I really don’t love travelling….yes, not the globe totting type but once in awhile a little travel is fun. So when my boss, as usual, said that there will be a trip to Warsaw in Poland for a business event, I was ambivalent. One side of me was really excited and keen to go see the land of the late Pope John Paul II but the other side, the coward, was not keen on this trip a lot more because I had been scared by Google on the weather. I come from one of warmest places in Kenya and the idea of 4 degrees Celsius really scared me. Anyway that is now water under the bridge because I went to Poland and came back…but let me give you a story of how all this came to be.

As is the usual case for those of us on this side of the world, the mere thought of going through the visa process for the Western world is nightmarish to fathom but luckily for me and my colleagues, we had a fantastic support from our very experienced immigration consultants. All the requisite documentation list was presented to us and we fixed an appointment for the visa at the Polish Embassy in Nairobi. Unlike the US or UK visa process where multitudes of people queue daily, I was really shocked to find that only a handful of us were sitting outside the embassy waiting for our turn at the window. We got there a bit earlier than expected and the security men were gracious and even allowed us in before our time…there were no other people before us anyway.

At the window, was a nice lady Immigration officer behind a one way glass and I struggled to see her. She was speaking to us through a speaker…akin to how they do it in the bank or prison during the visits. We presented all documents but she requested of a document showing invitation from a Polish national…because all that we had given was not enough…they had seen enough creative folks create a phantom hotel booking and even fake events. Anyway, I was not surprised because as one of my colleague likes to  says, Africans always have a plan! So we had to organize and get the document and rebook the following week. The second time was fine and eventually we got the visa to Poland.

Having done with the Polish visa, the next was Dubai Transit visa because we had a 16 hours lay over on our return leg from Poland. The Dubai Visa was hassle free and we got it in very good time. With all these visas ready we now knew that it was a go. On the material day, I woke up early, checked in online and even printed the boarding passes then continued with my normal day’s work. If you have ever heard of mind games, then that day my mind decided to play a game. It recorded that my flight was the following day rather than the day I was due for travel. I had dinner and watched news at 9 then arose to go to bed! Just before I got to bed, I saw a call from my colleague that I was traveling with. It didn’t really bother me up to the point when I called him back…..then hell broke loose. He asked me….are you at the airport? And I was like…what? Why? Are we travelling today? At that point he nearly dropped his phone because the gates were closing in less than 10 minutes and here I was asking why and what?

At that point adrenaline set in and I told my wife, who was relaxing in a half slumber mode at the couch,…the flight is today and in a few minutes and also called someone to drive me because I wouldn’t drive in that mode. In less than 10 minutes I had dressed up, picked my travel documents and we were on our way to the airport. I guess my driver and my wife too were now on adrenaline as well because we drove like crazy…up to 160KM! but still that was not fast enough. All factors worked in our favour and was at the check in desk in 15 minutes…only to be told sorry…we are closed…try tomorrow! I almost gave up but thought of speaking to my former collogues at Immigration that were manning the control to see if they could help…. One of my former colleague also seemed a bit shocked but spoke to the airline staff nonetheless. At that point the airline guys said I could only travel if I agreed to go without my luggage. I didn’t take a second to take that decision. I left the bag with the officer to hand over to my wife who was outside the  check in area and ran upstairs to the boarding gate… and got into the plane…..and off we went…..

Watch this space for the second part of the story

A very graphic and disturbing video clip has surfaced online and in various dailies in the Kenyan media of a man that claims to have been set on fire by his bosses after being accused of stealing! You can watch this clip here… http://www.nation.co.ke/news/My-bosses-set-me-on-fire-says-truck-driver/-/1056/3155210/-/15o5xlcz/-/index.html. The same story is appearing in today’s Daily Nation page 9 ( April 12^th 2016).

Stealing by any standard is wrong and unlawful, the Kenyan law criminalizes theft. The same law also provides how people caught or suspected of stealing like in this case should be treated. Kenya is a country run by the rule of law…NOT anything else. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is a fundamental human right issue and is meant to avoid lynch mob like exhibited in this incidence.

I must say that the only information I have on this matter is purely what I have read and seen from the media but in my view this is enough to allow me ventilate. While I thank the person that took the video that has now surfaced online, I am at a loss trying to fathom how people just stood there as the alleged person set the driver on fire….have we been watching enough horror movies that much or the hopelessness, poverty, corruption and the state of unemployment has pushed us that far? One person is overheard in the clip asking….”why did you burn him? He has not killed anyone. Why have you taken the law into your hands?…this was a nice attempt at protesting the injustice upon which the perpetrator responded…. Yes, we have burnt him and taken the law into our hands, so what will you do about it? This is impunity reloaded and shows how the rich, powerful and the mighty rules this country with impunity. I can assure you that if this man knew he could not get away with it, he could not dare utter such words but trust me, this is Kenya…the man is still out there enjoying his life and probably continuing to torture other suspects!

I can guess how this will go: the police will now swing into action to appease the public anger generated by this issue surfacing in the media, Kenyans online will protest a bit but even in that protest a tribal angle will come in as some argue tribe A or B is used to stealing and blah blah….this will go on for a maximum two weeks and be forgotten…and we will move on until something worse comes up….that is the story of how shallow we have become as a country.

I don’t care that this man stole…… I care that the law was not followed as it should. The law knew that thieves will always be in our societies and therefore provided how they should be handled.

In the same paper ( Daily Nation of April 12^th, 2016 page 12) is another small item…Residents kill men mistaken for thieves in horror scene… same script as the other one but at least in this one a suspect has been arrested to face murder charges. Yes I know my boss means a lot to me because he or she pays me a salary, which in any case is my right because I have worked for it: it is not a donation! That does not make my boss to be above the law. The so called bosses that burnt this alleged thief must really be held accountable and face the law. It really worries me that other employees watched all this and kept mum for fear of loosing their jobs….I can not blame them so much but I am sure not I want to absolve them from the blame either. But credit to them, they grabbed a fire extinguisher and put off the fire that was already consuming the man’s clothing.

This is indeed not how to conduct our affairs in Kenya….something must be done for sure.

I know it has been awhile from the last time I blogged about the e-visa. I have received numerous inquiries on the application for e-visa for Kenya.

Some of the common questions are: My application says issued? What does that mean? Another common one is; I stated in my application that I will enter the country through Jomo Kenyatta Airport but for some reason I will now use Mombasa Airport…what happens? Another one is… I made an error in the date format or year of birth…will that affect my application?…and so on and so forth.

Today I will try to help you in understanding a few basic things about the e-visa process for Kenya:

1. The manual system is still open to nationals of countries allowed to get a visa on arrival. All referred visa nationals can not apply online ( please check eligibility here http://evisa.go.ke/eligibility.html). So if for one reason or the other you are not able to apply the online visa, you can still fly into Kenya and get it at the point of arrival.
2. We all make errors in such systems. Unless such an error is fundamental, it should really not worry you. Kenya Immigration officers are some of the most understanding in the whole world. They will listen to you if you make sense ready to explain in clear terms.
3. Once your e-visa is issued, you can travel to Kenya and be allowed through any point of entry if your reasons of doing so are justified. Remember routing is critical for Immigration officer when interviewing you…for instance if your flight is diverted to another airport for some reasons, surely that makes sense…and a few others.
4. After you have made the application, paid and your visa is approved, the e-visa system will read issued not approved. If you see issued please log into your system and go to downloads… where you will see these tabs: view, print invoice and print single entry. Please click on print single entry and what you see is your visa for Kenya….you may now travel.
5. Multiple journey Visa ( MJV) CANNOT be applied for through the e-visa system…not yet! This has to be applied from Kenyan Embassies near you.

I hope these 5 points will make your application bearable.

Truth be told, many government agencies or public institutions are(were) monuments of bureaucracies and manual ways of conducting business. However, today that narrative is changing. In fact some of the government agencies and public institutions are leading their counterparts in the private sector. In this piece, I want to celebrate two government institutions that epitomize the real digital government as we have been told by the current regime.

Kenya Immigration Department(KID) has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the not so distant past but today, KID is one of the most reformed and digitized government departments. Listen, from the comfort of your home, you can now access all the services offered at Kenya Immigration….passport application, Visa application, Permits, passes, residence, citizenship to name just but a few of the services that  can be applied for online. Yes, there is the bit on having to go to Nyayo house in person to submit and do some follow-up but soon that too will reduce as the systems are fully operational. To be very frank that is  a phenomenal step by this government Department that I was privileged to work for from 2005 to 2014. I celebrate all the folks at Kenya Immigration for a job well done.

The second Institution I would like to celebrate is the University of Nairobi. I have been wondering how comes that UON has been ranked as the best University in Kenya and the region by several agencies in the recent past until this week when I sought to apply for a Bachelors of Law Degree. It really came to me as a shocker that all I needed to do was sit in front of my screen and create a profile from their online portal and voila I am good to apply for whatever course I need to. In fact I made the application from the comfort of my house over the weekend and even paid the application fee using my visa card… you can pay using Mpesa as well. Compare this with a near torturous process I have to go through at my current Institution that is indeed  a private institution that prides itself as the vanguard in communication studies. Anyway, long story short, I found these two institutions very forward thinking and thus wish to celebrate them here publicly for all and sundry to see.

Well done KID and UON.

Today you will allow me introduce some very important folks to you if you are in academia or just in college and struggling with some form of academic work because you will forever thank me for it. I know many of us find it hard to complete their thesis or dissertations due to stringent writing rules put in place by various universities and colleges. When I was preparing my Thesis proposal, I was pressed of time and the fact that both my supervisors and I are near perfectionist. Dr. Susan Nyaga Anzuruni of 3rd Eye Professional services found time from her very busy schedule to go through my work and add some real good value to it. Well, she will not do your part because you must do what it expected of you but once she goes through your work, she will give some nice suggestions on how to make it better. An established scholar in her own right, Dr. Susan has teamed up with her husband Dr. Anzuruni to form 3rd Eye Professional Service to help students become real scholars. Whether you are doing a Masters degree or a PhD these two good people will surely come through for you. Please see below their company profile…if you need to get in touch with them, just give me a shout or leave a comment here and I will hook you up.

3RD EYE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PROFILE

We are a pool of professionals committed to developing good writing skills and promoting excellence in the writing of academic papers and other documents. The founder (director) of 3rd Eye Professional services, Dr Susan Nyaga Anzuruni, and co-founder (co-director), Dr Barnabé Anzuruni, are accomplished scholars. Susan and Barnabé hold PhDs in Linguistics and Theology respectively, from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. The two have published articles in refereed academic journals in their respective fields.
We take pride in our incredible commitment, palpable passion, enviable excellence and attention to detail. 3rd Eye Professional Services is your trusted partner in any writing venture.
To this end, we offer the following consolidated services:
1) Editing services – we provide word-for-word editing of documents to not only ‘remove the bugs’ but also create internal consistencies and coherence that is often lacking in most writing.
2) Proofreading services – We proofread documents word-for-word, page-by-page and cover-to-cover
3) Training in research methods – We offer 3 modules on demand, namely i) academic proposal writing ii) research methodology, and iii) data analysis, both qualitative (using ATLAS.ti) and quantitative (using SPSS)
4) One-on-one talks in matters research/academic – We provide a platform for wannabe researchers and students to bounce off their research ideas to willing, committed and accomplished academics who understand the struggles in the daunting task that is research because they have also been there.
5) Research Methods Library services – we make available a variety of current literature in research methods through a sit-in library service for a small fee
6) Motivational speaking – we give motivational talks for organised groups. Having come from the humblest family backgrounds and making it to the top echelons of the academic ladder, 3rd Eye directors have much to offer in inspiring people to follow their dreams in matters academic regardless of what their challenges/circumstances may be.
Our charges – we charge reasonably competitive rates as follows:
a) Undergraduate or MA thesis editing/proofreading: $2 per page for documents that are 100 pages and above or $2.5 for documents less than 100 pages
b) Editing/proofreading of PhD dissertations, book chapters, articles, other academic papers and business document: $3 per page.
c) Training in research methods: $50 dollars per module lasting 5 hours – offered to at least 6 participants)
d) Sit-in-library service: $5 dollars per 2-hour library session
e) One-on-one academic talks: $20 for a 2-hour session
f) Motivational speaking: varies based on group and location
NB: A 50% deposit is payable before the editing work begins and the balance cleared on the day the editing service is completed. With regard to the training modules, one-on-one talks and library services, the fees are payable before the service is provided. Personal cheques are not allowed.

In the last few days, the issue of Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) and the extent of the rot in the Kenyan primary and secondary schools examination administration has been in the headlines in all the major media platforms in Kenya. As usual, we are pretending to be puzzled. I was equally shocked after reading the media reports on how exams were bungled and the old man in charge of the exams kept telling us all was well. In fact what we are reading or hearing is probably a small tip of the iceberg.

As we would know, at birth Kenya was like any other state. A normal one with all structures functioning as they should. Gradually corruption set in and grew in huge ways like a cancerous tumor and it is now consuming us quick and sure. Allow me to highlight the integrity of the Kenyan passport. Some years back, the holder of a Kenyan passport enjoyed such privileges as would a British passport holder. You never needed a visa to nearly all western countries including the US and the UK…all you needed is a flight ticket and you are good to go. Flash forward to 2016: in order to get a visa to even the most mediocre of the countries in the western world, you will go through hell and back…you must carry all manner of documents and paraphernalia to just get a two day’s visa to such a country. It is not a nice experience at all going through those naïve consular officers …if you doubt ask those who have been to those consulates. The question is what happened? My answer is just one word: Corruption! Some crooks in conjunction with some criminal officers defiled the integrity of the Kenyan passport by issuing it to un deserving folks from elsewhere in the continent in exchange for aft bribes. I am sure most of the Kenyans that have travelled dread the visa application processes for other countries.

I am not a prophet of doom but I dare say the certificates of education issued by KNEC are heading in the same direction. Soon those who wish to study abroad will be faced with a situation where the papers they carry as certificates will not be worth anything more than the paper they are written on. How can anyone be sure that the grades reflected there in were not acquired after buying exams from corrupt examination officials? I dare say that the intensity of the rot in the examination council is yet to be unearthed but thanks to the abrasive Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Matiangí, something is cooking and I have a feeling it is quite something. I hope they don’t scuttle this by instigating a cabinet reshuffle to remove him…probably in the guise of going to fix the devolution ministry. Dr. Matiangí is in my view taking the right steps and indeed to quote him…this nonsense can not be tolerated! Period.

Hi, The purpose of this page is to share with you our story – mine and Star’s. We count ourselves hugely privileged to be serving as pastors in this generation, and want to let you know how it came…

Source: Our Story

According to the chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) of Kenya, Mr. Philip Kinisu , Kenya loses about Kshs. 608 Billion ( 6 Billion USD) to corruption. In his exclusive interview with Reuters and as quoted in the local dailies, Mr. Kinisu released that Bombshell. That is a third of the Kenyan annual budget… in simpler terms, for every Kshs. 100 budgeted for 30 shillings go to corruption. As expected, the National treasury has disputed that with the CS Henry Rotich saying it is issues to do with paperwork rather than real loss. In response to this question on KTN TV check point on Sunday the 12^th March 2016, after being asked by the presenter Yvonne Okwara, Mr. Kinisu said that he would not like to be engaged in the debate as to whether it is 600 Billion or 1 Billion because the bottom line is that tax payers money is being stolen…. I agree.

Quite frankly this is not news to me…and I guess to many other Kenyans including the ever nosy Kenyan media…as you can see the story has just fizzled out. My experience in government taught me one thing, the famous AIE ( Authority to Incur Expenditure) is the money for the boss to eat and share with whomever (s) he deems fit. No questions asked…if the auditors ask, just set aside something aside to sort them out….the story goes on and on. I have always wondered why it is news when the auditor general reports point to audit queries showing that money has been lost here or there… in fact news would be if an audit showed that all the money was well spent because that can not be true.

If you imagine that in a small office with about 8 Million Shillings allocation for routine issues like fuel, electricity and so forth only about 2-3 M would be used for actual business of government, then you take similar pattern to an office with Billions then the report by Mr. Kinisu is really true. I dare say this could even be more. This probably explains why private enterprises in Kenya keep thriving while public agencies keep diminishing….high rise buildings adjacent to stinky dilapidated sewerage system and potholed roads. According to the Knight Frank Wealth report 2016, Kenyan Dollar Millionaires rose to over 8500 in 2015. Although there are many genuine rich people, it is possible that a huge chunk of these Dollar millionaires are corruption millionaires. There is big relationship between Power and money in Kenya. Public offices are used to steal from the public then share a little with them in the name of hand outs during political campaigns to acquire more power and more wealth.

The sad story is that even Mr. Kinisu agrees that the fight against corruption in Kenya is not one commission’s job…it is a fight for all Kenyans, including the thieves unfortunately. The other day I was in my village and my mother was so furious with the MCA….reasons? he is stealing from them. I asked what they intend to do and she told me that she will not vote for MCA slot but will vote for the MP, and President. I told her the solution would be to vote but vote for another person…although not sure if that other person will not follow suit in the stealing.

Anyway, the bottom line is that we are a corrupt country…very corrupt indeed. This has been confirmed by the CEO of Kenya in his address to Kenyans in Israel recently. This is a tragedy and it seems that citizenry thinks they are powerless. The truth is we have the power to stop this grand theft by voting the right people into power. Not from our tribes but from anywhere as long as they are women and men of integrity. Tanzania seems to have gotten it right. Hope President Magufuli maintains the tempo. My fellow Kenyans, thieves have no other tribe…their language and tribe is stealing. The idea that there can be our thief is really crazy and needs to be killed once and for.

Every time I attend forums of foreign investors in Kenya corruption is cited as one of the major reasons why such companies may consider relocating their investments from Kenya. It is a serious economic killer. Yes a few guys will be very wealthy but the majority will continue to get poorer. We need to get angry enough and do what we must do to redeem our country from his monster that is devouring us quickly and surely. Yes we can do it if we are ready for it.