MAISHA YETU
Every year on June 16, Africa marks the Day of the African Child, a moment set aside to reflect on the rights, welfare and future of the continent’s children. The day commemorates the courage of the school children of Soweto, South Africa, who in 1976 took to the streets to protest an education system designed […]
The other day the African Publishers Network (APNET) published a report whose findings do not flatter Kenya at all. The report places Kenya among a small group of African countries that levy Value Added Tax (VAT) on books. You might call it a list of shame. It is embarrassing that we are counted among nations […]
Let us go on literary excursion down memory lane, shall we? Here we find Pacesetters Series that mesmerised readers in English speaking Africa, from the seventies all the way to the late 90s.The series were published by Macmillan, a UK multinational, with offices in Eastern Africa, Western Africa and some representation in Southern Africa.Heinemann, another […]
In a landmark ruling, the High Court has barred the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) from demanding Factory Levy from publishers.Kebs had, in what looked like a fishing expedition, written to a number of publishers demanding payment for factory levies.In March 2024, Kebs wrote to Moran Publishers demanding Ksh52 million in levies and penalties dating […]
TITLE: Jeneza Kutoka Saurabia AUTHOR: Kithaka wa Mberia PUBLISHER: Marimba Publications Limited REVIEWER: Mbugua Ngunjiri Kenya appears to be stumbling from one crisis to the other; such is the fatigue from these unfortunate occurrences that the people don’t seem to remember what we went through a month ago. Still, the crises follow each other like […]
TITLE: Fistula Diaries AUTHORS: Dr Weston Khisa with Dr Sabina Wakasiaka PUBLISHER: Moran (EA) Publishers REVIEWER: Mbugua Ngunjiri The image of a mother suckling her, while seated under a tree, is a common occurrence, particularly in rural settings, is one that evokes warm feelings to whomever beholds it. However, the image we are about to […]
For purposes of this story, I will start by going down memory lane, where we meet Ancent Soi, who was employed as a shop assistant at a curio store belonging to former Kamukunji MP, George Nthenge, at the City Market. Now curio shops are filled with, among other things, colourful artefacts meant for the tourist […]
Towards the end of May, I could not help but eavesdrop on the excited chatter of two workers of the Kisii County Library as they awaited the official handover of books donated to the institution. Just like excited toddlers that had just received brand new toys from a visiting relative, the two workers could hardly […]
There is something about Mathemboni that makes you want to keep going back. Last Saturday was my third time, since November last year, and it definitely will not be the last. There is a certain aura of peace that pervades the place. Situated on a hilly place, Mathemboni, to those who have never been there, […]
Kinyanjui Kombani: Wueh! How time flies! First, it is an opportunity to reflect on my own writing and publishing journey. Life moves so quickly that we forget about how far we have come. When I wrote the book, all I wanted was to see it on a shelf at a bookshop — specifically, at the […]