“I have not failed,” the great American inventor, Thomas Edison, once famously said. “I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is the wisdom that Human Resource expert Jacinta Were Lwanga invites corporate and public service leaders to contemplate in her new book, How Not to Lead. In it, she summarises her over 23 years of corporate experience and offers some of the critical lessons she has learned on leadership, power and the habits that undermine trust. She argues that leadership is one of the most powerful and influential forces in any organisation or institution and determines whether such an…
Author: Mbugua Ng’ang’a
The relationship between the French Republic and the African continent began in the 18th century with the establishment of an isolated trading post. In 1830, France made its ambitions official with the seizure of Algiers. The intervening 196 years since then have been tumultuous ones for France across Africa. Some saw the exit from Africa of France’s remaining military forces amid rising anti-French sentiment as a symbolic full stop to over two centuries of French direct involvement in Africa. But France is now trying to prove it is a committed partner to Africa by reorienting itself towards Anglophone African countries.…
Raphael Tuju is neither an architect nor an engineer. Ironically, although the founder of Ace Communications attended the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, where he studied for a master’s degree in Mass Communication, he has spectacularly failed at selling his side of the story about his $9.3 million (about Sh943.9 million at the time he borrowed it) debt debacle to the masses. Instead, he was reduced to pitiable whimpering on the dilapidated sofa sets of Karen Police Station, his belly button heaving as television cameras rolled. At that point in time, as on the day his 20-acre prime…
Global demand for electric cars, AI-driven technology, and green power generation means rare earths and critical minerals are becoming strategic assets, and more sought after than ever. This puts resource-rich Africa at the centre of this new gold rush. Transporting valuable resources from their point of origin, through the ports of Africa, and onwards to their final destination is complex. Optimising this export process by making it faster and more efficient is essential to capitalise on this growing worldwide demand for Africa’s resources. The Lobito Corridor in Sub-Saharan Africa, a vital transport network within the continental network, does exactly that.…
As lawyers prepare to elect the successor of Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President, Faith Odhiambo, they will need to cross-examine their consciences to identify the important issues that they will need to address as a fraternity. This introspection will be important for several reasons: First, the person who will take over the mantle will still be at the helm in 2027 when Kenya will go to the polls. As such, a strong leader will be needed in the event that there will be a dispute with regards to the outcome of the presidential election, as there is likely to…
News organisations from Western allies of Kenya and other East African nations once held sway over the information flows in and out of East Africa. Now it is China that occupies that role in the region, and more broadly across Africa. Xinhua, China’s largest and State-run Chinese media and broadcasting organisation, currently boasts 37 Africa-based news bureaus across the continent. The BBC and The Washington Post have only two apiece, with a range of smaller offices. Can organisations such as the China Global Television Network (CGTN), or Xinhua, which are so overtly coupled to the foreign policy of the Chinese…
Although popular wisdom in Kenya has it that the rich, powerful and controversial public figures do not die — they are always killed — there is a sense in which this aphorism is not too far from the truth. The death of politician Cyrus Jirongo in a 3am traffic crash on the Nairobi-Naivasha highway is a case in point. For a start, the statement attributed to the bus driver, one Tiras Kamau, raises too many questions. On what basis, for instance, did he decide that it was safer for Jirongo’s car to ram into the bus than for him, the…
Now that the examinations period is officially over, it is important to cast an eye back and review the high and low points with a view to making improvements in the handling of exams in future. First, of course, is to commend the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), its officers, teachers, police and other personnel who undertook one of the most complex logistical exercises outside the supply of drugs to public hospitals. Indeed, even where there were shortcomings, the overall performance evidenced efficiency and commitment that should not go unremarked. That said, and whereas the examinations for Grades Six and…
Over two million learners are this week sitting for two important examinations: The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade Six, and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade Nine. These are milestones in the education journey of every young Kenyan and even as we wish each of them success, we know that there are some who will perform better than others for various reasons. One is that not all schools are equally prepared. If anything, there are one too many public schools that are poorly equipped to give learners the best classroom experience possible, and their…
Have you listened to a song rendered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) but derived from the sound, beat and philosophy of musical greats like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, to name a few? So good are some of the renditions that it is difficult for the untrained ear to decipher that they are all made using AI. What is more, they sound way better than the real thing. Think about it. AI has become a major transformative force, especially in the creative industry. It is now possible, say, to write an article like this in five minutes…
