The Mikocheni Report

The Weekly Sneak: Bare Naked Lady, Almost.

2012-02-09T19:01:00.005+03:00

Using the benefit of experience, cashing in on our cultural practice of revering mother-figures and employing the Tanzanian gift of the gab, Ananilea Nkya managed to tongue-tie some big tough policemen by threatening to bare her breasts at them. Well, she didn't put it quite like that but she did say that if they were going to search her she would strip down and get nekkid right there in public

No, Walter. You're Majorly Racist Wrong.

2012-01-23T13:46:00.006+03:00

Ah, hello Afropessimism. It has been a while, old foe. I see that like most pathogens you have failed to die, and in fact taken on a whole new dimension of virulence. Now you're getting Generation Free Africans to sign on to your perspective.You see, this just won't do. The single-narrative ahistorical account of African's development problems is part of the hegemonic package, isn't it?

A Woman For President?

2012-01-21T14:21:00.006+03:00

On Wednesday, think it was anyways, I was idling on the couch watching TBC1 when a news story caught my eye. A camera man with palsied hands had been allowed to film the Tanzanian delegation (Minister of Defense plus retinue) that visited Dr. Asha Rose Migiro's offices in New York. The lady in question was dropping mad heavy hints about life after the UN, which she was saying would likely happen

The Weekly Sneak: Keeping the Internets Free

2012-01-19T14:07:00.003+03:00

One of my greatest passions is under threat. So I wrote about that in The East African this week:"My biggest fear is that SOPA could amputate the Internet, thereby restricting the best mechanism humankind has come up with yet for sharing knowledge, cutting off flows of information which Tanzanians should be benefitting from as much as possible. Also, it is an alarmingly imperious bill. If the

Is Aid a Right?

2012-01-15T10:57:00.000+03:00

No. Aid is many things, but a right it is not. Thanks for reading.

Sex and Politics: The Rebuttal

2012-01-04T22:13:00.000+03:00

And I quote:"I think there is actually more nuance to this story than you have included. First, I believe the British have only threatened to remove aid where gay and lesbians are actively discriminate against, not where gay marriage is illegal. My understanding is that the British already actively enforce an anti-discrimination policy for aid recipients, so this is not actually a change of

Social Media School: Empowerment And Politics

2012-01-04T20:24:00.004+03:00

So during this little hiatus I have been thinking about the teaching of Social Media for professional purposes- which was my last job and might become a thing I do from time to time. Social Media is a funny thing. As a new phenomenon it has people scrambling to come up with definitions and to describe how it functions and predict its impact. But this is a real game-changer, a paradigm shift if

Weekly Sneak: Shopping for Politicians

2012-01-04T19:46:00.002+03:00

That was my title for this week's article: Shopping for Politicians. The East African has a fetish for improving upon the titles I give to my articles, so I though I would pre-empt them this week because I know whatever comes out on Monday will be designed to titillate beyond any charms that the article itself possesses. Sigh.Moving on. Having been told numerous times never to fall for a

The Weekly Sneak: Resolutions

2011-12-28T18:59:00.002+03:00

Hello! The blog is still alive in case you have checked in and wondered about the scarcity of posts. It occurred to me sometime during a very busy last quarter that in fact blogging is a vacation-free committment. So I took some down time and have consistently deleted every blogpost drafted within the past week and a half. But it's time to get back in the saddle. It's been a while since I offered

It's Complicated: What Does Good Governance Mean When It Comes To Sexuality?

2011-12-13T14:08:00.002+03:00

Apparently, Tanzania recently rejected the UN's suggestion that polygamy should be banned within her borders. For all that we pretend we want to conform to similar standards of behavior, when it comes to sexuality that pretense falls apart completely. Tanzania is a consummate don't-ask-don't-tell society for many reasons. This is both a blessing and a curse, depending on the issue. One reaction I

Tanzania at 50: Confessions of a Couch Sweet Potato

2011-12-12T09:28:00.005+03:00

There was a call for the Dar es Salaam Bloggers' Circle and TZ blogosphere to put up a post on the celebrations of Tanganyika's 50th Independence day which I fully intended to answer. But I spent most of the weekend on the couch at home napping to recover from the first summer cold of the season, watching the independence celebration on TV or reading other people's work. It was glorious. For the

Radio Tanzania Archives

2011-12-06T14:52:00.003+03:00

Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam is sitting on a huge collection of really good old music and other archives, no doubt. The State was the only broadcaster for, like, ever and I know that all its media organs are sitting on archives of seriously valuable pictures, audio and film recordings that are probably rotting in storage as I type this. So here's a project I am excited about the Radio Tanzania

Grassroots Movie Scene: C.P.U. Movie and Mkwawa

2011-12-05T12:31:00.000+03:00

I was charmed by the movie C.P.U. last Thursday, which was the last reaction I expected to have. I'm going to have to get myself a copy of this for record-keeping purposes in case any of the cast or crew hit the big time and I can totally cadge bragging rights. It's not a perfect piece of work: the sound editing is verging on disastrous, and there were many lovely little mistakes in the filming

The Weekly Sneak: A History That Lives

2011-11-30T23:17:00.002+03:00

So, this is a big week in terms of submissions. How does a columnist come up with something reasonable to say on the occasion of the 50th Independence Day celebrations? I tried to find a way to talk about nationalism, though I think that in the end the execution was a little clumsy. Then the Men In Nairobi dropped me a little email last night- past deadline- to inquire if I would like to pop out

TEDxDAR 2011: Bi Kidude

2011-11-26T18:11:00.005+03:00

It is past six in the evening, I have been here since 9:00 and it has been a day well spent. Bi Kidude is weaving her way through a medley of songs and I am going to enjoy the moment.Score! Nilimsalimia Bibi, akanikubalia picha :)We have a habit of saying that 'mwanzo ni mgumu' or the beginning is always tough. Last year TEDxDAR was a smaller crowd sitting underneath a slightly leaky awning in

TEDxDAR 2011: Leila Sheikh

2011-11-26T17:18:00.003+03:00

Leila Sheikh is a feminist activist who is concerned with a constituency that is rarely talked about: sex workers. I like that she's calling it a profession, framing the discussion around the challenges that people who engage in sex work face. Anyways, you can imagine that as a constituency, sex workers face a lot of barriers when it comes to talk about their jobs. There are issues of health and

TEDxDAR 2011: John Stephen Akwari

2011-11-26T16:42:00.003+03:00

John Stephen Akwari is the man who finished who finished a marathon in spite of his injuries during the 1968 Olympics. He said 'My country did not send me to Mexico to start the race. They sent me to finish it." Just about anyone can start a race and anyone can be a winner. But to finish the world's most difficult footrace on principle, with a torn up knee? That's a whole other level of grit. We

TEDxDAR 2011: Evans Rubara

2011-11-26T16:41:00.003+03:00

Evans Rubara's presentation is about the social and environmental impact of the mining industry in Tanzania. It's going to get interesting up in here because the large-scale mining debate is a controversial one.Mining started here in 1898 the the first gold mine opened up in Tanzania, and things have been going interestingly since then. Tanzania opened its doors to large-scale commercial mining

TEDxDAR: Sanaa Sana

2011-11-26T16:25:00.004+03:00

Time for the post-lunch musical interlude. Sanaa Sana are performing a few numbers, on stage there are: three drummers, one guitarists and dancers/singers. It's all about The Beat, isn't it :)So there's that thing about Africans having some kind of innate dancing ability. As I type this it is hard to keep from moving my body to the music, actually, which must be quite funny for the folks sitting

TEDxDAR 2011: Bob Muchiri

2011-11-26T14:39:00.007+03:00

Bob Muchiri's presentation is titled 'The Disneyfication of African Storytelling.' Due to an accident of timing and low blood sugar, I am simply not getting into this presentation the way that I want to. Bob is talking about his experience making a film using African storytelling, and his theories on what African storytelling actually is.He concluded an interesting presentation with the following

TEDxDAR 2011: Let's Talk Orgasms

2011-11-26T14:39:00.006+03:00

A nice break for the liveblogging/livetweeting crowd, we are now firmly in the taboo subtheme of TEDxDAR 2011. Warning: the linked video below contains graphic sexual talk and imagery, please do not click on it if you can't handle the subject matter. Okay. We're talking sex, or rather thinking sex as we watch Mary Roach's presentation at TED Global titled: 'Ten Things You Didn't Know About Orgasm

TEDxDAR: Susan Mashibe

2011-11-26T13:08:00.006+03:00

"When I was four years old, I took my first flight..." and that is how Susan Mashibe fell in love with flying. She used to watch planes at Dar es Salaam International Airport back in the days when they allowed it, and she's right: there is nothing like the thrill of watching a Boeing 747 landing, or take off.Having gone through the public education system, Susan wasn't able to learn all of the

TEDxDAR 2011: Richard Mabala

2011-11-26T13:08:00.005+03:00

Richard Mabala started by asking for one minute of silence in memory of Imagination which died in our education system several years ago. At which point of course we all clapped, of course. His presentation kicked off with a story about a lady who goes to Einstein and tells him: I want my child to be like you, what should I give him to read? Einstein said fairytales. She replies: what more? And

TEDxDAR: January Makamba

2011-11-26T11:57:00.005+03:00

January Makamba (CCM-Bumbuli) is here in his capacity as a civilian, having been strongly warned not to use the stage as a political platform and game enough to try and cope with the high-tech environment while delivering his presentation. Multitasking, eh... :)So his talk is about the amenities of life. He kicked off the meaty bit of the presentation with a slide that only had one word on it:

TEDxDAR 2011: Msafiri Mzawose

2011-11-26T11:33:00.003+03:00

Talking about culture now: Msafiri Zawose is a musician from a family of musicians, at least a second generation performer himself. I am listening to his take on the history of culture in Tanzania, stating that under Nyerere culture was supported by the state. Especially traditional music. His father, Hukwe Zawose, was a world-reknowned musician who had many recordings, he was also one of the

TEDxDAR: Erasto Mpemba

2011-11-26T11:29:00.003+03:00

During the Roland's talk about renewable energy he mentioned William Kwamkwamba, the boy who harnessed the wind using a little brain power and whatever was at hand. Which was a nice set up for the talk by Erasto Mpemba who recounted how he found out in Form One through a little observation that warm water or warm liquid freezes better than cold liquid. It is a good tale of a curious boy who was a

TEDxDAR 2011: Roland Valkenborg

2011-11-26T11:25:00.004+03:00

Dear Me The other day I visited a secondary school. Expanding access to secondary education has been one of my favourite policies. It has made me popular with parents because many pupils who complete primary school can now continue their studies. At the same time my supporters benefit from the construction required. Having pushed this policy for so long, I was curious how

The Leadership Question

2011-06-01T14:15:00.013+03:00

Couple of nights ago, a group of thirty or so folks gathered in a meeting room at a hotel in Dar es Salaam, convened by YES Tanzania*. The organization had put together a discussion involving four panelists: three parliamentarians from three different political parties, and one free-range blogger/columnist who doesn't quite know how she ended up there. The discussion topics: Leadership, Energy (

This Writing Life: How Bloggers Can Cheat

2011-05-31T18:08:00.000+03:00

Hello! Sorry about the silence, total inspiration collapse in the past few days. I have a sneak preview for you, as a peace offering. Well, it is only kind of a sneak preview since I reheated some leftovers for The East African in an effort not to blow my deadline. Barely squeaked through. But since I did cross-post between the two platforms, here's a bit of what's coming for budget week: "Every

On False Advertising: The Rapture

2011-05-24T13:26:00.007+03:00

Y'all have to understand: I was raised High Catholic. For real. Since those kooks in New York have been nattering on about The Rapture this and The Rapture that, all my demons have come out to play. The seven horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Chosen ones, the triple six and Nostradamus- been there, read that, amongst other things. Dan Brown has nothing on the crazier corners of Catholic

The King's Diary: The Importance of Fighting Corruption

2011-05-24T12:49:00.005+03:00

Dear MeI have come to appreciate the importance of anti-corruption work. The other day I used the TKP’s anti-corruption drive to purge from the party my biggest opponents. And last week, our donor friends offered $ 100 million in return for a long overdue anti-corruption report. Making money has never been easier!The Kingdom has benefitted in many ways from this anti-corruption survey. First,

The Sheikh

2011-05-24T12:35:00.006+03:00

Sheikh Yahya Hussein passed away on on the morning of Friday the 20th May, 2011. He was 81 years old. At the time that I got the news- via Twitter- I thought I would wait a little bit before saying farewell. The occasion seemed to require a dignity that is not conferred by social media's minimalism. The Sheikh and I inhabited different planets when it came to systems of belief, but I can't deny

Social Media as a Tool for Social Change Brought Me Here

2011-05-16T23:11:00.001+03:00

Yes indeed, what am I doing so far away from home? It came out of the blue, really, I was parachuted into a seminar about socmed and social change in Nairobi at the eleventh hour. It was a meet organized by the MEDIaE research project. Also: Kenya. Like I said, I wanted to take a peek at what's cooking in the region's communications power center, maybe make some friends. Based on what I learned,

Shiver.

2011-05-16T22:32:00.003+03:00

I am in Nairobi in the hopes of learning a little something about social media from the Kenyan scene. It's pretty exciting actually- in regional terms the social media scene doesn't get any bigger than this and hearing from Kenyans about how they go about it is an opportunity I could not pass up. Might tweet or blog interesting tidbits if I get the green light. Oh, in case you ever despair of

The King's Diary: Dubious Spending

2011-05-16T18:33:00.003+03:00

Dear MeLast week I considered using public rankings of performance to motivate civil servants. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. There is quite some information available that could be used for this. Moreover, if I go about it smartly it could restore the TKP’s legitimacy and help deliver better services to thepeople. The other day I got a ranking with

Pen&Mic II

2011-05-12T14:58:00.003+03:00

No point in lying about it dear reader: I had a long detailed post all drafted up for your consumption about Pen and Mic II. And Blogger lost it all during it's recent maintenance fiasco. I just want to have a moment of silence here in order to embrace the realities of being a social media user when you don't own the means of production.Alright then. Pen and Mic was just as good as advertized and

Do It Yourselfness

2011-05-09T17:56:00.005+03:00

Hi. So I have been sitting on this post forever because I couldn't figure out how to dump a whole bunch of links in one place and make them thematically consistent. But now I really have to close the tabs on my browser, so I have settled on Do It Yourselfness. It's my favorite attitude in the world: the intentional grasping of whatever you got in hand in order to create (or try) something that