Wanjiku Dreamer

By Wanjiku Kimani Like cats, Nairobians are extremely averse to the rain. With even the lightest drizzle, they can be seen scurrying hither and thither looking for shelter as if afraid of melting. A bloom of umbrellas appears and street vendors magically start selling them too. “Mia mbili! Mia mbili!” they shout as pedestrians shove to purchase one. Any shop front with an overhead cover becomes a stopover point with worried faces peering at the stormy sky. Once in a while, a brave soul might dash into the wet to the next shop front thus making their way cautiously to their respective bus stops. At the stage, you also find chaos with more pushing and shoving in the mad dash to find a seat in the few remaining matatus. The more aggressive passengers can even be seen pulling people by the hair – a fact which I can personally attest to. There is also the danger of being pick-pocketed. With so many bodies packed together, it’s easy for a slippery hand to sneak in and out without one...

Kenya has been labeled as the fifth most prejudiced countries when it comes to LGBIT rights. Homosexuals hide in the dark and fear exposing their orientation because of harassment and possible abuse. Even our very own Deputy President has been known to say there is no room for homosexuality in Kenya. He re-affirmed what most Africans countries believe - that being gay is unnatural and un-African. Many people believe it is a ‘white’ thing that is being forced upon us. The incident in 2010 where a mob attacked a number of men in Mombasa after accusing them of having gay sex shows just how deeply seated the stigma goes. They were then sentenced to prison for’ having unnatural sex against the order of nature’. 77 Countries Where Homosexuality is a Crime In 2014, Kenyan MP’s proposed a bill which would have resulted in gays being stoned to death if they were found out. They proposed that anyone charged with aggravated homosexuality - performing a gay act when HIV positive or hav...

Who can forget that epic episode of Tujuane show that had the whole of Kenya talking? It was episode 12 of the show that airs on KTN when Mirfat Musa, aka Susan, uttered these epic words during a date: “I don’t do fries. Am I a 'chips funga' or something?” This lightly-stated comment had Kenyans in a state of protest especially due to the fact that chips is a staple in urban dwellers’ diets. It also offended many of Kenya’s young men who identified with her date, a hustler raised in Eastlands but working his way up the social ladder. Susan’s preferences were advertised all over social media with people labelling her a snob and  calling her pretentious. However, this outpouring of insults made me wonder – are we justified in making such a judgment? Are we being too hasty in insulting her when she could just be part of a group whose preferences are not the same as the majority? As they say, different strokes for different folks. Nairobi is filled with a wide variety of c...

Hard to believe but your daddy left me for a man BY WANJIKU KIMANI With Kenya being one of the most tolerant African countries, we have all kinds of different people with their own attitudes about relationships. Gay men around Nairobi, Mombasa and other metropolitan areas are readily found and many of them don’t even try to hide their status. True, they might not shout it from the treetops or openly hold hands with their lovers.  But it is often possible to spot them by their dress sense and general stature. They tend to walk with a feminine bearing, with excessive hip-swinging and lip-pouting. Many also have a tendency to wear overly tight clothing with various feminine-like accessories. These are not the ones who interest me, rather it’s those who are not openly gay, probably with girlfriends and wives, living secret lives that I’d like to explore. There are numerous stories online about men who know they are gay yet they choose to live double lives – one where they are...

Holy cow! She thought. “I’m meeting this guy for the first time, is this good idea? Is it safe? Should I just go home?” These were the thoughts running through my friends mind while she waited to meet with a man she met online. They had been chatting on Facebook for about 2 months and were finally meeting for the first time.  This is not a rarity anymore with both young and old finding social media as an easy way to meet new people. In the U.S, around 1 in 4 relationships are formed from online dating and this seems to be a worldwide trend with electronic communication spreading to the ends of the earth.  With Facebook, Twitter and online dating sites, getting into a relationship gets easier each day. There have been many horror stories about Facebook killers or situations where the first meeting does not go as planned and although some of these are true, there are other 1 st meetings which do have happy endings. But first things first – here are some tips on how to go ab...