The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Tuesday, June 14 2011 at 16:59

MARGINALISED WHAT? The televised vetting of nominees to top judicial offices is a milestone in the quest to end impunity, remarks Kipngetich Kirui. He found the quizzing of Willy Mutunga, Nancy Baraza, and Keriako Tobiko gripping. However, Kirui is alarmed at what amounts to an assault on the new Constitution, as some politicians gang up “in the name of the so-called marginalised communities”. He declares: “Let the person come even from the moon as long as he or meets the qualifications. They should give us a break!”

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DEAFENING silence. With debate still raging on the ear stud worn by Chief Justice nominee Willy Mutunga, there has been deafening silence on the somewhat controversial issue by those who ought to have made their views known – women, says Bosco wa Gachego. The silence of women, including the most vocal of activists and even politicians, he says, has been quite surprising considering the strong views they often express on matters affecting them. “Could they have decided not to take part, fearing that some people would ask about women and trousers?” he asks.

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LEAVE PARENTS ALONE. Parents should be allowed to protect their children as they deem fit, especially in these tough times of economic hardships, immorality, drug abuse and indiscipline, says Fred Kiige, rejecting the notion that university students are “baby-sat”. Of the 20,000 odd university students, how many are “baby- sat”? “Hardly 50! The university population is much younger today than when I was there 25 years ago. Challenges were fewer and yet, even then, a few students were dropped off and picked up from the halls of residence,” says Fred.

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LINGUISTIC PUZZLE. John Luke Tambiti, who has lived in Kenya for a year, says he has noted many similarities between Kikuyu and Kinyarwanda. “I have been listening keenly and not only do they share words that mean the same thing, they are also pronounced the same way.” To further prove the linguistic link, he lists some of the shared Kinyarwanda and Kikuyu words as igana (a hundred), niki (what?), ikara (sit down), umuthi (today). “Could there be many more similarities between the Rwandese and the Kikuyu that I don’t know?” His contact is tambiti@gmail.com.

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FOUL BREATH SOLUTION. A solution to the foul breath embarrassment worrying Baya Kazungu comes from Danga Migaya who says he always carries a packet of chewing gum. “Every time I engage in a conversation with a person with foul breath, I discreetly remove the packet from my pocket and place a pellet in my mouth. I then offer one to the ‘offender’. Many accept it, which enables us to continue the chat in a pleasant atmosphere. Offering mints tends to be suggestive of the intention than chewing gum,” says Danga, whose contact is d.migaya@yahoo.com.

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SOCCER FAN RILED. Soccer fan Philip Munyeria wants to mobilise fellow Kenyans to appeal against the result of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match away in Luanda (Angola), in which the referee denied Kenya victory by disallowing a “clear goal”. “I am still very angry about the biased officiating. I am appealing to other fans to join in demanding an official statement from CAF on this controversial match,” says Philip, but who doesn’t reveal how he intends to go about this. His contact is pletajeu@yahoo.com.

Have a just day, won’t you!