My Thoughts

                            It didn’t work, it is not working and I don’t know if it will work…this is a cliché in every being’s mind. Life has the three phases that if not well understood could be a detriment to self-realization and finally self-actualization in the human needs ladder. Frustration from the past can dictate the present and an anticipation of frustration clouds the pursuit of excellence. Dream killers invest on the gaps that exist in the three phases. The dream killer could be within or external. The doubt that mounts can be manifested in your race, ethnic identity, ability and skill. The inferiority thought. The graves are the richest corners of earth. In them, there lies great men and women who feared to be different because of conspicuously perceived inabilities. Their conscious was not tapped. In the cemetery lies ideas, innovat...

 “...but the great leveller; death. Not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold and lays him out at last…” King Nestor went on narrating to Telemachus, I couldn’t flinch from Homer’s The Odyssey. “…hapana usimuue, msamehe tu (don’t kill him please)” Jim’s voice jerked me off the script. He was sweating, panting and having nightmares. Jim lost his friend Brian in a mall shooting that fateful day. Terrorists struck and he was lucky enough to live, owing to the little Quran verses he had mastered. He could perform his prayers well according to the Islamic teachings. He was courted by fate. Staying still and observing was all I could do. Jim was a friend, and I had offered to host him for that night because of the tragic events of the day. Having lost a friend, I felt the obligation to console and give him company. A times we only need those who matter to us, when an avalanche of sadness strikes. Jim was a brother to me. Luckily he...

      There are contested conceptualizations of a state and a nation. Scholarly however, they are very different. The state possesses its basic attributes, most important to this article being a legitimate government. Nations on the contrary, are groupings that have an identical history, traditions, linguistic features and ideological prospects. Nations can therefore go beyond states and in certain circumstances a nation could be a state for example Japan. World over, there is a mounting problem to states from the nations. Secessions have become a trend and particular nations want to rise to states. Clamour for political power is basically the end goal. On the contrary, some states are setting the foundations for the strong features of a nation by appealing to shared values. The Catalans want to leave Spain, The Kurds are reading from the script of independence and this tone has found its way in Kenya. States still face a survival battle from the globa...

  North Korea cannot be stopped, it is a little too late! Development of nuclear weapons and the subsequent claim of a nuclear state status have rattled the international system’s key players. The United States has been conspicuously taking a hard stance against such activities and further threatening Pyongyang with consequences. The Russians seem reserved but calling for negotiations out of the stalemate. The United States is of great interests due to its allies in the Korean Peninsula; Japan and South Korea. The two are constantly seeking for the US help against an aggressing North Korea. Internationally, both states have greatly improved economically. They would seem benign powers to the United States, however on a different prism, their economic and technological prowess poses a threat to Washington’s dominance. The extend of dependency would be greatly reduced in the event that a military threat was never imminent. The current situation has hiked defence expenditure to the adv...

The world has been awash with radical sentiments against the possibility of peaceful indulgence with terror groups and other forms of insurgencies. Powerful states have led the way in this. Negotiation is a pointer to recognition in international politics. This is a reservation for actors that have the capacity to explore the course of diplomacy and sustain international peace and stability. Legal personality is therefore conferred to such units. Terrorism falls short of this target. Its complexity is however evidenced by the lack of a consensus on its definition and basic elements. Who is a terrorist question would probably qualify as a “turtles-all-the-way-down”  Some states despite their political insinuations explore secret talks and facilitate, ransom deliveries or prisoner swaps. Several others sponsor terrorism. This makes radical extremists, pawns in the game. The world, therefore has been gaming on the edges of a stable unchecked king. The backdoor engagements can only be ...

Highgate Cemetery, North London, England. Dear Brother Karl. Salute. It is probably over a hundred years since you wrote the Communist Manifesto! I have gone through it severally and I feel like pen should meet paper. Give me a short while to tell you about how my day began and what it is like living in it. You’ve heard of Kenya and notably a new foul cry from the Capitalists who mocked you, they have their new Manifesto! They have beautified it to goals and agendas. Brother, you explicitly cautioned against the freedom that is unconscious, free trade. We have it in the globe. The consumption and production you warned about is floating. We are threatening our own existence, and it seems this is the bullet we cannot duck! The bourgeoisie is at its peak, on our side push gets to shove each hour and we have to depend on towns though they map this into a beautiful goal that seeks to have a benevolent city life, with good houses of course but no clear plan for the rural, they must be holdin...

THE RUSSIAN LIMITED AIMS SECRET . The current international system has several ongoing conflicts which have the great powers taking sides and engaging in such proxy wars. These states have put in place strategies in the war gaming. Russia is placed among the powerful states club along with the United States, China and Britain. The approaches used by the Russians however, are those of a weaker state. One of the scholars of war, T.V Paul in his piece Asymmetric conflicts: War initiation by weaker powers discusses some of the means and ways that can be used by these countries or rather any parties in a conflict. Attrition or manoeuvre strategy, blitzkrieg and the limited aims strategy could be applied. The United States and Russia have kept on the cold war traits of unending competition in fostering their interests. Evaluating Russia’s configuration of its war involvement explicitly displays the limited aims strategy. This is an approach that has less exposure to several or prolonged co...

Excellency the President, Excellency the Deputy President, ladies and gentlemen good evening. I convey my gratitude and that of my family to his Excellency the President for this appointment and opportunity to serve as Secretary of Defence.  Fifteen years ago, our defence forces took up a task to safeguard our country in line with its mission to defend our sovereignty. Our disciplined forces pursued an enemy that had a distorted identity but manifested itself in the basic fabric of our society. You fought with determination and pride for our republic. Those moments still hold a special place in our hearts and in the narratives I have encountered before as a researcher with the heroes who fought along our regional colleagues in Somalia.  Over the years we lost patriotic men and women but the goal of a secure Kenya was achieved. Your Excellency you have tasked me with the leadership of one of the world’s most recognized forces. A military that has reinvented itself and aligning ...

The Kenyan Defence forces has three major sectors: the infantry sector of the Kenya Army, The powerful Kenya Air force and the Kenya Navy. The Department of Defence lately has attracted media attention owing to its purchases of artillery from foreign markets. A large chunk of such weaponry have been to the Kenya Air Force. The National Police too has had its share. The Navy is responsible for securing our waters, and its capacity is the greatest focus of my article.                BRIEF ON KENYAN COAST                         The Coastal part of Kenya has realized in the recent past some of the most violent conflicts in the Republic of Kenya. Notable among them being the Mpeketoni attacks and the secessionist movement of the Mombasa Republican Council. Some of the mentioned greatly played against the capa...