Isiolo, Eastern Province, Kenya, December 2007. Women working/walking. I love the way Kenyan women use colour in their lives: clothing, blankets, scarves (and umbrellas). There is also a way the women carry themselves, with dignity, even when laden with goods and children. There was something about the bright umbrella on a sunny day that reminded [...]
Anthony Mwangi
Kengeles, Lavington, Nairobi, December 2007 Anthony Mwangi, vocal artist, performing at a Kwani Sunday Salon event. This is a monthly event hosted by Kwani?, showcasing Kenyan authors reading from published works, and voice/sound performers of other sorts. These urban African artists, working in a variety of media, not only produce excellent contemporary African art and [...]
Lake Victoria
Shores of Lake Victoria, Kisumu, Nyanza Province, Kenya December 2007. We had gone out on a boat just after sunrise, but about an hour into the journey we came across a spot where people were working and we were able to get freshly-caught tilapia and cokes for breakfast. It was just another working day for [...]
Christmas Day
Along the road between Kisumu and Eldoret, Rift Valley Province, Kenya December 2007. A Christmas day. As we traveled rural Kenya on Christmas day, the most prominent sight was children dressed in their new or best clothes walking down the road. They were usually on their way to church, or to see family, or friends. [...]
On the road north of Isiolo
On the road north from Isiolo, Eastern Province, Kenya, December 2007. These young men were paused beside the road, the two boys standing engaging me with their eyes, the other two in natural sculpted poses, seemingly in contemplation. There is a visual connection here between past and present in the way they are dressed. A [...]
Housing for tea plantation workers (Kericho)
Kericho, Rift Valley Province, Kenya, December 2007. A Housing for tea plantation workers. I think I was attracted to the orderliness of this hillside; the neat rows of dwellings made it look like some kind of suburb, families nestled together, laundry on the lines. I like pictures with this kind of organized density and this [...]
Peace Net
Peaceinkenya.net is an initiative under the Electoral Violence Response Initiative (EVRI-1) How did EVRI-1 (every-one) start? Following the outbreak of violence in Kenya on December 29th 2007, members of the Partnership for peace, hosted by PeaceNet convened and initiated an Electoral Violence Response Initiative (EVRI), consisting of civil society organizations (Maendeleo ya Wanawake, PEACENET TRUST, [...]
An Unusual Hero
Mention the Kenyan GSU, and images of red-bereted, combat-geared policemen waving batons chasing rioting university students amid plumes of choking tear gas come to mind. It is not clear where the tagline fanya fujo uone (just try to make trouble, and see)came from, but it stuck so indelibly in the Kenyan psyche they might have [...]
A tale of two urban villages
South Loresho and Kibagare Village, in Nairobi, sit side by side. In a prefab room, with a single long table, and wobbly white plastic chairs, representatives of both communities also sit side by side. It is a microcosm of a Kenyan moment: someone from Eastern Province speaks and everyone listens. Then there is a parade [...]
Concerned Citizens for Peace
The concerned citizens for peace initiative came into being on January 1, 2008 after violence erupted in Kenya following claims of rigging and a flawed election process in the country. The original five core members- who included Kenyan peace mediators and members of the civil society- started the group in order to rally for peace [...]
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