jua kali

As one approaches Kamukunji Jua Kali, one is welcomed by noise produced by hammered metals. The noise is so intense that one hardly speaks to the person next to one. The noisiest place here is the shed where jua kali artisans make pots and frying pans. The hammering of metals is in unison almost rhythmical.

The work shed is not the usual factory since workers do not have safety equipment like gloves, boots and goggles. One may say the structures they are using to keep their materials and finished products are in deplorable condition, but jua kali operators are contented with such structures.

George Mureithi, 54, has been grafting metals for the past 36 years at Kamukunji Jua Kali station. He has been able to endure harsh working condition with no predictable daily income. He mainly makes wheelbarrows, water containers and plastic buckets.

Mureithi, who appeared casual and comfortable in his long green overcoat, says not everybody can survive in the job he is doing. As he narrates his work history, one can tell that Mureithi must have been a super human being as he had to work for a whole week with no customer to buy his products.

For Mureithi, sky is the limit since he did not leave his work to rush for other jobs like his former colleagues. As he said, he lived day by day expecting that the next day would be promising; and indeed it became promising because Mureithi is currently operating his jua kali shop worth Ksh100, 000 with daily income of between Ksh650 and Ksh1, 000 and approximately Ksh30, 000 a month.

“This work is gambling. One has to know how to operate it,” he says

Mureithi does not operate only his shop. He is being hired to graft metals by his colleagues whom he said they have been a major source of his daily income.

Jennifer Kangethe, 55, is Mureithi’s next-door in his work place and she attests that Mureithi is a hardworking man who must open his jua kali shop at six o’clock daily, although he operates from Kangemi approximately 40 kilimetres from his work station.

Although Mureithi has been able to reap good money from his work, he said there was a challenge in getting capital to start it since the cost of materials is very high and it involved a lot of competition.

“One has to rush to Industrial Area very early in the morning. Prices become high when many people need certain material,” he says.

Mureithi has customers from many parts of the country. He draws his customers as far as Narok, Eldoret and Kisumu. He said most of his customers buy his products in wholesale. His customers call him to tell how many water containers or wheelbarrows they need.

HELB LOAN:

 UNREST AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OVER HELB LOAN
By Maritim Kipngetich

The escalation of students’ unrest over Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) loan over the past few months, has rekindled a heated debate among the students across various universities with each student having a different view of the matter.

Following the recent closure of Kimathi University where students took to streets and destroy properties claiming that they had not been given the funds by the board, the issue has generated different reactions among students with some questioning the board; is Helb loan given first to students from some universities and others from other universities wait for some time before they are given?

The students from Kimathi University were complaining that they had not been given the funds and yet students from other universities had got the money.

Gorge Mureithi is a fourth year engineering student at the University of Nairobi (UoN) and he says disbursement of funds by the board is mainly based on the universities.

“It is clear that when the board is giving out funds it must base on the universities. For example, the Helb headquarter, Anniversary Towers, is just opposite UoN main campus. If the board delays to give UoN students funds, then the students can go there and claim the money because they can easily access the building unlike other universities at the countryside,” Mureithi says.

ZETECH COLLEGE STUDENT GOT STEALING AT UON:

ZETECH COLLEGE STUDENT GOT STEALING AT UON MAIN CAMPUS HOSTEL

By Maritim Kipngetich

Zetech College student, who has been living in one of the University of Nairobi’s Main Campus hostels (Hall 5) illegally for the past three years, was yesterday got stealing and taken to Kileleswa Police Station.

The culprit, who identified himself as Joshua Mureithi, also posses three different student identification cards from three different institutions namely the University of Nairobi (UoN), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Zetech College.

Mureithi, who has been pretending to be a first year at UoN for the last three years in order to be granted accommodation, has been stealing phones and other valuables from students.

“He (Mureithi) has been stealing our items particularly phones. I got him at a knick of time yesterday trying to steal my tablet in my room. I reported him to Student welfare Authority security guards. He tried to escape, but we got him at the stairs and took him to Kileleswa Police Station,” Joshua Mwangi, a first year second semester tourism student, narrated.

Mwangi said the villain has lived in different rooms since the start of the semester. “He used to live in room 401where he stole three phones before he was chased away by his ‘roommates’. He then asked his friend in room 403 to accommodate him where he stole three phones again. On Sunday he stole a key from next-door which he later used to open the door at night and stole four phones that were left in charging,” Mwangi said.

Zetech College management declined to comment on the issue saying they cannot be involved with atrocities being done by students outside the college.

Cases of theft are all too familiar across UoN main campus. Yesterday, a laptop that belongs to Victor Onyango was stolen in room 409 at the same hall (Hall 5) in the eveni

ng. Victor said his roommate forgot to lock the door and he had left the laptop in an open wardrobe.

“My laptop was stolen yesterday at around 5 p.m. I had placed it inside the suitcase and kept it inside the cabinet,” Victor said.

The thieves are targeting electronics especially pocket-size devices like phones and laptops.

In June this year, a fourth year engineering student was got stealing in UoN Prefabs hostel where first years were living. The students took the law into their hands and beat him hard. The effort by university security guards to rescue him proved futile. He was later pronounced death in the hospital where  he was taken for treatment.

University of Nairobi main campus:

WATER SHORTAGE IN ONE OF THE CAMPUSES OF KENYA’S PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSTY
By Maritim Kipngetich

PHOTO: Students queuing for water outside hall 10. Water shortage hit the University six days ago.

Students of the University of Nairobi’s Main Campus have threatened to go on strike because of shortage of water in their hostels for the past six days.

The students have been forced to put up with stinking toilets in their hostels and they fear that they may contact waterborne diseases.

The students have been compelled to skip their clean up duties. They no longer bath, yet they are required to attend classes within stipulated time.

 “The last time I bathed was Sunday morning. Since then I have not got water to even wash my face,” Justus Siele, a second year second semester economic student, said.

The students are supposed to prepare food in their hostels, but this has been affected. They buy readymade food from their tuck shops.

“The last time I cooked food in my room was last Friday. I would cook on Sunday, but water came for about 30 minutes and disappeared till now,” Justus said.

He further said the state of their toilets is worrying. He urged the University management to urgently fix the problem.

“We are tired of queuing, waiting a drop of dirty water from one of the taps we have in hall 10 (one of the hostels at the University). The situation is now intolerable and the University seems reluctant to address the issue,” John Mwangi, a fourth year pharmacy student, said.

The Student Welfare Authority Customer Relations Officer, Mr. Zadock Opole, said there was a pipe breakdown near Serena Hotel and the effort to rectify it failed.

“There is a pipe failure near Serena Hotel and the problem has been corrected twice. Initially, a new pipe was fixed but it was stolen later during the night,” he said.

Mr. Zadock further said the Maintenance Department at the University has procured a new pipe and they will fix it as soon as possible.

The water shortage has also been experienced in the University’s washrooms found in the library and the washrooms found within Hyslop Building. Some have been closed down.

RAILA AND POLITICS:

RAILA IS STILL RELEVANT TO KENYA’S POLITICS

By Maritim Kipngetich 

Raila Odinga’s political mileage is important in the Kenya’s politics. He has served in different capacities ranging from being the leader of different parties over time, being in charge of different ministries and being the second Kenya’s Premier after losing 2007 election where he was running for presidency.

Raila’s political relevance started way back in 1982 when he was cited as one of the key architects of a coup deter which aimed at ousting the then President Daniel Moi from power. He was jailed for six years and later released. After his release, Mr. Raila (pictured) never stopped politics as he agitated for multi-partism in Kenya. That also became a threat to his life and he opted to seek asylum in Norway where he stayed for some time before he came back and contested to be a Member of Parliament of Langata constituency where he represented until 2013.
The question is, is Raila still relevant to today’s politics in Kenya even after losing three presidential elections?
Raila is still an intoxicating public figure today. He is a newsmaker. Whether he is inside the country or not, he is the news of the day.

Whenever opposition doyen Raila Odinga sneezes, the side opposite catches a cold. Despite being declared the loser in last year’s election, Mr Odinga remains the centre of gravity of Kenya’s politics. Mr Odinga bestrides Kenya’s political landscape like a colossus. Newspapers and TV stations carry his mug at the drop of a hat. He’s not only the news. He sells them. He’s loved and loathed in equal measure. But not even his most ardent haters can afford to ignore him.

The challenges in his coalition have never shaken him. Instigation started early this year when the ODM party (the party with many supporters in the coalition_ Cord) was to have internal elections. The election was later disrupted by security officers (popularly known as men in black) hired by the party to supplement other state security officers. The latest wrangle in the party is the one which involved the party director who was stormed out of the party by angry Members of the County Assembly of Nairobi County; he was accused of being a jubilee mole.

Kenyans can never imagine politics without the name Raila being mentioned. Though critics want him resign to pave way for other young leaders to carry the flag of the coalition in future elections, they still find it elusive to find someone who can replace him.

The chances of him being a presidential candidate in the next general election is high since there is no one so far ready to take over from him.