Expulsions, strikes and possibly terrorism

SOMETIMES I sit and look around for what to write about and end up harvesting only depression. I really thought we had heard enough expulsion stories from Tanzania. One day it is pastoralists the next day it is teachers. The whole expulsion process has left a huge dent in Tanzania’s Pan-African credentials. In Uganda the teachers’ strike has continued with the usual banter from the government. The last I heard was teachers being threatened that they should return to class or lose their jobs. Others were even told to vacate government houses if they want to continue with the strike. The issue of teachers continue being difficult to handle because many of the people who are supposed to ensure that teachers concerns are catered for do not have their children in public schools. So they are actually not affected by the teachers’ strikes. Gone are the days when children of the rich and those of the poor sat on the same school benches and worked hard for a better future together. Today there are clearly schools and services for those with big pockets while the rest are left to fend for themselves in poor quality schools that only appear as part of the statistics that show of high enrolment. Later on it emerged that for the first time in over 50 years, Kenya will not attend the UN General Assembly because it would mean that both the president and his deputy would be out of the country creating a power vacuum that is not catered for by the Kenyan constitution. As if all that was not bad enough for our Kenyan brothers, news came in of armed gunmen laying siege at the Westgate Mall one of the high-end shopping centres in the country. By the time of writing this, over 15 people had been reported dead while several others sustained injuries. I saw shocking pictures and footage of security officials doing their best to rescue people who had been trapped inside the huge mall ranging from workers of the Nakumatt store to customers who included adults and lots of children. Many children were in the mall to attend a children’s gala organised by one of the FM stations. What seemed to emerge from the whole incident was that the gunmen were unlikely to be mere robbers but actually terrorists. The fact that the gunmen saw it fit to raid the shopping mall in broad day light and more over on a Saturday when most people choose to go shopping said a lot about the siege. As if that was not enough, the events at Westgate quickly over shadowed the much anticipated Safaricom Rugby Sevens, a tournament that also featured Rwanda’s Silverbacks rugby team. The irony of all this happening on International Peace Day could not go unnoticed. It is sad that this comes on the heels of the fire that destroyed a large section of Kenya’s main airport. The events in Nairobi almost made me even forget the joy that filled Kigali on Friday when free wifi was launched in several parts of Kigali by the ICT Minister together with City Council officials. People living in Kigali can now be sure to use free internet (wifi) while at the main taxi park of Nyabugogo. Just like it is in Nairobi, residents of Kigali will also be using free wifi as they commuter from one place to another provided they board the buses run by Kigali Bus Services Company. The internet freebies were also extended to the public library at Kacyiru, Kigali City Tower and also King Faisal and Kanombe Military hospital. The same initiative also includes the promotion of e-ticketing for buses. The event was dubbed Smart Kigali. Therefore on top of being a very clean city, Kigali might as well be the first East African city to give residents an overdose of smart technology. Blog: www.ssenyonga.wordpress.comTwitter: @ssojo81