Mysterious Death of Mercy Keino… Anything About Drugs?

Wasini Luxury Homes on Church Road, off Waiyaki Way, the place where Mercy Keino attended a party and later died on 17 June is known for a series of clandestine activities... and drugs.

A contact who has often been to the place, just off Waiyaki Way in Nairobi has told this blog of the covert nature of the activities often held in the luxurious venue.

''Before entering, one is thoroughly screened for drugs, weapons and other nasty stuff; while car registration numbers are cross checked for minutes by guards,'' she said.

MP William Kabogo and other MPs, as well as some rich and wealth people frequent the venue, to discuss business and other clandestine activities.

So that brings me to my next point, whatever Mercy Keino was doing at Wasini Luxury Homes on 17 May, and later dying has got so much to do with regular activities held in the place. I may be wrong, but listening so much of contacts of this blog describing activities which often take place at the venue, it is difficult to see Ms Keino's attendance as just courtesy of a cousin's invitation.

I feel so sad to say it may be really difficult for police to get to know who killed her.

Poor Ruth Konchellah, What Happened?

When Ruth Konchellah, a pretty Maasai woman, spoke on 28 April this year, she did not mince her words about how she felt about Michael Ranneberger.


''Today Michael is a good friend. Michael you are so great, you are so lovely. I love your compassion," she told him, looking flustered, shifting her full cheeks and torso and seemingly unafraid of dignitaries, including ministers, diplomats, corporate executives, and friends of the outgoing US envoy.


She repeated what she had told newspapers that the ambassador ''discovered Africa while I discovered first world love".

It appears some things have changed a bit since that warm April. Maybe many have. Contacts of this blog have met Ms Ruth Konchellah several times in Nairobi and reported seeing a forlorn woman from Kilgoris, the capital of windswept Transmara District. She seems threadbare, unhappy and generally under the weather.


Somehow, things appear not to have worked well between her and the US ambassador. She is sullen and with rudimentary looks.


She has not spoken to anyone close to this blog about what became of her. But it is take that the ambassador was unable to take her with him to the USA - for whatever reasons; or maybe he refused. Maybe he did not love her after all. Maybe the State Department did not clear her.


It is not clear if she's been back to her Cherish Others NGO which aims at fighting against girls circumcision.


But whatever is the case, Ruth has seen better days.

I am redefining my relationship with all my friends

Trusting friends can be very disappointing, especially after learning that most human beings are painfully unreliable!

In the past several months, I have been wondering if friendships are worth the trouble one goes through to maintain. Today, I believe some friendships are not worth anything… some, if not most of the friendships.

Maybe, put it differently, real friends are hard to come by. I think many people don’t have real friends. I think I am among the many many people who don’t have any real friends to speak to when under the weather, of generally wants to speak on more personal issues.

I have decided that I won’t take some of the friendships with most of my friends seriously at all. In fact, I am planning on seeking to make one or two real friends.

To me, it appears that most of the friendships many people cultivate these days are based on interests, nothing personal. Friendship is like politics, as it were.

From today, I have redefined the nature of my relationship with all my ‘’ friends’’ –of course excerpt two people close to my heart.  Sincerely, the rest will remain good acquaintances. Yes.

Straight American Behind Syrian ''gay girl'' Blog

I have been wondering how many blogs are not real, since Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old Edinburgh University masters student, admitted that he has been lying in a blog that he was a lesbian in Syria.

With this admission, it looks like many blogs may not be for real, especially of those claiming to write on fancy subjects like, Oval Office mole, ex-Mandela's girlfriend, diary of a devoted second wife of President Medvedev and all those self-confessed what have you.

I can't be fake myself, since I don’t claim to be anything other than myself, an ordinary blogger, journalist…

Lets go back to MacMaster. His blog, called A Gay Girl in Damascus attracted millions of readers, especially from people disparate for news since Syria is closed for foreign media.

Since February this year, when the drama and violence started in Syria, MacMaster has been publishing in the blog as ''35-year-old feminist and lesbian called Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari''.  He said the blog was meant to explain "what it's like to be a lesbian here", supposedly in Syria!

And on Tuesday last week, someone claiming to be her cousin wrote on the blog that Amina had been kidnapped off the street by three armed men and bundled into a car bearing a pro-government window sticker. Supporters created a Facebook group called "Free Amina Abdallah", attracting nearly 15,000 followers.

And yesterday, MacMaster finally came out, apologizing for lying all these four months.

This is what he wrote:Apology to readers

I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voıce may have been fictional, the facts on thıs blog are true and not mısleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.

I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in thıs year of revolutions. The events there are beıng shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.

This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism.

However, I have been deeply touched by the reactions of readers.

Best,
Tom MacMaster,
Istanbul, Turkey
July 12, 2011

The sole author of all posts on this blog

For me, I believe there are bloggers, in Syria and elsewhere, who are trying as hard to report news and opinions that may not be available in the main media. 

The link to the blog is: http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/

Losing Friends, Seeking New Ones

Loosing a good friend can be disorienting. Losing two good ones can be very scary. In the past month, I lost two good friends. Of the two - the latest I lost - was somebody I spoke a similar language on spiritual growth.

Anyway, I don’t know my role in the collapse of my friendship with these two people. Interesting enough, they were my good friends, but they were not, themselves, friends. So that got me thinking, maybe I am to blame, maybe not.

So, I have been out and about seeking some ideas on how to deal with loosing a friend. And I have had some nice ideas.
- Stop driving and use public transport, experience the madness of loud music.
- Carry a book to read - nothing about relationships. Maybe something on Operation Orchard - the Israeli airstrike on a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor.
- Go back to chase up a lecturer who has not issued exam marks for some 2008 exam; or start your masters/PHD thesis immediately.
- Of course a change of glasses can come in handy. More importantly, divert phone calls over the weekend.

These have worked for me.

But seriously, it is so shocking how human beings have attached so much value to relationships. 

Maybe I should seek new friends… people we can speak on African politics, American movie industry, UK media, Afghanistan poppies, religion, Dar es Salaam's heat…