I hope you will allow me to share some thoughts …perhaps triggered by the fact that I am always surprised at the reaction my short hair elicits amongst Muslims. It is no exaggeration that I wear my hair shorter than many Muslim men and I am yet to meet a Muslim woman who wears her […]

The value and fundamental importance of empowering women is beyond question. To empower a woman is to empower the nation since women are the bedrock of every family and the cornerstone of any society. It is fact that women suffer poverty, illiteracy, abuse both physical and emotional, and disenfranchisement. Another report detailing the disempowered status […]

When I was in the formative years of my youth, a person in position of authority over me routinely admonished me with the words, “be humble”. It didn’t matter that he would blow his trumpet whenever he wished but I was to always “be humble”. What does “be humble” mean and why do some adults […]

In an ideal world African nations would enjoy equal socio-economic wealth and political stability as their European counterparts. We would have egalitarian leaders and our societies would reflect such egalitarianism. Our education systems would nurture the entire being of the student and inspire them to be intelligent, creative and conscientious human beings who contribute to […]

Three years’ worth of interaction with my students at the University of Nairobi’s Mombasa campus has instilled in me a sense of their undeniable yearning for change in Kenya and their deep desire to champion that change. Yet, these dreamy-eyed youth filled with visions of a better tomorrow are sooner rather than later crushed under […]

In our world of rising academic inflation, there has been an alarming increase in research being undertaken by students or professionals so as to improve their resume, to aid career progression or for the alluring title that comes with having a doctoral degree. Consequently, however, this has made research a daunting and dreaded undertaking for […]

In teaching Communication Skills for Lawyers over the past three years at the University of Nairobi, Mombasa Campus, the two main challenges I help my students overcome are articulating their thoughts and speaking in public. The single most effective way I know to do this is debating. Regular debating forces my students to think on […]

If you have ever spoken to a trusted friend, confidant, parent, sibling or partner about something bothering you or upsetting only to have them dismiss you with, “Oh, be positive!” this post is probably as much for you as it is for me. My experience is that other people don’t want to hear complaints, problems […]

Many of the people I know who believe in God belong to a religion or to a belief of sorts. Others, not necessarily belonging to a particular religion, still admit to a belief in God, which is usually expressed as “ I am spiritual, not religious”. A fair share exist, however, especially in Western developed […]