The Watchman

5 August 2010

column

LEARN KISWAHILI. During the gruelling referendum campaigns, Rachel Maina, who teaches Kiswahili in Ol-Kalou, was very disappointed to note that the leaders did not seize that vital opportunity to promote the use of the national language. It was not only annoying, but also ridiculous to see some politicians campaigning at the grassroots in English, where the majority are not fluent in that language. "Their messages did not get across well. They had better get Kiswahili tutors so that we do not see a repeat of this."

HAIL OCAMPO! The exemplary calm and peace during the referendum is partly because the stakes were low as this was not a presidential election, says Henry Njoroge Gichuru. Even in the areas that have been described as hot spots, thanks to the bloody mayhem of the 2007, it's been quiet this time around and Henry thinks it might have something to do with an Argentinian, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has been trying to haul to court suspected masterminds of the chaos in which 1,133 innocent Kenyans perished. He sees the trend prevailing in the 2012 elections.

I NEED MY MONEY. Where is my refund? asks Mercy Kimani, who has given up on the Zuku Internet service, as she has not been connected several months after she applied. Mercy, who had been assigned account, paid for the service on July 23, and despite several visits to Wananchi Online, nothing happened. But after Zuku technicians confirmed that the signal could not be received in her area, she was automatically entitled to a refund. "I've been told that it will take three to four weeks to process this. Nowhere in the agreement does it say that one has to wait for a refund for a whole month. I need my money now."

BOX BLOCKED. Declaring admiration for the way Telkom Kenya has been quickly responding to the many complaints from its customers, Carol M. Nyaga hopes the Postal Corporation of Kenya will similarly sort out her problem with a rental box. Last December, her box, 18989-00100-GPO Nairobi, was blocked over alleged non-payment of the rental fee, though she actually did pay in August 2009, for a year. "Now, my box is due for renewal and I wonder if it's fair for me to pay again, not having used the box for so long."

MOVE TURN-OFF. An avid road safety campaigner, Dr Omija TB, once again has his eyes on Mombasa Road, Nairobi, where pedestrians often have a rough time crossing the highway as motorists often speed. But of particular interest to Omija is the area around Capital Centre shopping mall. Says he: " Someone who cares about the safety and wellbeing of motorists needs to move with speed and ensure the turn-off to Capital Centre is moved further down to the spot just opposite Total petrol station at Nairobi South C."

Have a safe day, won't you!.