Monday, October 29, 2012

DANCEHALL DEEJAY KONSHENS PERFORMS IN UGANDA EVEN AS JAH CURE IS SET TO ENTERTAIN HIS KENYAN FANS ON DECEMBER 1

Monday, 08 October 2012

The Gyal a Bubble star Konshen's in Kampala - Photo by Nicholas Oneal-http://www.ugandaonline.net/gallery/view/13222/konshens_in_kampala
HIS FACEBOOK PAGE LINK WENT MAAAAAAAAAAAAD WITH THIS POST ATTRACTING OVER 800 COMMENTS-http://www.facebook.com/konshensrealestfans
KONSHENS IN UGANDA OVER 25 THOUSAND PEOPLE CAME OUT LUV FORM UGANDA

JFK TO UGANDA



THE RUMUOR ON JAHCURE WAS-

After bringing Tarrus Riley and Etana to Kenya recently, Big Tunes Music Festivals in collaboration with Dohty Family Sound have embarked on another project.

Sources have intimated to Reggae 254 that celebrated artistes Jah Cure and Duane Stephenson will perform live at the Carnivore on Saturday 3 November 2012, courtesy of the two units.
Jah Cure is famed for the hit songs Longing for, Never find, Reflections among other songs while Duane’s Cottage in Negril, Ghetto Pain and Misty morning are hits in Kenya.

So Kenyan reggae fans, start saving early and prepare your dancing shoes.
by-http://reggae254.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/jah-cure-and-duane-stephenson-for-kenya/
but speaking last week on Ghetto Radio's Friday Night Live show, Veteran Deejay Prince confirmed that indeed Jah cure will be performing in Nairobi on 1st December at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR OUR BLOG; AS AFRICA PRESS INTERNATIONAL FEATURES A STORY FROM OUR BLOG

http://africanpress.me/2012/07/12/opinion-the-way-forward-for-south-sudan/

OPINION: The way forward for South Sudan

Posted by African Press International on July 12, 2012

Happy first anniversary! One of the hardest questions I have had to endure while writing this piece is that of “what do you think needs to happen so that South Sudan can prosper as a nation?”
First thing first, like a one year old baby trying to prove that it is independent and can try to walk, that is what the youngest potential state in Africa is trying to do.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like the rest of African nations and the world too as a whole corporates are these close friends to the already birthed mother-Kenya .
Kenya, here is like the closest thing to a mother to South Sudan, since Kenya played a critical role in peace negotiations that led to the signing of the CPA (
Comprehensive Peace Agreement ) in 2005. This effectively put an end to the
civil war between the two “Siamese twins”- the north Sudan
and the South Sudan .

The most important asset to a country is the citizens. The plea and cry have gone out loud and clear from South Sudanese people and the government. An appeal to fellow compatriots in the Diaspora to go back home and help rebuild their country. But even with this call, the South Sudanese government will need to provide a convincing open book on how serious it is in implementing reforms, fight corruption and reverse the legacy of political and social exclusion perpetuated earlier by Khartoum .
Trade and economic development needs to be championed. Trade cannot be divorced from peace, so to maintain internal peace, there is even more need to resolve the demarcation of borders between the half-brother republic  of Sudan . Enjoying border shares with Northern Sudan, Ethiopia , Kenya , Uganda , DRC and Central African Republic , cross border trade should be a channel of exploration.

With an oil crisis being experienced now, and the long-term measure of linking the Lamu port in Kenya to South Sudan via pipeline not in place, the short-term option remains in re-negotiating a new equitable, functional and just oil wealth sharing agreement with the North. This is one space the larger international community is monitoring. The issues largely being commercial investment and energy cum trade investment.
With security termed as the determinant for canvassing foreign investment, there is still one thing going for Juba . The south is blessed with arable land, water and natural resources that the north can only dream of. All these are awaiting exploitation.

Despite the challenges, there is still hope in this long journey. Nation building requires strong institutions, and even though many may criticize South Sudan as a ‘failed state’, I believe just like a baby who marks any birthday anniversary, it is a hope for growth and development. So this one year anniversary is that same bright hope for Southern Sudan .

End

Posted By  Blogger  to Africa’s hangout

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

KENYAN IN UK'S YOUNG APPRENTICE TV SHOW


The Donald Trump of UK's reality show Young Apprentice has unveiled the shows 12 contestant among them is a Kenyan.

Lord Alan Sugar has unveiled the 12 contestants who will battle it out on this year's series. The winner will walk away with a cool £25,000 business development fund to kick-start their careers.


The Kenyan on the show is David Odhiambo who describes himself as "highly obsessed with wealth, power and omnipotence."

According to Daily Mail, David still does a paper round at the age of 17, despite already having chaired a number of committees and confessing to being a "megalomaniac".


He said: 'I have a disease called megalomania; this is a condition that means I am highly obsessed with wealth, power and omnipotence."

link-http://hotsecretz.blogspot.com/2012/10/kenyan-in-uks-young-apprentice-tv-show.html#links

Monday, October 22, 2012

RAPCHA THE SAYANTIST JOINS HOT 96 FM KENYA

Rapcha the sayantist quits Ghetto radio


    Wednesday, 11 April 2012 12:47
  • Written by 
Comedian cum presenter Rapcha the sayantist
If you are a Ghetto radio fan especially their morning show, then this is a big blow as

Presenter cum comedian Rapcha the sayantist has resigned.
Rapcha thanked his fans and everyone who supported him during the short period that he worked at Ghetto Radio. He acknowledged that he will indeed miss the laughing, and also waking up guys in the morning while on air.
No word is out yet why he left but hopes it was for the best interest of him and not the management fault.
Hey bro, we at Ghafla wishes you success in your endeavors. 


BUT NOW...

Well it emerges that the sayantist aka Rapchsa is back on radio everday from 7-9pm on Hot 96 with co-host Mike Mondo. the show is titled THE DROPZONE and is a dancehall and Reggae request show.

Rapcha brings in the wits, jokes and laughter back to radio for those who had missed him.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

At 19, this girl is Africa’s youngest MP


Usuk County MP Proscovia Oromait Alengot at Parliament recently. She says she is not bothered by her critics. PHOTO by Geoffrey Sseruyange. 
By JOHN K. ABIMANYI jabimanyi@ug.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, October 8  2012 at  01:00

For a fresh Member of Parliament barely out of her teens, Proscovia Oromait Alengot is learning the ways of her trade pretty fast.

Hardly a month after she was elected the Usuk County MP in Katakwi District, Eastern Uganda, Alengot is already a deft hand in the political art of elusiveness. Maybe it is in the DNA of “the people of people”.

This is probably the reason, to this date, a sense of mystery still surrounds the youngest MP in Africa.

Alengot has evaded interviews with journalists through persistent postponing, cancellation, rescheduling of appointments, or simply declaring herself unavailable.

In one incident, she picked up the phone and, in the midst of playful banter in the background, she said she was attending a prayer service.

In just the space of three months, she has had to cope with the transformation of a simple girl waiting to join university to being the subject of flashing cameras and a star in political rallies, a wacky world where shrewdness is essential for survival. And not forgetting that she had to mourn the loss of her father in between.

Today, as ordinary 19-year-old girls the world over invest their energies into starting university education and launching an initial bid at a career, Proscovia Oromait Alengot, now Hon Alengot, spends her time between university theatres and Parliament.

Alengot rose out of the wilderness of obscurity after her father, Michael Oromait, died of hypertension on the morning of Saturday July 21, this year.  She succeeded him as MP for Usuk County.

Some people say that Alengot was fronted and talked into the idea by the ambitious district woman member of Parliament and minister for Education, Maj Jessica Alupo. But Alengot says she did it under her own steam.

Newspapers have quoted family members as saying that Alengot took an interest in the requirements for one to become an MP after her father’s death.

To many onlookers, the 19-year-old’s candidature was a big joke. Few even gave her a chance. After all, she would go nowhere, they thought.

But Alengot had powerful backers, one of them being President Yoweri Museveni, who campaigned for her. She enjoyed photo ops with the big man, appearing dressed in oversized traditional busuti (dresses) alongside the president during the campaigns.

In the end, she won 54.2 per cent of the vote.

It is after the election results were announced that, for many, the reality sank in; Uganda now had a teenage member of Parliament. Critics were quick to spread their opinions of disagreement in all manner of forums, especially online.

“I pity my country Uganda and what has become of it. This little gal knows neither politics nor the problems affecting her people. She should be at school chasing a career,” commented one Tabbyusa.

Others, however, offered their support. “What are you talking about? That is what we want Uganda to be. If she can pay taxes and serve in the military, why not serve her country?” one Jackson quipped.

Political scientists and psychologists agreed that her age cannot be a hindrance.

Robert Tabaro, who teaches political science and public administration at Kyambogo University, says anybody aged 19 is old enough to legislate at a national level if they have an interest in politics.

source-http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/DN2/At+19+this+girl+is+Africas+youngest+MP+/-/957860/1527356/-/1288ghl/-/index.html

Growth of Social Media in Kenya | Opportunities and Threats

Growth of Social Media in Kenya | Opportunities and Threats

By Muthuri Kinyamu 
In 2012 social media has gone beyond being Facebook friends and sharing funny videos to a platform with the ability to change the world. In Kenya, the Twitter community , known as #KOT (KenyansOnTwitter) is particularly active, using this social media platform for online activism (#PeremendeMovement), praising corporate brands or calling them out (#TwitterBigStick and #TwitterThumbsUp) and even rallying others to help in cases of famine (#Kenyans4Kenya and #FeedKe) or #KOTAgainstMPBonus protest campaign led by blogger @RobertAlai,  that called for Kenyans to meet at Bata Hilton and march to parliament.

A  platform such as this can be used for the good of the society – or conversely. Social media is playing an increasing role in public awareness of issues and information that was known to only a few well connected people in the past. writes Social Media professional, Muthuri Kinyamu.
Zero Costs of Bringing People Together
For the first time in history, the transaction costs of bringing people together to discuss, facilitate and implement new policy, agenda or cause are approaching zero.
Previously, it would have been too costly and time-consuming to involve most citizens in a debate and decision on a public policy issue. This tremendous growth of social media in business and communication in Kenya is an opportunity for brands as well as a serious threat to the nation.
Online Armies: General Elections and Social Media
As we approach the March 2013 General Elections, social media will play a big role in the campaigns, elections and the transition. Politicians see votes online and not potential customers and prospects as businesses do.

This means that possibly politicians or people with selfish interests to incite Kenyans and spread propaganda might misuse it. Politicians have realized that it’s no longer about just having numbers in their rallies on the ground but they too need an army online to push forward their agenda to the Kenyans online. How will they achieve this?
Get bloggers and other influential people on social media and have them on their payroll. Their work could be to ‘eradicate’ other politicians or ‘promote’ them which shall be done through content creation that meets the objectives of the mheshimiwa (MP).



Kenyans on the other side can be gullible at times, without much comparison we’ll read posts online full of half truths and rumours and happily share that with our friends who pass it on to their communities big or small on social media.
Think about a scenario in March 2013 where everyone becomes a reporter, tabloid and a snitch! We witnessed Twitter handles that called for killing of Christians in the recent riots in Mombasa; the riots were fanned by images of the body of Aboud Rogo and other victims of the violence being shared online. In March everyone with a camera phone can capture moments happening anywhere in the country and share them with everyone online.
Everyone on social media can always post content in text as it happens anywhere in the country and reach out, communicate and inform people on what’s happening where, when and how! We need to worry about this because in 2007 smses played a big role in fuelling the violence, in 2013 the danger is more potent with social media.

Think of a scenario where members of community X belonging to party Y attack those of the other alliance, this will be shared online as it happens meaning members of the other group can move in to defend their people almost in real time! This is what could bring the country back to 07/08 PEV. God forbid, this should never happen again to Kenya, I am not a pessimist but we need to be prepared as a country.
Social Pro Clubs
So the above scenario inspired the SPC organizing committee to conceptualize and spearhead a sensitization campaign dubbed  “AM A SOCIALPRO” that educates people on the ethical and professional ways of engaging online as well as promote responsible use of social media for societal good.
Rather than the government threatening a few content creators with shutting down their blogs and arresting them, it should handle the people that fund them, educate and sensitize Kenyans on social media etiquette and the professional approach to social media.
Social Pro educates people on the dangers of passing on content that is inflammatory, talking about the legal risks involved should one be involved in a conduct that is likely to cause, incite or spark violence and unrest…as well as teaching people how to engage on social media like a SOCIALPRO!
The core objective of these clubs is to teach, educate, create awareness and impart knowledge & skills of various disciplines of social media and platforms to the university students to unlock the massive potential on social media. The faculty will also benefit from these clubs as they’ll learn how to create and share digital content in various formats with the students across various platforms as well as help them embrace new media and integrate it to teaching.
I feel that there is a need to reach out to the innovative young people especially outside Nairobi, and get them to participate in events such as (online discussions{chats}, Tweetups, networking sessions, hackathons, workshops and boot camps) and connect them both virtually and offline to key resources (people and various entities ) that’s what SocialPro clubs will do by harnessing the potential of social media.
 Muthuri Kinyamu is a marketer , blogger and Social-pro entrepreneur. His firm, Social Edge Africa , has thus embarked on a mission to start social media clubs dubbed the ‘SocialPro Clubs’.


source...http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2012/10/growth-of-social-media-in-kenya-opportunities-and-threats/

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

OCTOBER IS HERE- THE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH





breast angels aims to curb kenya’s top women killer

Breast cancer is now the number one killer of women of 35 to 55 in Kenya, according to the Nairobi Cancer Registry’s most recent statistics, striking now one in nine women in the country, and killing many of them, due to late diagnosis. Half a century ago, breast cancer was rare, medical experts say. But between 2000 and 2006, the Nairobi Cancer Registry recorded 10,484 cases of cancer in both men and women, with breast cancer accounting for  20.9 per cent of women’s cancer cases, closely followed by cervical cancer at 19.8 per cent. Other recent studies have shown one in nine Kenyan women as being diagnosed with breast cancer, and one per cent of Kenyan men.
Studies have also shown that those affected in Kenya are relatively younger than in developed countries. According to the Nairobi Cancer Report, since the year 2000, breast cancer has been the most diagnosed cancer among women in Nairobi, of which 51 per cent of cases were in women below the age of 50. And although incidences remain relatively low in comparison to developed countries, breast cancer mortality in Kenya is higher.
Supporting these findings, The Kenya Breast Health Program, which is working to promote breast cancer awareness this month, estimates that 80 to 90 per cent of breast cancer patients go for consultations when they are in stage 3 and stage 4 of the disease.

Indeed, some 95 per cent of women in Kenya have never had a clinical breast examination and screening mammography is not widespread in the country.

Yet when women arrive in the terminal stages of the disease, little can be done. This marks a sharp contrast to the outlook on early detection and intervention, which can typically achieve a cure rate of 95 per cent. Breast cancer screening and management could reduce breast cancer mortality in the country by 20 to 50 per cent, says the organisation.


But when detected far later, sufferers often cannot even afford to pay the bills for treatment. After surgery which removes the cancerous growths, patients go through hormonal radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment in which cancer cells are destroyed. Currently, the cheapest drug used in chemotherapy costs nearly Sh10, 000, which is out of reach for the many Kenyans still living on little more than one dollar a day.
Yet, older women are at real risk, and especially if a woman has a mother, sister or daughter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20 to 30 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer, have a family history of cancer, says Breastcancer.org.




That said, some 90 per cent of breast cancers are not hereditary but are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of aging.

For the 5 to 10 per cent of the population vulnerable through gene mutations inherited from parents, mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are common. With such mutations, women have an 80 per cent risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime.

However, the blame for the far greater number of non-hereditary cases has been laid at various doors. Many nutritionists blame them on poor diet and lifestyle. They say the traditional balanced diet included wholegrain foods and vegetables that boosted the immunity and which have been set aside as people have switched to eating refined or fast foods, of low nutritional value. Lack of exercise, stress, smoking and other negative lifestyle habits have also been found to contribute to cancer.Other studies have linked the surge in breast cancers to specific chemicals in anti-perspirant and deodorants. However, the cause for the increase is still largely unknown.

However, with early treatment so often effective, Kenya Breast Health has now formed a group, Breast Angels, to raise awareness on how to be alert to early symptoms of the cancer. They teach women how to perform self breast examinations in which a person feels their breasts in search of lumps, and offer a three-step self breast examination, now available in vernacular languages, including Luo, Kikuyu and Swahili.
Apart from self-examination, the cancer can be detected clinically, through x-ray mammography and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The importance of these examinations, according to the organisation, is their power in detecting breast cancer early, at which point it is curable.

In Kenya, the most common breast examination is the mammography, where an x-ray is done of the breast tissue. This form of examination can also pick up other breast problems that may not necessarily be cancer related, and reveals lumps before they can be felt through self examination.

Having a mammogram requires removal of upper clothing and is best done with no powders, ointments, creams, oils or deodorants on breasts and underarms.




There are 12 mammography centres in Kenya, requiring a doctor’s letter for appointments. However, many of the centers also accept self-referred patients if they are over age the age of 35, meaning women can book an appointment without a referral from a doctor.

The hospitals and centers that do mammography include: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, Karen Hospital, The Nairobi Hospital, M. P. Shah Hospital, located in Nairobi apart from The Mater Hospital.

Others are the Coast Provincial General Hospital, Aga Khan Hospital (Mombasa), Mombasa Hospital while New Nyanza Provincial General Hospital is located in Kisumu. In Nakuru the available centers include Ranalo Medical Imaging Centre, Gateway House & War Memorial Hospital, and Radiology Centre while in Meru there’s the Meru Medical Centre.

The Kenya Breast Health Programme is also offering screening services during October, which is international breast cancer month.

The organization will also be conducting mammograms from January to October next year, in various hospitals including the Matter Hospital, on given dates free of charge. To raise funds for this screening, they are selling sculptures called "Zarina" , costing from Sh1, 000 (10cm in size) for individuals and Sh75,000 (50cm) for corporate buyers. They can be contacted on 020 601028/604397 or email info@kenyabreast.org for more information.

Written by Stella Kabura for African Laughter…http://www.webaraza.com/webaraza2/about-us/141-breast-angels-aims-to-curb-kenyas-top-women-killer-