Nairobi News

Dr. Fred Matiang’i
The Education cabinet secretary has done the unthinkable. Apart from giving the country 141 A’s in the just announced KCSE results, Dr Matiang’i has engaged in a fierce battle with the cartels in the education industry and won. The CS has cleaned up the education sector in a way that no one else had the courage to do including fake universities, fake certificates, fake results and all the sickness that haunted the education sector..

Protestors
2016 has been the year of protests. Tea farmers, doctors, airline workers, teachers, and county workers among others have taken to the streets with fervor and pain. Strikes that ran for weeks and months in some cases were seen as a testament of the strength and influence of the collective groups that fought for their rights.

Alongside them, were political protestors and civil society protestors who regularly turned up in thousands to keep the government in line. Political protests hounded IEBC officials out of office.

Kenyans on Social Media
The online battalion is everywhere; on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, on the blogosphere and on every other social networking site that exists under the sun. Armed with their phones and laptops or desktops, the wrath of Kenyans on social media is swift and brutal. They took on Java coffee house for poor service, took on Kenya Airways for terrible service, took on cabinet secretaries, took on MPs and MCAs. When it called for, they typed their way to victories such as raising money for various causes.

Jacob Juma
Wealthy businessman, crook, government critic and online activist. Juma was all these. And he was all over. He viciously attacked the Deputy President William Ruto over corruption allegations, revealed government corruption on his Twitter feed, had a slew of cases in court for messing up his business partners and predicted his own death. He was shot in cold blood like he said would happen.

Miguna Miguna
2017 Nairobi gubernatorial seat candidate Miguna Migina has an ego that walks next to him wherever he goes. Can’t fit in his body. And he has brains. Anyone with an appointment to debate him has two choices; not show up or show up and expect to be humiliated. He embarrassed fellow candidate Margaret Wanjiru, talked crassly to Esther Passaris and forced KTN to strike off the Jeff Koinange Live Show.

Boniface Mwangi
He was sued by Deputy President William Ruto for defamation, he wants to join MPigs sty, sat for KCSE aged 33 and led countless protests. His decision to join MPs, the same group he has been fighting and criticizing relentlessly (his team came up with the MPigs term) was greeted by mixed reactions.

Martha Karua
The iron lady made a dramatic change of political allegiances. Known as an anti-corruption crusader and a fierce defender of human rights, Martha Karua dropped her friends in the opposition and joined the Jubilee team in preparation for 2017 Kirinyaga gubernatorial race. Having collaborated with the opposition for years in calling out the government, her decision was unexpected.

Ms. Josephine Kabura Irungu
A hair dresser with 20 companies and who is friends with a Cabinet Secretary. Nothing about her made sense, but when she was being questioned by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee and she said that she withdrew Sh100 million and carried it to Kiserian without security to pay lorry drivers and quarry workers, everyone was shocked. She has been smack at the center of the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal.

Moses Kuria
As the elections date draws near, hate speech, incitement to violence and inflammatory statements found a perfect host in the Gatundu South Member of Parliament. His statements are politically insensitive and possess the ability to fuel violence. The police and courts have been on his case in 2016.

Raila Odinga
The Cord leader has kept the government on its toes. Acting as the first line of defense on behalf of the public, Raila has exposed government corruption schemes, led demonstrations that saw to the removal of IEBC commissioners from office and has blown the whistle on clandestine government projects.

Kenya Rugby Sevens Team
The team made history in April when they beat Fiji at the Singapore Rugby Sevens to claim their first ever World Series title. Fiji didn’t see the 30-7 beat down that Kenya hit them with.

Jemimah Sumgong
For striking gold twice within the year. First at the London Marathon and then at Rio de Jeneiro Olympics. The first Kenyan lady to win gold at the Olympics women’s marathon was on top of her game.

Denis Okari and Betty Kyalo
These two were a darling couple. Now no one knows what they are. Worse still, they aired their dirty linen online and let their sister’s\ sister-in-law tell the public what was going on in their marriage.

Binyavanga Wainaina
In June, a taxi driver in Berlin attacked him for being black. In December, he announced that he is HIV positive, a revelation that sharply divided opinions. The brilliant gay writer has mostly been met by unfortunate circumstances of late.

The Kiuna Family
The Bishop and his wife have had a controversial year. Rumours of an affair, rumours of a jet, and accusations of being cult leaders. They have seen it all.

President Uhuru Kenyatta
The president admitted that he was not equal to the task of fighting corruption. It was a sad admission one that he regretted the moment it came out of his mouth. But when at the burial of William Ole Ntimama he talked of ‘kumeza mate sio kula nyama’ the country rioted.