So Mejja and Madtraxx came?

So Mejja and Madtraxx came?

M

ejja is around and everybody is getting down with Madtraxx- well not exactly that way but at least the freshers are.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

Last Friday witnessed freshers get welcomed in Chuka University in style. It was a night of cheers and tears. Here’s why.

I was in my room minding my own business as it were until at 2348 hours a scary looking stranger knocked my door. She was wearing tooth jobs and had piercings all over her body. Guess what she asked for? A match box. She was holding a roll on one hand while on the other she shook the box and asked: Nirudishe ama niende nayo? I mumbled enda nayo. Mejja is around and everybody is getting down with Madtraxx- well not exactly that way but at least the freshers are. The party was officially on.

That night was different in many ways. It was the night the greenhorns got initiated into university life. For some it was the first day of escaping from the watchful eyes of their parents and former high school teachers. The specimen had slipped over the microscope slide.  The experiment began. Boy, mistakes and learning are sisters.

One fresher narrated to me how he gyrated with a third year from midnight to 3am. Initially the third year had misgivings like everybody else meeting a new person. She was proved beyond reasonable doubts that the fresher was not exactly fresh in matters such as those.

The guys came with money to burn. They drank spirits and beer as they whiled away the night. Bottles were smashed. After one too many, a fight ensued. Fists flied thick and fast. Kicks and blows. Blood, sweat and tears. One had the courage to play the broker of truce.  He found himself in the crosshairs. The last I saw of him was lying on the gravel writhing in intense pain.

The night was cold. My Accuweather App told me its 13 degrees Celsius with a real feel of 10. That notwithstanding, Eves strutted with skimpy dresses that left little to the proverbial imagination.

In the morning I carried out a post-mortem. Used condoms and P2s. Apparently, this is what they ‘intended’ when they said C Word. Unsafe sex is real. One night stands tall. The rate of care free attitude is alarming. 

After swinging the hips the reality of diseases dawns. It’s either zipping up or sheathing up. Behaviour change is not a bona fide comrade here.

The writer is a Final  Year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University and a Blogger at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Email your thoughts to musyokangui02@gmail.com

Books are better than both radio and TV

Books are better than both radio and TV

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

I

t is easy to dismiss the importance of reading if you have never been intimate with the warmth of a well written page turner.

I daresay that a reading culture is more enjoyable and beneficial than listening to the radio or television. Reading is regarded old school nowadays due to advancement in technology. But among mass media as we know them, it is only books that have remained most relevant after they ushered the era of mass publishing since Gutenberg printing press.

It is easy to dismiss the importance of reading if you have never been intimate with the warmth of a well written page turner. Reading is not for idlers and shallow minded people. It is for intellectuals; people who can interrogate the stuff between the lines and debunk the literature there in. So if you are a passive consumer of content, curl on the couch.

It is only by reading books were we get to know how the wise people think and be bettered by their lessons. A book is the most treasonable gift you can give or get from a person who loves you. It is a posterity. Timeless.

Radio and TV may sound cool but their perishableness and superficialness can only be consumed within a very short space and time.

With the advent of the Internet, things are looking up for all media. Electronic books and convergence of radio and television on the internet will only serve to enrich the content delivered to the mass media consumers.

The writer is a final year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University and a Blogger at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Email your thoughts to musyokangui02@gmail.com

Rape victims deserve justice

Rape victims deserve justice

T

rust is something that the rape victims know only too well that they should not give to anybody-especially their close circle of friends and family. This is because they have been betrayed and cried their hearts out for it.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

On several occasions we get to hear about minors defiled by people well known to them. We also learn in the news that some adults have been raped, again by alleged close assailants. The frequency with which the news pops up no longer warrants the attention. It is normal to read in the papers or watch the TV about these numerous cases of gender based violence.

As a court reporter, I witnessed shocking revelations of testimonials arising from medical doctors, victims and their families when they took to the witness stand. The alleged assailants were put on their defence. The judges got amused before realising the weighty nature of the case and resuming their ever no -nonsense demeanour.

Many cases took long to conclude while others were thrown out on lack of evidence and other technicalities steeped on a heavy burden of proof.

I empathised with the victims. I thank them for summoning the guts to come out of the closet and face their enemies. But the narrative should not end there. For fear of reprisal, the hearings were conducted in the absence of the victims.

The suspects claimed that they were framed. For instance, one said a mother colluded with her daughter to fix him. The man even dragged the name of the police and the doctor. It was upon the learned judge to determine the case based on the evidence adduced.

For some reasons, the suspects relished the fact that the rape claims were on quicksand. One particularly charged the medical doctor to prove why he believed the girl in question was penetrated yet there was no fluid (read solid) evidence on examination. The doctor did not report seeing blood or semen in the vagina of the young girl. The doctor said that there were signs of penetration because the hymen was slightly broken and the birth canal was inflamed. The suspect countered by arguing that the girl may have inserted a finger or another foreign object that inflamed and pierced her womanhood.

Now that is hard to prove that indeed the suspect did penetrate the minor by mere association of a scratch with his manhood, I can say that the suspect is headed for freedom-even if he may have indeed done the heinous act.

As a matter of due diligence, for a rape case to be sustained, some things ought to be done properly and in good time. One, the victim should report the matter to the police immediately. Do not wait for long because the longer you do the faster the evidence will fade. Rape case evidence can be mined efficiently within 72 hours. Get the crime scene photos taken. Gather weapons used like clubs, clothes, condoms and identification documents such as national IDs and passport photos. The victim can snatch the wallet of the suspect to bolster his/her case.

Report to the police and have a medical practitioner examine you. This can be done with the help of a friend or a relative you trust.

But trust is something that the rape victims know only too well that they should not give to anybody-especially their close circle of friends and family. This is because they have been betrayed and cried their hearts out for it. That the vast majority of rape suspects are close relatives and friends known to the victim means the victim may just as well give a stranger a chance than a person they have known for years.

There is need to employ technology in unravelling the rape cases. The Government Chemist should take up the challenge and establish a DNA bank that profiles the genetic compositions of the suspects of rape as well as that of their victims. This will make it easy for the matching of the DNA strand samples to nail the perpetrators.

On their part, the medics should get and keep the blood and semen samples of the alleged perpetrators as well as those of their victims. To this end, vaginal secretions, sweat, fingerprints and hair strands come in handy in determining the case that is proving to be the new frontier for gender based violence.

There is also need for an elaborate mechanism to be established to counsel the survivors of rape and defilement. Some contemplate and actually commit suicide. Two wrongs do not make a right.  Let live. The children borne from rape are treated as accidents. It is unfortunate. They are mere innocents of circumstances. The mothers of these children should not abort the foetuses. It is better to give up the kid to a children’s home than to kill it.

To those who frame innocent people in order to settle scores, your days are numbered. Does it prick your conscience that an innocent person is going through hell because of your wild allegations? Is your heart guilt proof?

Justice should be seen to be done for the victims of rape and defilement.

The writer is a final year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University and a Blogger at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Email your thoughts to musyokangui02@gmail.com

How not to be an intern

How not to be an intern

B

e casual and provocative. There is no rush. Things are never that serious. After all it is not like they are going to pay you for donkey business.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

I was on a 91- day attachment at a local media outlet and can write from experience how to not be an intern.

It is not easy to land an attachment. You struggle to get and keep. You have to update your CV, Cover Letter and letter of introduction from the university. You are damned if you apply late for the job. You run around popping into office being greeted by mean stares.

If you do really want an attachment do not bother seeking one. Especially if you have problem following simple rules. Or you cannot report punctually. Be rude and arrogant. Have an overrated ego that you cannot start at such a low entry.

Wear according to your moods. Be casual and provocative. There is no rush. Things are never that serious. After all it is not like they are going to pay you for donkey business. Don that T-Shirt and jean. Only fools wear suits Monday-Friday. Or those seeking favours like being retained and other illusionary dreams.

Look down on colleagues because they are underpaid and overworked. They cannot match your theoretical skills despite their hands -on practice. Some are mere certificate holders while others only possess a diploma. How can they match your degree?

Cross the boss by antagonizing him. The colleague the boss fancies, that one, give a run for his money. Then use a third contact to let his wife know he is cheating. In the end you will win 10-nil.

Flash your laptop and camera to make a statement that you do not need the office artefacts. The office looks like a museum. Put the rest on notice against holding your equipment especially if they have no comprehensive insurance cover.

Once you are done with the job slavery, slam the door. Make it clear that they will miss you big time. A colossus has just straddled the work landscape. The next patient on the chopping board is here. Give him space. See, gentleman!

The writer is a final year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University and a Blogger at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Email your thoughts to musyokangui02@gmail.com