FACEBOOK COMMENT OF THE WEEK

Kevo Riera

“Firstly youths to be empowered and sensitized to focus on what they need most in a persons campaign such as higher education or guaranteed income, youths perceive the voting process as a waste of time so the government should initiate electronic voting to avoid long and tedious lines which discourage youths to vote. Alafu mayouth waangalie what has been done not what has never been done, thus step forward to elect realistic developments not selfish interests by being lured by bribes. With all these, youths will participate in electoral process as they have a kind of motivation in future for what they have done”.

ACTIVIST-A DIRTY WORD..

Activism (n.)ˈæk təˌvɪz əm

  'The practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals as by demonstrations and protests'.

Today saw the birth of the movement: #loveandprotest , led by one Boniface Mwangi; an award winning photo journalist & activist. Love and Protest sought to send a message to the tenth parliament that Kenyans will not stand by as they steal from our coffers and violate our constitution.

The phrase 'bury the vultures' carried the day, the vultures in this case being our honorable members of parliament. When we spoke with Boniface earlier in the day, he elaborated further on what inspired this initiative; " We love our country so much and we want those bad leaders to go home. Our tool for getting them out is through the ballot", said Boniface.

Boniface Mwangi & fellow activists at the #loveandprotest demonstration in Uhuru Park

One Edwin Kiama went on to urge Kenyans to speak out against the injustices in our country.
"People are afraid of being referred to as activists, mainly because the previous regime made being an activist a dirty word. If speaking out makes one an activist then I'm one".

Edwin Kiama, Sitawa and a friend at the Love & Protest demonstration.

 Activism does not necessarily have to be associated with violence and rebellion; as a citizen of this country, you can come out and express your displeasure at how your MP is representing your county or suggest ideas on how to make Kenya a better country than we found it!


"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato

ELECTION FEVER.

Graffiti by Boniface Mwangi

This past week was action packed, unfortunately it wasn't quite what we had bargained for. Our honorable members of parliament were busy 'revising' our constitution (while we were sleeping..) at 1 am in the morning, just for kicks-So what's new?

 The amendment reads: 

“Not withstanding any other provision of this Act and for the avoidance of doubt, a person who is nominated as candidate for election as a President or Deputy President is nevertheless eligible for nomination and may contest as a candidate for any other elective seat in the same elections.”

 Here are some of the responses from some of the presidential candidates, ahem, 'honorable' presidential  candidates as seen on Twitter:

@Youthforraila

@thespacetv hon  Hon@RailaOdinga is against amendments

@Peter_Kenneth

@thespace no, I lobbied against marginalization of katiba and in particular the ammendments on presidential aspirants and party hopping

@MathaKarua

To the so called questioner I was in the house and I played my role

  It's good that they are showing us their truest colors before we go to the polls. Moral of the story? CHOOSE WISELY! Your vote is your power for change. Indeed the tweeps who ambushed our legislators online did a fabulous job protesting this injustice to our hard won constitution. The trending topic on Twitter this past Thursday left no imagination as to what many young Kenyans think of our leaders. The hash tag #occupyparliamentKE was fiery to say the least; it seems Kenyans, young Kenyans were not willing to take this nonsense lying down. Aren't you just glad that you don't live in Ethiopia where accessing social media websites is illegal? For once we have a protest tool as young people that we can use to protest bad leadership, bad taste in ads (Korean Airlines #primitiveairlines, hope somebody was fired!) and many other social issues affecting us in our immediate environment. 

Interestingly, in this week's episode we'll focus on Elections and what they mean to most young people in our country. We'll have the 'godfather of Genge' Nonini who'll tell us more about his project 'Color kwa face" and what he thinks of politics & endorsements by politicians

Nonini : Kenyan rapper, repreneur and activist




  

Boniface Mwangi: CNN Africa Journalist Of The Year winner 2008 &2010.

THE SPACE will also feature  photojournalist and social activist Boniface Mwangi, famous for bagging the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year , twice.

 And if you've had your eyes wide open, you must have seen the powerful graffiti in the city centre depicting our politicians as vultures stealing from Kenyans. His work has been all the rave and we can definitely see why! 

Don't miss out on this week's show for more. Contribute your ideas and give us your feedback, we're always looking for ways to make THE SPACE even better. Remember , we couldn't do this without you! Thank you for your support. 

 As we sign out remember:

Wherever you are, whoever you are, make a diffrence in your community by committing to positive change for this generation. We can get rid of corruption & bad leadership by the choices we make everyday. We've got the power!

 Salut.

YOUR COMMENTS FROM OUR FACEBOOK WALL!

Shelmith Nduta- “i like the show!”


Thegatah Yule Eric- “Swug crew they got talent”.


Tonny Myner-“ kuwl show n swug team wako juu!!”


Gabriel Odhiambo Achayo-“ I like the show and the topic of discussion. I think getting back to your county will depend on what you do. You can choose to invest in your county or having something going on there without you having to physically relocate to your county.”


Ian Riley- “Shw iko juu 2 xanaar ...county government iko poa 2 xana cz tutaweza kukontrol resources zetu poa”.


Jaypea Nusty K – “wow nomanoma. the poet. the figure.”


Mike Otieno Moseti- “Mnafanya kitu poa sana kuleta ma youth pamoja coz ni njia Moja yakumaliza ukabila. Let's bring Kenya together .... Big up, show iko juu....”


Bernard Ngiri- “Going back to our county itasaidia sana. Tukinvest huko kwa home county kutakuwa na mo job opp. thus absorbing most of unemployed youths resulting to low crime rate. Pia itareduce i kitu ya rural-urban migration ju by this system gava inacome kwa wananchi.”


Vajin Kev “btw,l lovd ua show jana.u r doing a gud thng by educating youths & highlitn wot s expectd of us as youths.thumbs up 2 sana...”


Edgar Paul Orchie- “Amani ni mrembo leo niaje.”


William Agwanda- “I wanna win dat smart phone.”

Patrick Korir-  "  The show is fantastic. Representing NAKURU COUNTY; the number of youths can be increased if the youths themselves (whose numbers are tremendous), use our numbers and vote in persons with abilities and potential as leaders & not money."

Thank you for your contribution.

YOUR TWEETS ON THE YOUTH & THE COUNTIES...

Some of your views on Twitter:

@gabrieloachayo-
I agree. What motivates you to go back to the county. You can as well fail terribly in your county

@ricky_oj
Parties should welcome young people and their ideas. They should give them a chance without locking them out due to finances.

@abato30
through civic education which will enlightens the youths not to be bought by politicians who will misuse them and dump them

@wakinimims
Don't I just love when the beautiful @ngwatilo does her spoken word....loving her performance at @thespacetv

@sheinas28
 Youth need 2 b givn space to air their ideas in their counties & shun tribalism.all youth shd emulate Saitoti.#thespacekenya

@yiungstunna2
 the very beautiful Amani started singing at age 6!! and today she is a mechanic!!

@ feel_canthe1
naeza rudi County coz naamini 15% of the national budget inaenda huki...Imagine opportunities zitakuwa huko @thespacetv

@acicollege
amani mechanic? nice one! and @karenkazlucas doesnt disappoint with style. @thespacetv vybe ya @mwafreeka juu kama kawa.

@timngige
@thespacetv the youth are looking for a place to be accepted, the concept of the counties may not be clear on how it will accomodate them

@ruthsheila
@thespacetv the youths are supposed to stop tribalism,its finishing our country.

@odhiambo_zuma
@thespacetvcounty system ni majimbo in kiswahili this is where people start governing themselves from the grassroot.

@alvaro_novida
@thespacetv politicians and diapers have the same thing in common. They both need to be changed regularly and for the same reason.

@billiehanz 
just fikad home on time to watch @thespacetv awesome start

@becca_shiku
@thespacetv tuned in for the first tym...i like!

 @Loco90b
@thespacetv Youth in leadership by uniting the youths and encouraging people to elect leaders by merit not handouts

 @Spzcheqx
@thespacetv #amani gave one hell ov a performance #daaaaam!

Thank you for your feedback!

OF SHERIFFS, COUNTIES & CLINT EASTWOOD MOVIES ...

So what's in  store in THE SPACE  this week? Hmmm I've got my ear on the ground and my source tells me  it's going to be juicy...

We've got two lovelies performing and sharing their artistic journeys . Introducing the lovely Ngwatilo Mawiyoo -acclaimed singer and poet & not forgetting the first Kenyan female artiste to bag the prestigious MTV MAMA award, Amani; you're in for a treat!

Ngwatilo Mawiyoo: glob trotting poet & vocalist,  who recently published her first collection of poems entitled , "Blue Mother tongue".

Amani - award winning Kenyan musician signed under SONY record label.

We also get down to dissecting and demystifying counties, and what they're all about.
Now talking about counties, I used to associate them with American western movies, (Remember sheriffs, gun totting cow boys "this is my county man!" The Good, The Bad and The Ugly..I know you do:) , it's really something out of the movies for most Kenyans.

We'd gotten used to MP(ig)s and constituencies but since the promulgation of our new constitution however, we're now going to be voting for Governors, Senators and what not ; it's really a new phenomenon.

Do you know your county or is it just another occurrence on your news feed? Find out what the youth are saying and what it means for our country as we approach the elections ( this ,next year, who knows when!?).              

No excuses! Catch THE SPACE tonight @6pm on NTV.

YOUR VIEWS ON NATIONAL IDENTITY ON FACEBOOK

If we didn't speak sheng or Swahili, what else would make our identity/culture as young Kenyans recognizable- ni lazima hip hop ama ngoma zetu ziwe na Kiswahili ama sheng?


Issah Sossa Madja- thats simple... matatus give us our youth culture. the sense of pride that runs thru u when you're in a matatu that is pimped out is just awesome.
Zakah Matini- NO It's not a must for all Kenyan Hip-Hop songs to be in Kiswahili or Sheng, We can also have English or even Hip-Hop songs being sang in Mother tongue, I Am really impressed by Camp Mulla's move to sing English, they do it very well, BIG UP to them


Muna Beau-  speakin on artistes, i dnt think all of em rprsnt kenyan culture. personally i represent the coastal culture, coz i do sing n dance chakacha (swahili muzq) n even the traditonal attire i use speak alot of the coast


Obach Toure-  By lukin at Kenyan u wil knw


What is your idea of a Kenyan dress that represents the ethnic diversity of Kenya?



Lavender Achyeng  Nyakomaber Lavesh - The National dress, the Maasai atire & kitenge that has a matching headgear.


Antony Kimani -Maasai wear.plus kangacloths.


Zakah Martini- The National Dress should be something colourful which can represent all corners of Kenya, Something Kitenge like with reasonable length of course, A Kitenge made from a few borrowed ideas from the Maasai Culture would do pretty well.


Samuel Cipher Makaveli- u can wear the dress bt u got no basic virtues of peace and harmonization. personally i believe it is not the dress but how you wake up every morning and be grateful for that neighbor no matter wear he comes from that he comes to your help and to sum it all he sees u as a brother or sister through mutual coexistence,now thats a Kenyan dress


Lynn Mamji-  Hello...I think a National dress should have one design to symbolize One Kenya but then it can be made from different material like Vitenge and Lesso...

Michael Magero- The dress or type of dressing which really symbolizes kenyan has to be the 

kitenge. It is casual and descent and is used in both formal and tradition functions which are 

treasured in Kenya since we have diversity of tribes with different cultures and dressing decently

 during these occasions such as a weddings symbolizes ones sense of belonging.

Stephen Mutuku-Am kenyan coz is the land of my birth,the home of my 4fathers

Clevans Otieno-Being born and brought up in Kenyan soil is what makes me Kenyan.

Justus Lee -Mazee kweli hiyo topic of discussion inabamba,national identity kad maze haimek kufeel 

as a Kenyan

Kennedy Mwangi Mugure

the love for my countrymen,i study with all kinds of people,my friends are from all spheres,i love my kenyan patriots.

Eliab De Romanique-Kushrub na hyo axcent ya my kalenjin tribe iz wat mkes me feel lyk a Kenyan

Mackiche Victor

The massai dress.

 We love the space!

Fridest Silah – Mwafrika does better hiphop jamz than those kidz u hosted 2day

Julz Monae Atuhaire- BET nominees Camp Mulla on Th e Space < NTV Kenya

Checobix Myke- I luv thz shw and wanna b thea again

Johnson marucha- n Waz up Kenyans, I thd love show. It makes me 2feel true Kenya

Razkeipy – btw nimejiona for the first time on tv… I feel happy this evening. Thank you!

@Simiyubarasa #NW #thespace on #NTV wuui this show is HOT! Makes me feel young!****

YOUR TWEETS AND MENTIONS..

Check out your Hot-off-the-shelf mentions , tweets , retweets right here:

Natasha ‏@TeairraNatasha

@ThespaceTV FBI wart,that dude dancin has made me feel my head hurt

Razaq Keipy ‏@Razkeipy

@thespacetv Btw nimejiona for the 1st time kwa tv.. I feel happy this evening! Thank you

Jeff Sauke ‏@JeffSauke

@thespacetv Watu waongee swahili na kwa mambo ya majina, yalingana na mtu binafsi. #TheSpaceKenya...

Stanishes Makori ‏@MakoriStanishes

@thespacetv Hahaha.....that guy has asked @Campmulla a very good quiz about twenging...

kevin wangai ‏@kevinwangai1

@TheSpaceTV @campmullah are my heroes!young,fresh n dope.evry tym i c those guys i feel proud 2 be kenyan.#TheSpaceTV

Blinky Bill ‏@247blink

@TheSpaceTV @cremdj @deejaykalonje @cindyogana @itsbuddhablaze @davidmuriithi @CampMulla Good stuff..

Mike Gitonga ‏@mikegitosh

@thespacetv ,kaz should have dressed more modestly.modesty never hurt anyone!cc @mwafreeka #Thespacekenya

Anthony Adero ‏@AnthonyAdero

@thespacetv i feel #kenyan because we are unique food , language and culture

Reynolds kairu ‏@Reykairu

@TheSpaceTV The maasai dress &accessories..tbey are renouned and are not faced out by westernisation hence truly kenyan

Beyond tribe ‏@tribe46thkenyan

Wait until u or ur child get denied a job or promotion coz of his her ethnic name then u'll know u can't eat Kenyan identity @thespacetv.

Brian Kiprono ‏@iAteHerInFrance

@thespacetv checkin' out tha show for tha first tym....its smokin' haut #BigTime @CampMulla swaggin' up

Makmende's Wife ™ ‏@shoopiez

So i just watched @TheSpaceTV for my 1st time...and they featured @campmulla ! #bigupyourself @karenkazlucas and @mwafreeka

Ignatious ingavoh ‏@I_natiouz

@ThespaceTV Isnt 'sheng' already an identity?i need no passport/ID when my words says it all.

Zuma odhiambo ‏@Odhiambo_zuma

@thespacetv we are following everywhere coz you are forefront on educating us

SIMIYU BARASA ‏@simiyubarasa

#NW #thespace on #NTV wuui this show is HOT! Makes me feel young!

POTRAITS OF GREAT KENYANS...

As we focus on National Identity, here's a collection of portraits of( a few) memorable & extraordinary Kenyan personalities.

The late Dr Robert Ouko: eloquent & charismatic politician/Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs during Moi's regime

Musician/Activist/Playwright: Eric Wainaina (Afro Fusion/World music)

The Late Wangari Maathai :Environmentalist /Activist/Nobel Laureate

The late Thomas Joseph Mboya was one of Kenya's charismatic & progressive politicians.

 

Paul Tergat : Kenyan professional long distance runner/World record holder in  numerous Marathons 2003-2007

The late J.M Kariuki : Activist/outspoken & progressive leader/ Ndaragua North MP-during Kenyatta's regime

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge (c. 1920 - August 14, 2009) holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school (see: movie The First Grader)

Suzzanna Owiyo :Kenyan Musician/songwriter/guitarist-she’s been dubbed Africa’s “Tracy Chapman”.

( Fusion of Luo folk ;Modern & Traditional Genre)

Kenya's Chief Justice, Dr Willy Mutunga :human rights activist/distinguished academic with high reform credentials

ARE WE THERE YET?

Most recently in South Africa, one Julius Sello Malema or 'Juju' as his supporters fondly call him, found himself in the cold when the African National Congress gave him the boot, after finding him guilty of sowing divisions and bringing the party into disrepute.
The former ANC Youth League president was expelled from the party, for his record in making 'controversial' statements and causing a near diplomatic disaster between South Africa and her neighbours, most notably Botswana.

Julius Sello Malema (Photo by rwrant.co.za)

He's been called a "reckless populist" but what's fascinating about this young politician who joined the ANC at the tender age of nine, is his resilience & ability to identify with other young South Africans who have continued to back him, despite his bad run with the ANC and NDC. Though he may not be in President Jacob Zuma's good books , he's still widely considered to be a potential presidential aspirant. Watching a recent interview of him, the man oozed of charisma and an appealing leadership quality rare for his 31 years of age.

Back here in Kenya, sad to say, there's still a huge vacuum in the political arena; a definite lack of young minds who exude leadership qualities. In fact, when most young Kenyans are asked to give reasons as to why they don't vote, their standard response is usually, "because there's no presidential aspirant from my generation with whom I can identify with".

This is a very worrying trend

Is it up to the youth to raise and empower young leaders or has the older generation failed us by deliberately failing to mentor young people in the area of leadership & civic participation?

Some food for thought.

Z.

YOUR VIEWS AND COMMENTS ON THESPACETVKENYA - FACEBOOK

 Here are some of your comments on our facebook wall. Topic of discussion : CRIME.

 Maina Ishma

"Crime can be reduced by:
education-the schools should invite police officers to their schools to teach them how to avoid crime. They can also arrange for prisoners to share some of their stories to the community & schools.
On self employment-youths should be proud of their talents,they should make use of them as a source of income instead of relying on white collar jobs. Also, volunteer-youths should engage themselves in positive activities eg; community services in their homes,churches or school".

Dennis Karikwe

"Crime can be reduced by reducing the retirement age to 50yrs to increase youth intake in jobs."


 Bilhah Wamuyu

"Crime can b cabd by introducing jobs to reduce idleness nd show the youths that there is samthn that 1 can do nd nt engage in crime nd drugs".


Judeinacio Luladasilva

"Crime can be reduced by providing the police workforce with special training programmes n use of surveilance cameras to detect crime,n liasing of the authorities with the civilians".

  Charles Kariuki

"Didn't watch the previous episode....but i think u talked about crime and how to reduce it....i believe one way to reduce it is by community involvement, forming groups in your neighborhood and projects will familiarize one another in the neighborhood. Neighborhood watch can also do some good,  form some groups to watch over the community. Undercover; police can engage with the community while hiding their identity can help the to point out criminal in the community. Lastly, giving information to the police can help in a big way...thanks."

 Douglas Khaemba

"U guys, l enjoyed ur ur show yesterday. Keep up".

 Muthusi B Katumo

"The Best ever! Loved it! Kudos to y'all! "
"Have you exhausted your talents and gifts to turn to crime?! Good question right there"!

Adam Kibet Kibwana

 "Simple, formalizing art like singing, dancing, drawing, narrative skills, rap and the like into an income generative activity by the goverment such that there groups can form their agencies for them to be hired by companies for events, business launch. This makes em an entity of their own. Just like the way matatu sector was formalized and now we have saccos which bring about discipline thus crime rate being eliminated for that matter."


 Thank you for your feedback , let's keep unraveling more of this topic right here. Your comments are highly appreciated. Cheers!


Z.

YOUR SAY ON TWITTER, @THESPACETV

Your views and comments on Twitter, thank you for the feedback guys!



Cindy Ogana ‏@cindyogana

Thanks guys for all the wonderful comments about my piece on #thespacetv sorry my 4ne died & right now so is my body #tired

Eric Onyango Otieno ‏@RicOtieno 

Awesome. The topic splendid

Eric Onyango Otieno ‏@RicOtieno

We can't keep dealing in crime just because our leaders are involved in it. That's too blind and our lives more precious. @TheSpaceTV

@hey_AM_RICKY: @KarenKazLucas was splendid enjoyed the show --> @TheSpaceTv


Legal Alien™ ‏@RonieRot

Tell your friends, a life of crime does not pay, time spent in jail, always on the run, its not satisfying at all.. | @TheSpaceTV

Dennis Karoski ‏@Dkaroski

@TheSpaceTv art iz priceless thanx guyz 4 showin xo much bout it..i hav ideas to improve the show wea cn i get Audience.

Dennis Karoski ‏@Dkaroski

@TheSpaceTv watched the show today en u guyz nid 2 hype the show. Mwafrika lacks the energy.. Kaz tried.

mĭčĥăĕł Ķăřăñĵă ‏

@thespacetv pple tend to percieve tattos as gang symbols wich is nt tru and it leads to pple in the society critisizing your character...

eugenia scott ‏@EugeniaOwiti

@thespacetv hey guyz, I love yo show.Great job indeed...How can I get to be part of the audience?Thanks n be blessed.

wakathango ‏@duncanndiritu 

@cindyogana nice poem there you did #thespacetv na hiyo men empowerment me nadai

RT @Daveojay: Big up guys!! #Titans #MOG, @cindyogana @Mwafreeka @Karenkazlucas cc @TheSpaceTV #Kibanda imepata #Wateja kibao!

Eric wainaina ‏@erico_wainaina

@Karenkazlucas @mwafreeka is they a 'Sherlock Holmes' in Kenya we can trust? No game of crime can defeat such a mind #thespacetv

Sethonyono ‏@Sethonyono

Nice show @thespacetv....the titans crew wametunice, the MOG guyz thumpsup!!

George Biketi ‏@biketig

@TheSpaceTV to prevent crime, give hope 2 th guys, change attitude n provide equal opportunity

Let's continue the discussion here....

Z.

CRIME PATROL

   So what's the most punishable crime in our country right now, a man who trespasses another man's 'shamba'/ land to steal maize for his starving family or white collar crime (e.g the infamous goldenberg, angloleasing saga) that defrauded the public coffers of billions of shillings?

It's ironic how a small time crime in Kenya can earn you years while high level crime as seen on one particular TV feature this week, can earn you millions, even billions ! So what now, crime pays? Very sad indeed.

Watch today's episode to see what young Kenyans have to say about crime and catch an exclusive interview with one of the hottest Gospel acts right now, as they delve into their background and how they're transforming lives through their music and community projects.

Poet , MC and radio host Cindy Ogana will give a refreshing performance of her rhymes, as she shares her sentiments on PEV, patriotism and what it means to be a young Kenyan in today's contemporary world.

Share your feedback, you might just win a cool t-shirt!!