Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier who is passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa.

Dear Nairobians,

I hope my message finds you well . I send you warm easter greetings .

Firstly it is said…you only notice something when it is gone. In normal times you would be painting Kenya coast red .

This Easter Mombasa and Kenya Coast is dead and lifeless without you good people . I mean it dead and silent without you. You may be considered noisy but what is life without some noise and happy faces?

Nairobi is our capital city, it is the seat of goverment and the only home to a UN head quarters in a developing country.

While Kenya coast is laid back Nairobians are the opposite, outgoing and also good spenders. They love fine things in life and why lie you guys love life and you love merry making.

Talk of Yuls and Nomad restaurants imagine we will miss your colorful dressing all set for the beach and in all shapes and sizes. It really did not matter whether you are a swimmer or not.

Beach hotels are all quite this morning …the airport is dead silent so is SGR which is silent with lone askaris keeping watch . If it was not for cessation of movement entire Kenya coast we would be ready ” Kupokea wageni wetu ” . Now that you are not there everyone can fill the void. Without you it’s never the same.

The taxi driver, the Tuk Tuk guys and all the eateries from Tarboush to Forodhani to Tamarind , the madafu and muhogo guys at Mama Ngina waterfront everyone has been affected. Kenya coast in Easter without you is not complete.

The supermarkets and all the Airbnbs are also silent . Milk, bread and eggs would fly off the shelves like they grew wings . While stocks ran out when you are in town, it also meant you left behind loads of money in the coast economy.

Malindi Airport would also be busy as you head to Watamu and Malindi but the roaring aircraft engines have this time all gone silent so is Diani Airport the fastest growing airport in Kenya .

The sleepy town of Shimoni is also missing you …the boat operators that would take you on guided tour now see the reality that indeed wageni wetu hawatafika.

On the beach, the vendors in normal times would be smiling since Nairobiams and others coming over meant good income for them ..from the camel handler with his rides for the young ones and even adults to Halima & Fatma who would be busy with Heena & Piko designs which will be one evidence ” Ulifika Coast “.

The local mamas that hotels would invite to make the traditional swahili breakfast are at home. They know wageni wetu kutoka Nairobi are not able to make it. They feel sad but they understand , warm greetings from them. The Viazi vya Karai , Mahamri , Mbaazi and Kaimatis will wait till next time.

Even the Matatu guys will miss you since not everyone who comes to Kenya coast stays in a beach resort.

How did I forget the Uber folks and many other taxi hailing services . It will be all silent this weekend and all those extra Ubers would be parked at home .

Dear Nairobian, it is not your wish to stay at home . It is because of this terrible virus, we thought it was done with us little did we know it was busy reloading and doing push ups to give us one serious upper cut.

From the Kenya coast , we send you warm greetings and lots of love. We will miss you but stay safe which is more important so that we can host you again with your loved ones in the not so distant future.

Wishing you all a happy Easter Mubarikwe.

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation

Dear Kenyans

While we focus on Tanzania and others as a country we need to improve our own behavior here. 17 fatalities on Thursday 28 yesterday and the latter is the highest ever since Covid came calling.

Then 17% positivity rate Thursday 17.5% Friday , this is serious even if the sample size is still small – its official the world is going through a serious 3rd wave and many Kenyans are back to business as usual –

No face masks in public spaces,

No physical distancing,

Mosques in Mombasa and entire coast is back to normal business save for three mosques Al Farouq , Taib and AlRahman in Nyali . All the rest are shoulder to shoulder.

Public transport is not following regulations/guidelines etc.

A good friend in Nbi sent me this ,” The youth are out of control attending weekly raves & other crowded parties, bars are full on Fridays & Saturdays which is great for business but a ‘haven’ for the virus especially when most patrons if not all are entering & walking around with no face masks, no physical distancing. They are the ones who risk getting infected & will go home to their parents who will then visit their grand parents who are most vulnerable ” well this time round age is nothing even young youth are dying so dont deceive yourself.

I asked a doctor who is a good friend to give us a general picture about the strain and this is what he wrote in our common chat group .

” It maybe a different strain. The symptoms patients are presenting with now is body chills and joints aches with no coughing or running nose or sneezing. In second wave the presenting symptoms were coughing, running nose, sore throat and coughing. In second wave the highest number in icu were in 60s now we are talking of 123 meaning double number of patients becoming critical. When you start seeing jump of deaths from 17 to 28 it means our icu facities are full to capacity and that any patients who becomes critical now will not get icu bed meaning that patient will die within hours. In brief the health systems are getting over run”.

This is certainly not a good read hence we must get out of denial and act accordingly.

GoK doesn’t need to impose more restrictions, we need to adhere to the ones that have been in place for a while & they must enforce without fear or favor where they are not being followed. Supermarkets are allowing shoppers to roam inside without masks , silly shoppers walk in with masks and moment they are in they remove them. At the till again silly shopper will come breathing on your neck had to chase some away . Use your eyes and stand at that clear point.

Things ain’t good but we can fly out of this new storm, weve done it before.

As always I choose to remain an optimist.

🙏🏾

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation

While we always like looking at Uganda and Tanzania , well both enjoy a lower pump price yet the former is even landlocked and their oil has to go through Mombasa where I pay more as a motorist for the same litre of fuel.

Now a benchmark that has deliberately been ignored is our northern neighbour Ethiopia, guess what ? They pay less than Ksh 60 for a little of petrol while we pay Ksh 120+.

Ethiopia is totally landlocked, we are not .

Ethiopia has to use the port of Djibouti and in future Berbera in Somaliland.

When you look at the table Ethiopia it is even able to sell fuel to its people cheaper than UAE and just about to beat even Bahrain then you wonder why manufacturers are headed there.

It is said information is power but that was 20 years ago , these days information is power if only you use it in a productive way. Why is Ethiopia able to deliver fuel to it’s people at less than half of what we pay? Why ? Yet they are totally landlocked. Now I understand why my cousins in Moyale prefer to cross to Ethiopia side to fuel .

I am sure many of you may also not know that Ethiopia has one of the lowest electricity costs in Africa and even globally. You see Ethiopia in their strategy they consider Fuel and Energy as critical factors for the success of any manufacturing dream. Simple economnics is that you dont heavily tax enablers , you only do that in a matured economy like Europe yes Europe.

Now let me brutal.

You see we think speaking queens english and looking sophisticated is enough to make us superior to our neighbours. While Ethiopia may have had challenging past they are positioning themselves as the China of Africa. You see China is not able to cope with global demand and they are looking at off loading low yield manufacturing so they are looking for developing countries that can do that and which is the easiest and ideal place ? Your guess is as good as mine . Ethiopia. Take a visit and go and see the industrial zones across Ethiopia.

With such low cost of fuel and low cost of electricity then what is left is trained personnel and again China and other countries that are outsourcing their manufacturing are helping them do that .

Dont even bother with Europe as a benchmark…… think hard about Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is home to Ethiopian Airlines. No other African country and even many European countries can challenge Ethiopian Airlines . They are also known for world class leather products.

Looks like we will be left speaking only good english… well the Chinese speak no English and they dont pretend to be sophisticated but they supply the world from Gucci accessories to Apple products and myriad of pharmaceutical products list is endless .

Any developing country that thinks it can spur growth by heavily taxing input like fuel and energy I am sorry that is nothing but voodoo economics.

Oh by the way before I forget on my last visit to Nairobi my hotel towel when I looked at the label it read ” Made In Ethiopia “.

I am sure many of you woke up to demolition of Buxton Estate Mombasa

I recall with nostalgia visiting my Aunty as a young boy in the early 80’s and the place looked really nice.

Fast forward, due to lack of maintenance the place went to the dogs and it was condemned a couple of years ago. Leaking roofs cracked walls , broken down sewer system exposed electricals the place was no longer safe for human habitation.

Fact: Mombasa county like many other counties does not have the financial power to set up new housing and a developer made a proposal and as usual we went to court and for the past several years the matter has dragged on in court until a ruling a couple of days

Firstly let’s address a few facts which they good judge also captured in his ruling.

These apartments belong to the county of Mombasa formerly Mombasa Municipal Council. You live there as a tenant and due to the low rent paid it was next to impossible to maintain the place. It is also a fact that real tenants moved out many moons away and rented them to 3rd parties who in turn were paying them a higher rent compared to what they were paying the county.

Fact: As a tenant , long occupation of an apartment does not turn you into an owner. If that was case many would be owners. You still remain a tenant and the day the owner wants his place you are given notice and you move out without drama.

Now Buxton is prime land in the heart of Mombasa. Please keep in mind that Mombasa is an island hence the only way is vertical hence urban housing upgrade must consider that.

The planned Buxton point will change the face of Mombasa and also show us the way on how to partner with private sector to create low cost housing. We have very many such estates across Kenya be it Mombasa . Nairobi. Nyeri
Nakuru. Kisumu etc.

To Buxton tenants you got an opportunity to live in Buxton then you were one of the lucky few who lived well in the heart of Mombasa without breaking the bank.

Many of us lived in homes without water or electricity and we all made efforts to better our lives.

In life everything has a beginning and it has an end ….kilicho na mwanzo hakikosi kuwa na mwisho.

I must congratulate two archrivals politically who puts side their political differences Governor Hon. Ali Hassan Joho and Suleiman Shahbal and agreed to progress this project.

The said apartments are not anywhere near market rate with a nice 2 bed rooms going for Ksh 3M while 3 Bed rooms going for Ksh 4.2M. If the developer was to buy the land then a 3 bedroom would be anything above Ksh 16M or even more since these is a decent low rise. It is not one of those ugly 15 storey building. If the price was to go that high then the price would shift to commercial rate making nonsense of the low coast housing.

It is also interesting to note that current occupants are each given Ksh 240,000 to help them move out and they also get first refusal option to buy an apartment while units would increase four fold allowing many more Mombasa residents a chance to live in a decent housing without breaking the bank.

In my opinion this could be the beginning of ways and means of fixing old dilapidated council houses across Kenya . As a Mombasa resident I render my full support to this project. We admire other countries but they all took painful decisions to better themselves.

When Nakumatt Thika road was brought down to pave way for Thika highway we all cried and cursed but today no one remembers that. We now have a 5 lane highway which has inspired the rest of Kenya and the region.

May Buxton Point be the Thika super highway project to inspire others in urban public housing upgrade.

Many are asking why did they move so fast to demolish ……while I also feel sorry for the tenants I am sure both the county and the investors are avoiding another case being filed which means further delays besides the writing has all along been on the wall. It was only a matter of when not even Buxton would come down.

Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore did the same thing and today we all admire Singapore.

Mombasa politicians, please dont politic . It’s now over. Let the project begin and the same should happen across Tudor , Makande , Mbaraki, et al

As always I choose to remain am optimist, may the project begin.

Mohammed Hersi

Mombasa Resident.

For many years I was running a leading beach Resort way before we started talking regional balance, no Head Of Department would dare bring me a list of new employees to be contracted for my approval with one community taking more than 30% of the slots. Dont ever buy the crap that others did not apply. That is one cock & bull story. I recall being sent a list of 10 out of 11 trainess all from one community and I sent them all back. Candor with me is 2nd nature and I would not let anyone who reports to me to get away with such blatant abuse of office and simply put loads of crap.

To be fair to others and giving everyone a fair chance is true act of decency. When you hold a public office it is expected of you since the same is enacted in law.

When we give a young man from under privileged Bamba in Kilifi a chance and he happens to be only one who has found gainful employment imagine how you have been able to impact on one family. I recall such case and my friend Nick Ladu will bear me witness when we gave a young man from Bamba a chance in animation yet he had no experience whatsoever but he looked he was very keen to learn and he did very well .

There was also a young plumber who was always available to fix plumbing issues in homes in Nyali . I had a chat with him when Covid hit home in April in 2020. He told he had been laid off at his place of work in North coast and he is now cutting his losses by going back to his rural home in Taita. We kept in touch and when a position came up at Taita Hills Safari Resort & Spa the GM gave him a chance to be interviewed and he was absorbed.

Last week as I was driving back from Taita I saw an incessant caller and guess what the young man saw my car and he insisted I turn back to meet his family since his home was very much on the road and he spotted me. I did that and he took time to introduce me to his entire family including two older brothers and you could see and literally feel the gratitude .

When you see public officials refusing to look beyond their village, tribesmen and cabal of friends it’s all about decency and level of civilization. Going to some fine schools and wearing a fine designer suit is not all , it boils down to respect for others.

I have personally held and still hold key positions but I never ever just think of my village or my tribesmen or circle of friends.

Many years ago I applied for a position Assitant F&B Manager at Indian Ocean Beach Club Diani . Then F&B Manager was William Omamo . He was finally left with two candidates and my worthy competitor was a Luo fellow hotelier . William made it clear that he would not have an Assistant from his community since he believed in good balance and he also wanted to send a message to his supervisors and his peers. Folks that was way back in 1993. Bill was light years ahead of many Kenyans and that lesson stuck in my mind and I religiously practice fairness in all that I do.

I have seen time and again some CS’s ( some more notorious) who insist to make appointments from close friends and one community, let me say this TRIBE is innocent. These are bunch of friends. Period.

While BBI has many positive things , you dont need BBI to fix such blatant arrogance and impunity where you treat other Kenyans with disdain and contempt.

There is life after serving in public office so how do you want to be remembered?

I personally get alot of satisfaction when I try and spread opportunities to everyone irrespective of race tribe or colour.

Well trust me it makes a difference when we speak out and this act of impunity MUST be stopped. Kenya is not some personal property, Kenya is one proud nation of ladies & Gentlemen who all expect to get a fair chance in life. Nothing more nothing less.

As always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

I have been asked by a few of my Christian brethren about our Muslim burial rites, more so with the demise of our elder Mzee Yusuf Haji.

Firstly we rarely transport a body. You get buried where you passed away. You must be wondering Garissa would have been ideal burial place for him being a public figure. For us your burial is where maut or death will find you.

Our burials timings is mainly dictated by prayers times, remember we pray 5 times a day

Fajr. 5am or so
Dhuhur 1PM
Asr 4PM or so
Maghrib 6.30pm or so
Isha 8pm

Most of the burial prayers would coincide with the 1pm or 4pm prayers for various reasons ranging eg to allow immediate family like children to arrive etc. We try and avoid evening or nighttime burial unless it is case of accident and departed pught to be laid to rest as quickly as possible.

The body is prepared either at home or even at some mosque. Ghusl is the full body ritual purification mandatory before the performance of ritual and janaza prayer. We don’t use a coffin, we have a common built contraption that is used for everyone ( returnable)

Our mosque in South C does that very well and a few masjid in Mombasa. It is a new trend across many towns in Kenya since a Muslim passing away in your town it becomes your responsibility as a fellow muslims to give the departed bro or sister a good send off and burial. Growing up in Marsabit we used to lay to rest many muslims who die in road accidents as they head to Moyale and Ethiopia.

Once the body is ready ( The departed is wrapped in a simple plain cloth ( The Kafan) and that’s it . It costs less than 500 Bob.

The body is then carried away in a Janaza the common contraption and is placed at the back of the mosque awaiting the normal prayers to happen . Once the normal prayers have happened then announcement is made that we have a body of a departed bro or sister and if we could remain behind to join. It is considered a blessing to take part in such even if you were not known to the departed. We then bring the body to the front of the congregation.

Typically the son elder one will confer with the Imam ( Priest) and announce if there is anyone who owed the departed anything and if the departed owed anyone anything . Then the son or immediate family male member will announce that they will take responsibility.

We then all stand behind the Janaza and final prayers are led by the imam . Sometimes we have more than one body so they are all laid out in a line .

It takes less than 10 minutes and swiftly the body is picked and young men who most likely are not even known to the deceased jostle to be the ones carrying the departed.

Once at the graveyard immediate family members preferably sons and brothers to the deceased will go inside the grave which is always ready but we make a pillow to lay the head made out of mud.

Once the body has been removed from the Janaza the departed is laid inside the grave lying on their right side facing Kibla ( Mecca we all face Mecca to say our prayers. )

Wooden planks are placed as an enclosures inside and if you can’t find wood then concrete slabs is allowed.

Once done the family members step out and soil is the poured into the grave . Again total strangers mainly young men would do it and get soiled yet they may not even be known to the departed.

Once done a quick sermon is given hardly 5 to 10 minutes and we are done

We make no speeches and there are NO protocols at the mosque or at the burial site based on your worldly position. At the mosque and burial site we are all equal.

Women are not allowed at the cemetery and if they go then they can only watch from a distance. Men carry out the entire ritual once done then family members can be left behind to say extra prayers etc.

The whole burial will not last more than 30 Minutes and you are done .

If I may have skipped anything Aalahu A’alam. Allah knows best.

I hope this quick write up helps you to understand our faith.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

If you want to know that as Africans we have failed what you are about to read is enough testimony. Before you get feelings , emotional and defensive about it here is why .

I am very keen when shopping to see where an item has been manufactured.

Pepsodnet toothpaste is manufactured in Vietnam yes in Vietman a country that was ravaged by war in the 70’s and 80’s when most of us were fairly stable.

This Pepsodent is manufactured by Unilever in Vietnam for Ghana. Uganda and you guessed right Kenya my home. Ghana was the first country in Africa to gain independence in 1957 that is 64 years ago. Uganda and Kenya were next heading to 60 years.

Population wise Ghana 31M Kenya 52M Uganda 42M with a combined population of 120+ we are NOT able to produce toothpaste to clean our teeth , all our dentist could do is to endorse these products. Add Nigeria 170M Ethiopia 100M et al.

As Africans we should hang our heads in shame. 60+ years we have to import such basic stuff but we are quick to chesthumb when we are challenged by others .

We dont produce oil and we dont exploit any rare earth minerals to make us a net importer so why cant we produce such basics to save the rare hard currency?

Let’s now do some maths .

If only 50 million of us in these 3 countries bought a tube a month that cost $2 we are talking of $100M a month and in one year we are talking of $1.2 Billion which is what tourism earned Kenya in 2018.

In the 70s and 80s even when we had political agitations and late Moi faced serious run in with IMF and World Bank we were producing most of these basics. We had colgate, close up , dettol soap, protex, and many others all manufactured in Kenya.

In 2021 we have sunk so low that our educated youth are busy slashing shrubs by the roadside in the name of Kazi kwa Vijana while leadership zoom past in fuel guzzlers and even worse is when others sell Wheelbaronmics to be the future and next big thing for Kenya.

Ghana. Uganda & Kenya we should all be shamed of ourselves and our leaders owe us an apology. Please dont tell me about cost of electricity as the only reason why manufacturers are giving Kenya a wide berth.

Way forward.

Unilever is British.
Britain has just gone through a divorce with EU. Unilever MUST be made and encouraged to come and set up shop here for all their consumables. Africa we dont want aid we want trade but again our leaders MUST wake up from their deep slumber and drop their selfish approach to life.

It’s no rocket science . What is the use of Kenya power and Kengen posting some forced profits when we know they are all bleeding . Its very easy to support these industries with cheaper power and in return we get more Kenyans employed and more taxes paid locally.

$1.2Billion is Ksh 120 Billion. You do the same maths for all other consumables and you will realise that we are all busy exporting jobs yet we can easily gainfully employ our young people in decent places. Asking graduates to cut grass by the roadside as casual labourers or to fall in love with a wheelbarrow is USHENZI. Worst part is when we clap for such backward thoughts and we sanitise it as empowerment.

I dont think all is lost . Its high time we discouraged these imports and let’s cut down the talk at workshops. Let’s get some work done.

Well as always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Kenyans negative reaction to Naomi Campbell appointment as Magical Kenya International Ambassador is completely misplaced.

While each one is entitled to their opinion I also dare say that we are very bitter with everything and anything.

Allow me to state a few facts.

1. Naomi Campbell is NOT the first and will NOT be the last tourism ambassador to be appointed.
2. Eliud Kipchoge had been appointed late last year .
3. Why Naomi and why NOT our own Lupita.

Please allow me to enlighten you. Lupita may be our daughter but she is now a high flying brand and if we are to get her be prepared to pay top $$$ for her brand . Let me also tell you that even the father who is Governor of Kisumu cannot just use her image to promote Kisumu , when you reach Lupitas level agents run the show they monetize every single move.

4. Naomi campbell is equally not affordable and I will tell you for free that she is doing all this pro bono for the love she has for Malindi and Kenya . If we were to pay Naomi she would wipe a good chunk of our destination marketing budget .
5. Now lets talk of numbers. Some claim that Naomi is not influential and she has lost her mojo. Let me help you . Instagram is one major platform for destination marketing and Naomi has 10+Million followers while younger Lupita has 8.9Million . Both are influential but Naomi offered so why should we refuse besides Naomi is even visiting us when good part of the world are under lockdown.

Naomi has over 750K Twitter followers and 500K subscribers on YouTube.

Finally nothing stops us from appointing Lupita but it will cost us money to do that and I will tell you for free that Kenyas budget is 1/10 of what south Africa is given so you can do your maths .

I respect Kenya Tourism Board for stretching that $$$ to the limit to deliver hence any star who is willing and ready to adopt Kenya and help us promote Magical Kenya is more than welcome.

Naomi considers Kenya her second home and every Chrismas she is opting to come to Malindi Kenya just the way Oprah Winfrey has made South Africa her second home. None other than Madiba embraced her as his lost daughter if you care to read her relationship with South Africa and I would place Naomi on the same pedestal since she has been coming to Malindi for the past 15 + years .

Those claiming that Naomi is too old , she just turned 50 and she is looking gorgeous as ever. It is said your network is your networth and Naomi has connection and reach across Europe, UK, Canada , USA and even Africa and right here in Kenya. Naomi is not some lightweight. Her list of friends and associates reads the who is who on the global arena. Please make google your friend.

Instead of bashing Naomi we should be exploring to see how she can help young models to get opportunities and many other doors that she can help to open.

Those who think we paid millions to get her I can bet we paid nothing and all this is the personal goodwill from my good friend CS Balala. Please don’t ever kid yourself that Naomi appearance fee is cheap…she is not and for her to have offered which is not being said is a kind gesture from a successful model of colour with African roots.

Since Naomi has fallen in love with Malindi I have now taken the liberty to give her a beautiful Giriama name Naomi Kadzo Campbell. If you also have a problem with that talk to me .

To my fellow Kenyans lets reduce the bile and learn to appreciate others and embrace people of good will.

Dear Naomi, please dont read too much into sentiments expressed by Kenyans on social media. You see we use social media to ventilate and please take it with a pinch of salt. I leave you with the words of Michelle Obama ….” When they go low, you go high “ . Keep soaring.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

” The woman who found whales” seriously ??

What a cock and bull story in 2021.

How can such crap sneek through editors and producers watchful eyes.

While I appreciate positive stories about my country I dont hesitate to express my displeasure when a channel like CNN with a few people who came to Kenya some 10 years ago try to rewrite history. I am afraid I don’t take such lying down . I am rabidly one very proud African and Kenyan. Come and live here but dont ever attempt to patronize us.

If we discovered Whales and Dolphins some 10 years ago where did we get a name like Nyangumi swahili name for Whale ? Even in my somali language we call it Yibiri. We ain’t as daft as some of these may think, a century ago yes you could get away with such but sorry not in 2021.

Kenya embraced conservation before she ever thought of visiting Kenya let alone come to live here.

Malindi Watamu was gazetted as protected marine park in 1968 five years after Kenyans independence and 52 years ago we did that specifically to protect these marines life and most likely before she was even born.

Fact: Kenya did carry out the first aerial survey for dolphins and whales way back in 1995 which is 26 years ago and it is all documented.

To CNN , our women found whales and dolphins time immemorial and such heading are nothing but patronizing. Even for marketing purposes we embraced whales 15+ years ago.

To claim that KWS had no idea we had Dolphins in Watamu is an insult to KWS marine rangers and scientists.

Folks this is how stories are cooked chasing donor funding.

We appreciate all the men and women who have chosen to settle in Kenya and also chosen to help in conservation without trying to spin a baseless story .

To CNN and the main source of this story you earn yourself a bouquet of barbs from me . Give us publicity minus those stories that are written with Dr Livingstone and Speke mindset discovering this or that .

Oh please we are in 2021 so such lies we stop them in their tracks.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Every end year as members of a gated community ( a very nice middle income neighborhood in Mombasa made mainly of professionals) we come together and raise some money to give to our security guards and caretaker.

Despite the hard times, once I made the call as their chairman the good neigbours were quick to send in their donation.

Within 24 hours the beneficiaries received their share which was close to a months salary via Mpesa. All of them sent a quick Asante text which I consider a sign of good upbringing and gratitude which is a virtue many dont have even in formal employment.

As I was driving out we engaged in chit chat with two of the guards and I asked to verify what I received against what I shared . I asked one of them to help me do the maths and he was quick to whip out his phone. I was also going to give them a small amount that had come through which I was going to give them in cash.

In the process we discovered that I had missed out on one contribution and I apologised and made amends.

One guard then asked me, why am I doing all this since they dont owe us anything and what they received is already good enough. My answer was simple, I was only a custodian and a channel.

You could see a light bulb moment and he said ” Enyewe hapo ni kweli “

I took the opportunity to tell them that illicit amassing of Ill gotten wealth meant for publics well being is nothing but poison. When you steal funds meant for primary education or primary health care to live large trust me it will come to haunt you in many ways including through your family.

There is one Almighty God you cannot deceive…. don’t ask too many questions why none of your children are turning out straight and successful. How can that happen when you denied the children of less fortunate in society to acess quality education? You swallowed funds for laptop projects ? You made nonsense of health procurement and stashed billions in your private personal account while medics ( some so young ) die because they could not get PPE’s and the list can go on and on …..by the way the bad guys spare nothing even antiretroviral drugs for HIV patients was never safe.

I then told them about minimalist lifestyle. One of my favourite author Gary Hamel one time said ” Quality of life can never be improved beyond a certain point irrespective of how much you earn”. Simply put you can only drive one car, sleep in one house , one room , in one bed, eat from one plate and only so much .

Final Thought

There is no harm in getting wealthy but do you know that people who made their money in a clean way end up giving it back to mankind . Bill Gates , Warren Buffet et al.

I then told them in death you leave this earth with nothing , the most some may take is suit and expensive coffin others even get cremated and in my case Islam you only get a white bedsheet that is not worth even 300 Bob. After all is said and done you depart with nothing. Zero. Your deeds is what will count if you are believer.

In our case the same bad guys who stole from us when they die the relatives will again ask us to send in our Mpesa contribution can you imagine in that even in death they are not done with us.

Please dont blame the family because these bad guys hide everything in personal accounts and some pseudo accounts and the immediate family cant even acess the funds awaiting for banks due processes. Then all sorts of children and ” wife’s ” will pop from every corner across the city filing cases demanding a DNA test and the official battle for the Ill gotten wealth is yet to begins.

Good people this is meant for the bad guys….Kenya and Africa is NOT poor because of lack of resources. Almighty God has been overly kind to us with natural resources that the rest of the world can only dream of.

Did you know that Congo river can power the whole of Africa ?

Did you know that Tana Delta can produce all the rice and maize we need in this country?

Next time you meet one of these thieves and they are known please show them your disgust and dont give them your quality time and when you see their Mpesa appeal simply flip to the next page of the paper. Trust me it will haunt them with their loved ones.

If you are one of those bad guys It is never too late to do the right thing ….stop dipping your hands in the public coffers eating the lifes and future of other generations.

As we leave 2020 a tough year please reflect hard and if you are one of them please change your ways , it is never too late .

Let me hear your thoughts and as always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa .
Kenya