the XYZ studios as the Go-Down Arts Centre in South-B’s industrial area. XYZ isn’t a comedy show; “it is a satirical show!”
Visiting the set; one thing you can’t separate is the fun and hilarious bits. It is a funny in a clever way show. It satirizes politicians and allows us to laugh at them every week.
It remains the first satirical puppet show in Africa; with over 200,000 ‘likes’ on facebook, over 41,000 followers on twitter and some 3 million views on facebook.





One man, Nick Odhiambo, who by day is a presenter with Radio Africa; plays Jeff Koinange on the show; where they have coined his name to Keff Joinange. His voice is as deep as his and that helps a lot.
The hard work and attention to detail led to the show winning the 2013 African Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Television Series in Africa; at a ceremony in Lagos in March.
I ha d a chance to meet Neo-soul artist Anto Neo-Soul and Capital FM’s; Amina too. The XYZ show; Nick and the whole team have mead us laugh heartily. More than entertain us; they have exposed the underbelly of our democratic space and the media freedoms that we enjoy. Oh hail to the XYZ team!











Here are a couple of our best scenes. We are asking you to tell us some of your greatest hits on our blog and Facebook page: Nairobi’z Blogazine.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

THE TELEKENISIS COFFEE HOUSE PRANKVERTISING








Larry Madowo-alias Larry The news Anchor. It is quite easy to dislike this guy. No, really it is! First of all, for the obvious reason that he has about 69k followers.
Being a student at Daystar University with Larry, he is the kind of guy who doesn’t shy away from locking horns with anyone so long as he thinks he is right.

I am a huge fan of his show every Friday night-The Trend. And last week he had the opportunity to share a video I have not gotten over to date.
Whether Larry is always right is a debate for another day; but whether he’s smart and entertaining is without question. Check out this clip on prankvertising that has gone viral on YouTube and one Larry shared.