BLOGS FROM THE MOUNTAIN

  By Thomas Chemelil Marakwet Secondary School( now St. Peter's Marakwet High School) is definitely one of the old schools that has served the community well producing great men and women.  I stumble on one Mzee Luka Kotut at Wagon Wheel in Eldoret who narrates to me a hilarious tale of Marakwet High School. It must have then been an Inntermediate School. The year is 1966. The characters in the story? The likes of Cheptile, Kotut amonst others.  In total, there were 41 students in the school. 30 from Marakwet and 11 from Keiyo.  The interesting part of the story is that each of the forty one students had his own fireplace where he would cook his own meals! In total there were 41 fireplaces or what Mzee Kotut would funnily call " Kabekeren chole artam oko akong'o". Each student brought his own flour from home and other necessary items in order to individually cook his own meals.  Tired of the messy process, young Kotut asked the students to approach the Board of ...

By Thomas Chemelil A team of coaches from EMC and neighbouring counties has landed in Miramas, France, under the invitation of the Miramas Mayor, Frederick Vigouroux, in partnership with the EMC Governor Wisley Rotich.  The team is comprised of Boniface Limo (Kimuron), Joan kosgei (Singore), Terwes Mark (Saints), Kanda Hillary (kondabilet), Ruth Bundotich (Kamwosor), Irene Kosgei (Uswo), Linda kimutai ( Taekwondo), Sharon Jeruto (fitness coach), Hellen Wahu (cycling), Stella Kiptoo (UOE) and Eric kogo (Athletics coach). The team had a stop over at Amsterdam after an eight-hour journey from Nairobi. They then connected to Marseille in France, a journey that took them two hours. From Marseille, they headed to Miramas where they recieved a warm reception from the people of Miramas. The journey is significant as it cements the strong relationship between the people of Elgeyo Marakwet and those from Miramas. The team is expected to come and spearhead the training of other coaches to mee...

Photo/Butere Girls: Echoes of War.  By Thomas Chemelil  Cleaphas Malala's play 'Echoes of War' has generated immense heat in Kenya's political landscape with many wondering what the play is all about. However, this is not the first time that Malala has run into trouble with the authorities over his contentious plays. Somewhere around 2012, Malala scripted 'Shackles of Doom,' a narrative that detailed the exploitation of a  marginalized community in whose land  valuable crude oil had been discovered. What follows is a mad rush by an "investor" community to reap from the new-found oil at the expense of the locals. In order to endear themselves to the host community, the "investor" unashamedly marries a local girl  who would act as bridge between him and the community to facilitate the wanton pillage of the community resources. Like 'Echoes of War,' 'Shackles of Doom' raised enough political dust with the authorities taking note....