Mfalme Mwema

D on’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing . I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Cor 9:24-27 (NLT) The verses above come from Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Corinth. This was a historical city founded as early as 800 BC. It had been conquered by Rome and completely destroyed in 146 BC. Julius Caesar founded it again in 44 BC. He settled some of his war veterans here giving them lands and titles. It became the capital of the province of Achaia. Most of ancient Greece was contained within this province. Greek and Latin were the main languages in the city. Greek was the language of daily use whil...

Photographs are an eternal moment in time immortalized on an image. There are several things I remember from this photo. My mom wal a lifelong employee of the Nairobi City Council health department. Throughout her career, she was posted in several City Council (NCC) health centers across the city. I remember she loved night duty very much. (There were certainly many perks to it.) I remember that starched appron and the nurses cap. (It was just a stiff piece of cloth held onto the hair with pins. But as little boy, I didn't know how it was held in place.) My mom wore the ever fashionable ladies belt. One accessory that never lacked was her trusty handkerchief. She always tucked it on her belt, towards her hip. It always looked smart. (During her funeral, one friend of hers eulogized her that she copied her style because my mom was a very smart and neat lady.) But the greatest quirk with my mom was that little, feminine watch riding high above her pretty wrist. She always wore on...

Many movies that are set in historical points have the singular challenge of getting all the factual details right. This is never easy. The 1985 adventure film King Solomon Mines was a fantastic but horrible little tale full of anachronisms and replete with inaccuracies.   Based on the book of the same name by Sir H. Rider Haggard , the book created the genre known as lost world . I remember reading this book in the eighties and being fascinated with the adventures in dangerous lands full of cannibals, witches, powerful African kings, and priceless wealth that was only rumored about. (It helped dehumanize Africans making the colonists perceive us as subhuman, an idea that still persists to this very day.) So what is that thing, anachronism? Anachronism is a literal device placing someone or something out of its proper time period. It comes from a compound Greek word meaning ‘against time’ to show events, places or things that are out of their time. This technique is sometimes use...

  Writing is big business.   Many writers dream of great success.   But the bulk of writers earn just enough to meet their own needs.   Many other writers are just passionate and receive satisfaction from setting words from their minds onto a blank page.   However, there’s no reason why a writer should not be passionate and grow rich from their craft.   A good writer needs to continually become better in his writing. Here are 5 steps to becoming a better writer. 1. Take a writing course Some people have a natural writing talent.   However, any talent that is not sharpened is like money buried in the soil – it never grows. Taking a good writing course is a sure way to becoming a better writer. A well-structured course will boost one’s confidence as you reach your key milestones. 2. Make writing a daily habit Do you know someone who locks themselves in a room and churns out page after page of awesome work? Afterwards, they go for days, weeks or...

  Christian discipleship is the process of making believers become fully committed followers of Jesus Christ.   Discipleship training builds and strengthens the believer's faith on a firm foundation. As a believer, you will be sharpened in wisdom and matured in Christian doctrine. The ultimate goal is to have you also disciple other believers.   Here are 7 reasons why Christians should be disciples. 1. The need for maturity The Bible places emphasis on the need for you to grow in Christian doctrine. (Hebrews 6:1) You will be protected from becoming complacent in your relationship with God.   It also helps to check against stagnation in your knowledge of biblical truths.   The objective is to keep growing in your relationship with God. 2. Disciples have to be accountable The Christian model of discipleship is drawn from Jesus Christ’s method of discipling His 12 followers. He taught them what He knew and gave them certain responsibilities to carry out. ...

The Christmas holidays were coming soon.  Kayamba could not hide his excitement. This would be the first time that eight-year-old Kayamba and his two siblings would be traveling upcountry to see his grandparents. The night before the trip, his parents bought him a children’s digital watch for Christmas. They told the children to sleep early since they would be travelling at six in the morning.  Kayamba couldn’t sleep. He kept checking his watch.  He didn’t want to be left behind. At six the next morning, Kayamba’s parents and his siblings picked up their luggage for the fun trip ahead. The sun was just rising when they got to the bus station. The five of them got into a new colorful bus. It looked smart in the inside and felt very comfortable.  There was some fot music playing from the new speakers above. Kayamba’s family occupied three seats. Their parents had a seat each while Kayamba and his two siblings shared one seat. Although they were squeezed, the children d...

John Mbiti philosophized that Africans are notoriously religious. Official statistics say Kenya is 84% Christians, about 9% Muslim and the remainder are Hindu, Buddhist, African Indigenous Religions, animists and atheists.   As such, religion is a major socialization factor in Kenya. Our social, economic and political lives are replete with influences from our religious backgrounds.   Yet, religion has failed in socializing Kenyans with values of brotherhood, peace, love, and unity. In politics, Christian religious overtones have been used to advance the political party's agenda.   Since retired President Moi’s studious attempt to cultivate an image of a God-fearing leader, Kenyan political activities have employed the use of Christian songs and biblical narratives to persuade the common folk. President Moi’s (retired) sunset years were punctuated by Christian songs turned political protest chants. President Kibaki maintained a dignified aloofness giving the im...

The last few days have stirred up deep pride in the Church of Jesus Christ in Kenya and Africa at large.  Last week,  several church leaders in Nyanza openly called MP's and local politicians, hypocrites. The ecclesiastical leaders charged that the political leaders were doing little to help people get out of poverty.  They added that these politicians were only interested in political  succession battles.  As was expected,  the politicians from ODM,  the powerhouse in the region came out fighting. Characteristically,  they lashed out at the church leaders almost questioning their moral  credentials. Yesterday,  Evangelical Alliance of Kenya and other Christian religious organizations united in the call for them to be included in the 'handshake'.  They argue that they represent a critical segment of society. As expected,  the backlash was severe.  The constant criticism was on 'tithe eating',  'offering loving', '...

Christianity in Kenya is a daily reality, as seen through this street art.  'Re-situating reason as the foundation of our society and engine of its aspirations must now be an urgent task of our activism' the author emphatically sums up this opprobrium against the church. Yet the author (and the paper) have colluded to ignorantly launch barbs at Christianity. In summary, this piece tries to explain why religion (yet the author has the church specifically in his mind) and its growing role in Kenyan politics is a retrogressive idea. His idea is that reason and religion (church) can never co-exist. He goes further on a historical fishing (mis)adventure in shallow historical waters. His intention is to prove his personal notions by trying to get history to align with his fantastic ideas. Let me quote a few of his blunt sayings. 'Human beings need spiritual fulfilment. But when religion becomes a substitute for strategic action to solve our problems, then our society is...

We began building the concept of Christian Political theology. This concept is important because it lays the foundation for born again Christians to fully engage in politics at all levels of governance. (The assumption is that Christians still are afraid in embracing politics as part of our God given divine mandate on earth. I believe this is a hangover of 'this is not our home, we are just passing by, have nothing to do with it' philosophy, which has effectively been debunked.) We dealt with the concept of God as the source of our political opinions and man as the object of these opinions. We did say that the welfare of man and his environment is the object of this theology. Let us go further into the concept of man and delineate the genders. It is evident we have a lot of work to do to bring in the woman fully into the political life of Kenya. Last week, Kenya got three women governors. This was a great step forward. We would like to see a situation where women engage ...