Jamila Mohamed

September 24, 2026 11:45 (EAT) • 7 hours ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: What is your surname?

Let us talk about ethnic balance. Let us insist that every Kenyan community sees itself represented in its government. But let us never confuse inclusion with tribal patronage.Public office is not inheritance. Neither is it community property. And a government job is not a favour from one...

September 10, 2026 11:53 (EAT) • 2 weeks ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Elections; The work in-between

Campaign, Win and Celebrate. And then immediately begin preparing to win the next one.But somewhere between those two elections, there is this little thing called governance. And governance is an actual job, a difficult one, and a day-and-night job.

September 03, 2026 12:09 (EAT) • 3 weeks ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Varsity students - Bread or stones?

Because words don't weigh anything, do they? You cannot put them on a weighing scale. You cannot carry them in a sack. But some words are heavier than others. And I think the weight of words also depends on who is speaking.

August 27, 2026 11:55 (EAT) • 4 weeks ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Hate speech meets empty words

Then our institutions respond. “We are warning politicians... Stern action will be taken... Those found culpable will face the law... We will not tolerate...” Haki, surely! How many warnings do politicians need?

July 23, 2026 11:47 (EAT) • 2 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Do leaders ever listen?

I have listened to many speeches this week. Campaign speeches. Development speeches. Political speeches. Promises are made. Big promises. Economic transformation. Industrialisation. Mega projects.And as I listened, one question kept coming back to me: Is that really what the people are asking f...

July 02, 2026 11:55 (EAT) • 2 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Deny, deny, deny!

How far are we willing to go denying everything? Even the obvious? Even what has been recorded or has been seen? Even what has evidence kwa kalatas? Because that is where we are now. We no longer deny only what is hidden. We deny what is in broad daylight.

June 25, 2026 11:49 (EAT) • 2 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Wantam, Tutam - London lessons

In Kenya, we have become obsessed with how long leaders should stay in office. But the United Kingdom offers a little shock therapy for Kenyan politicians.By the time we finish arguing about Wantam and Tutam, Britain has already changed another Prime Minister.

June 18, 2026 11:57 (EAT) • 3 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Value of human life - Have we become numb to death?

When I look around, I increasingly find myself asking whether we have become numb to death. Whether we have become so accustomed to tragedy that what should shock us no longer does.If a society truly values human life, the loss of even one life should matter.

June 04, 2026 11:40 (EAT) • 3 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: No trust, then what

The uproar over the proposed Ebola quarantine facility in Laikipia is perhaps the latest and clearest example of the widening trust deficit between government and the people it governs.

May 28, 2026 11:51 (EAT) • 3 months ago

JAMILA'S MEMO: Siasa bila break

Fuel prices go up? Politics. Cost of living crisis? Politics. Public anger? Politics. Transport paralysis? Politics. Every single day there is a rally somewhere. Every weekend there are several. Convoys moving. Microphones screaming. Leaders sweating on top of cars promising a better future....