Bensa Media

09/06/2025

Our MD Namwene Mukabwa got a mention from Hollywood director Jordan Brady!

26/10/2024

There is something President William Ruto has consistently done that has surprisingly paid off in spades. Most politicians put up a shield around them once they accede to power, becoming inaccessible, wrapped in a barrage of political red tape.

Ruto on the other hand, has always confronted difficult situations head on. Once he assumed the presidency, he made his office an open book. He invited journalists for unscripted Q&A sessions, went straight on the road to meet and greet his people, including in opposition strongholds, struck political deals, and made himself available to all and sundry. To him, the "traps" his deputy claimed he had set were irrelevant.

Many might have criticized this approach, as it backfired on his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who, after an unsatisfactory performance, had to even shut down his social media pages. You see, in my village, you can’t keep calling for barazas when people are starving. However, Ruto's openness worked, creating an “S-O-S call away” situation. After the NADCO talks were brokered, it always felt like just a matter of time. When the Gen Z protests erupted, that call was made, and the deal was much easier to reach.

It’s easy to see ODM as the opportunists in the scenario, but there’s the other angle of how Ruto's open-door strategy played a hand. There’s probably no other world leader who would face such protests and still join an X space organized by the same hostile group, listening to them speak freely for three hours. He faced the hardest questions of his life (maybe with the exception of those much harder family ones). He was building brand consistency, saying, “This marriage is not easy and will not be easy, but we shall keep talking and finding solutions to make it better.”

If you recall, it was around that time that the older generation changed tune. The bishops and imams began calling for a ceasefire. Some of the protest leaders started backtracking, and moderate voices began saying, “Let’s give Ruto time.”

While it seemed to work, it was too slow for the unprecedented crisis moment that had revealed so many cracks within his house. He always knew his Royal Flush was up his sleeve. It was the perfect time to unleash it and silence two sneaky birds: the small issue of Mathira and quiet the protesters for good.

It wouldn’t have been easy had Ruto shown signs of sinking. By reaching out to the young people protesting and receiving a few notable nods, he was already negotiating from a position of relative strength. No politician joins another who is entirely sinking; no politician fully rescues another without self-interest. Ruto’s branding as someone seeking solutions gave ODM a legitimate excuse to “unite the country.” Had he not tried reaching out during the protests, his “broad-based goverment” rhetoric would have been the most contradictory phrase since former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya's "I will not resign".

With a scaled-up State House protocol recently announced, one wonders if President William Ruto is considering altering his open-door strategy. DP Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment may have made him mush more self-aware, and he could be preparing for the impending political battle with new tactics.

📸 Public domain

22/10/2024

Day of Reckoning

Today is a momentous day in determining the fate of DP (former?) Rigathi Gachagua's meteoric rise to the second most powerful man in Kenya. Gachagua's ambition is not in doubt. After an illustrious career in public service, he ran for MP, clinched it, and in five years made an impression on those who wielded power to the point that he was nominated for the Deputy President's candidacy.

However, his ambition has been his undoing. Instead of being calculative, he fell into the folly Frank Underwood warns about in 'House of Cards', "Proximity to power deludes some into thinking they wield it." If you haven't watched the epic series, you're missing out on the intrigues of politics.

It's evident that upon election, Gachagua had bones to pick with leaders within UDA, particularly those from his backyard. Instead of reconciling with them, the self-proclaimed "chuma ya zamani" chose to antagonize them further. He punished and sidelined those who disagreed with him and took the battle to their grassroots. He forgot one important element, though. After elections, our constitution vests power in elected leaders for five years. Fearing their loss after five years, Gachagua's ouster was imminent. His vitriolic national sentiments about shareholding exacerbated the situation, with the Gen Z demonstrations providing a perfect opportunity for Ruto to affirm his grip on power.

Gachagua, being an ambitious politician, saw an opportunity in the chaos. But with Raila Odinga coming to President William Ruto's rescue, the president had incredibly killed two birds with one stone. He had quashed the Gen Z revolution and found a way to deal with the "little Gachagua problem" once and for all. That's what Ruto is so good at. He plays the long game. Gachagua's vision was too blurred by the trophy he thought was within reach. In my backyard of Itakho and Isukha, there can only be one c**k that crows in a homestead. Similarly, two bulls that we rear for fighting can't coexist in the same paddock. One has to give way.

Now, Gachagua's impeachment is practically irreversible in the long run. While the manner in which he was ejected from office raises important questions about the process — there is definitely a reason the drafters of the constitution had specific provisions like the time to swear in the President and Deputy President. We must learn from history, and 2007/08 was ugly because of a night-time swearing-in. Similarly, it cannot be in the spirit of the same constitution that a DP would be ejected with government officers working overnight in the manner they did to have him leave office.

That said, the courts may grant him a second chance by invalidating the process, but it will be short-lived because in two weeks' time, he is likely to be out again—for good! Then, it might be bitter and messier. It's best for him to swallow the pill now and live to fight another day.

Having said that, Rigathi Gachagua's conduct does not warrant any sympathies. He is a vicious man who wielded power with an iron fist when the scales were in his favor. But I agree with one comment I have seen online: "Even the skunkiest of skunks deserves a basic semblance of justice."

08/10/2024

This Is How To Make a Movie!

If you enjoy a good movie, there’s a great one I must recommend to you. 'Capernaum' is a 2018 Oscar-nominated Lebanese film about a child who sues his parents for bringing him into the world. Scratch that — that’s not the whole movie. It's a film about the struggles of a refugee child who is angry at the world he lives in, yet determined to survive no matter what. The story follows Zain, who is about twelve years old and a refugee in Beirut. At his young age, he has experienced more than most people ever will. He has been neglected by his parents, forcing him to live on the streets. He has sold hard drugs. He has seen close relatives taken from him. He has been in prison. He has provided for younger siblings. He has even had to commit a heinous crime. Why? Because he was born.

Zain is played by Zain Al Rafeea, himself a real Syrian refugee child with lived experience on the streets of Beirut. After the film’s massive success, he was awarded Norwegian citizenship.

Directed by the magnificent Lebanese-Canadian director Nadine Labaki, 'Capernaum' is an angry rant at the refugee situation, particularly how children are caught in the mess caused by adults. Labaki provokes the audience with her message: "What if children could speak up?" Her cinematography is flawless — an ideal example of "show, don't tell." She films in a documentary-style realism, placing the camera alongside Zain, often in his face, immersing the viewer into his haunting world. Every shot she makes is a vivid painting of Zain's impoverished life. There's a sequence where Zain takes care of a toddler for what seems like weeks, which is just pure cinematic magic. Since the baby is unable to speak, we rely on Labaki's direction to communicate every emotion that is unsaid. Her visuals of a twelve-year-old boy caring for a months-old baby, working and even stealing to buy diapers, milk, and everything in between, is, to say the least, sobering.

'Capernaum' effortlessly squeezes out outstanding performances from its majority non-professional actors. Labaki made this deliberate decision to capture the realism of the refugee crisis. At the time of casting, Al Rafeea was illiterate and had never been to school, yet his performance was unbelievably raw and hauntingly beautiful. The supporting cast is impressive as well. Ethiopian actress Yordanos Shiferaw does well as a stranger refugee who forms an incredible bond with Zain when he takes him in. Zain's parents are exceptional as well. Even as you vilify them, you understand them. The film is evidently a team effort.

If you enjoy a film that’s packed with tension, beautiful cinematography, and thought-provoking moments that linger long after the credits roll, 'Capernaum' is for you. It’s the highest-grossing Arabic film ever.

'Capernaum' is among the top five films I’ve seen this year, and trust me, I’ve seen hundreds.

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Namwene Mukabwa is a journalist with a penchant for TV and film, politics, and history. He is an author at Collider and is the Managing Director at Bensa Media.

02/10/2024

If you enjoy literature, this is a great opportunity.

13/07/2024

OPINION:

Hear Me Out, ABABU NAMWAMBA Is the Best Sports Minister Kenya Has Ever Had

By Namwene Mukabwa

Ababu Namwamba is one of the smartest, brightest brains we have in the Kenyan political sphere. And hear me out, he is also arguably the best cabinet secretary for Sports that Kenya has ever had. Yet he leaves that office a disgraced man in the eyes of Kenyans.

What might surprise some is that it is President William Ruto who introduced Ababu Namwamba to active Kenyan politics. Ruto himself has recounted that journey, recalling how he was pulled in by Namwamba's pieces in the local dailies while Namwamba was a master's student at Washington College of Law. In the run-up to the 2007 elections, it was Ruto who sought and urged Namwamba to run for the Budalangi parliamentary seat. If you were of age, you'd remember how eloquent, defiant, and vibrant Ababu Namwamba was as he voiced his opinions to authority. As a new MP, he refused to be sworn in by the official script that would have meant he acknowledged Mwai Kibaki as the duly elected President of the Republic of Kenya despite the disputed 2007 Presidential Elections. He instead boldly swore in Raila Odinga's name. Ababu had arrived on the scene, he seemed to declare.

Then, Ruto was Raila's and ODM's point man, and arguably the man who almost put Tinga on the throne (he indeed got him the PM crumbs). It's by far the closest Baba has ever come to occupying the coveted House on the Hill. Ababu Namwamba was among Ruto's earliest protégés that he would later ride with to Baba's elusive "Canaan."

Ababu Namwamba would become a key figure in the then Deputy President William Ruto's campaigns ahead of the 2022 General Elections. Namwamba was the lead in negotiating support for the Kenya Kwanza cause, particularly with international stakeholders. There's a video of him presenting to a group of investors that makes you fall in love with the value of good education and articulation. I was shocked when Ruto bypassed him in favor of the disastrous Dr. Alfred Mutua for the Foreign Affairs docket.

When Ababu Namwamba took over as the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts in 2022, nothing seemed to have happened in that docket in the recent past. If there were any thriving sports during Kenyatta's and Moi's era, it was partly linked to the manufacturing companies that existed at the time. Though Moi's active participation in sports itself considerably raised its profile. For instance, the Safari Rally, in which his own son Jonathan was a famous participant. Speaking of which, what happened to our once-bubbly cricket? You remember Steve Tikolo?

Since Mwai Kibaki became president, the ministry has been disaster after disaster. None of the holders of the office inspired confidence. Najib Balala. Ochilo Ayacko. Maina Kamanda. Esther Murugi. Naomi Shaaban. Hassan Wario (what was that?). Rashid Echesa (my god!). Amina Mohammed. All we seem to remember in the last decade before Namwamba took over is the then Deputy President William Ruto's infamous "Stadium Speech," with the tragically hilarious line, "In six months' time...the stadium in Kamariny." If anything else, it's the carefree embezzlement of funds and the suffering of our athletes during the Rio Olympics in 2016 (I'll share my personal experience with some of the athletes at their then Iten training ground one of these fine days); and maybe the only positive thing, our very own individual athletes led by the King of Marathon Eliud Kipchoge ''keep jogging" shocking the world with their insanely-alien records that we recall. You probably didn't even remember the CS for sports preceding Namwamba.

When Ababu Namwamba took over, our men's national football team Harambee Stars was on its deathbed, and as football lovers, we had come to terms with the fact that it was time we dissolved the cruel marriage that bound us to that team. As a matter of fact, Harambee Stars had been banned by FIFA, and some of us secretly celebrated it. With all the squabbles around KFF, KFL, FKL, KPL (I lose count), and everything in between, surely, we needed that break to retrospect.

In just two years under Ababu Namwamba's stewardship, however, Kenya has not only been reinstated by FIFA but we are also competitively fighting for a space at the 2025 AFCON. In addition, we are, alongside Uganda and Tanzania, co-hosting the 2027 version, a move pushed vigorously by Kenya. Our junior women's Under-17 football team has qualified for the World Cup for the first time ever. This is particularly important because most of the players involved are a direct product of Namwamba's brainchild, Talanta.

We have had the national schools' football tournament broadcast on national television for the first time, and exposed the raw talent we have, with players like Aldrine Kibet, Amos Wanjala, and Tyrion Kariuki benefitting from the high profile. When Ababu Namwamba took over, there was no such structure or its semblance that tapped into these young talents, whether in sports, arts, or culture.

In our de facto national sport, athletics, we have all seen how individual talents have been recognized under Ababu Namwamba, in kind and cash, for flying our flag high on the international stage. The late world record holder Kelvin Kiptum was accorded a state funeral, a first in the country for any athlete if I am not wrong. In rugby, basketball, and other fringe sports, we have seen Namwamba there. With some objectivity, the Team Kenya Paris Olympics under CEO Wanjiru Mbugua-Karani is the best organized ever, and you can see Namwamba's hand in it. Granted, there's more he could have done, but in under two years, the man tried. Yet, he hasn't particularly caught the eyes of Kenyans as a performer. WHY?

Ababu Namwamba's baggage lies in his public image. Ever since his humiliation after the "men in black" saga at ODM's Kasarani elections fiasco, Ababu Namwamba has never recovered his lost political clout. To cut him some slack, as with many of those who challenged Raila Odinga's authority when their careers had been built around Baba, Namwamba's only costly mistake was failing to recognize Robert Greene's first of his '48 Rules of Power': NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER!

His reunion with William Ruto in 2016 was a case of two young lions rehearsing to overthrow their aging father king. In 2022, they spectacularly achieved it. While William Ruto had already made a name for himself both at the grassroots and national level, Ababu Namwamba had diminished his to the point that he couldn't even win a parliamentary seat back at home. Foresighted, he avoided a second embarrassment that could have leveled scores with Budalangi's "Chief Nanga" Raphael Wanjala.

Kenyans are a very conservative society. Namwamba's love for an exquisite lifestyle is a bother to many. Long before he became an MP, Namwamba had already built a picturesque mansion, with a helipad and a yacht in tow in his rural home. When he got into politics, he didn't keep away this lavish lifestyle from the public. At first, it was celebrated in the media, but perception shifts quickly when one holds a public office. It soon morphed into "arrogance."

Namwamba's Western-style relationships with women were the last straw that broke the camel's back. In Africa, and particularly Kenya, Namwamba's kind of public display of affection by men is frowned upon by both genders. Worse is if the public realizes that there are cracks beneath the perfect picture on display. In fact, such display is an invitation for investigation into any skeletons in the closet, things Namwamba's seemingly glossy image had in plenty. We all know too well how Alfred Mutua's went too.

Namwamba's demeanor bore a slow-but-steady loathing that grew into a full-blown revulsion. Exacerbated by his lost political trust, his public display of opulence, however honest, in a country where every sunrise means another day in the ring against poverty, Namwamba failed to read the room. His cracks could have crumbled either way regardless of how well he performed in his docket. President Ruto's dissolution of the cabinet, perhaps, did Namwamba a favor.

05/07/2024

The next Prime Minister of the UK: Sir Keir Starmer. It's a Labour Party landslide.

It was a riot vote against the Conservative Party, ending its 14-year stranglehold on power. At least 10 ministers have lost their parliamentary seats so far. Rishi Sunak, the outgoing Premier (whose parents were born in East Africa -- Kenya and Tanganyika) , barely held on to his.

Closer home, someone should be very afraid.

03/03/2023

Roseline Njogu, PS Diaspora: Kenyans in 🇬🇧! Here’s an opportunity to get your passports and other services this weekend!

11/02/2023

Namwene Mukabwa talked to the Kenyan ambassador to Turkiye, Amb. Lenny Boiyo, on the state of affairs in Turkey and what the Ankara embassy is doing to cater to Kenyans in the country following Monday's deadly earthquakes in which more than 21,000 people have died. Here's the link to the interview. Please subscribe to the channel.

Kenyan ambassador to the Republic of Turkiye, Leonard Boiyo talks about the state of affairs in Turkiye after the devastating Monday earthquakes in Syria Tur...

10/02/2023

What excitement to launch our first baby in our series of ! The show is called , one of our upcoming series on travel experiences abroad, with a Kenyan connection. It highlights stories of Kenyans abroad, and foreigners in Kenya - tourists, expatriates, and visitors. Please watch and don't forget to subscribe to the channel.

In our premiere podcast, our host Namwene Mukabwa has a conversation with Oduor Jagero, a Kenyan, about his experiences abroad. We talk about how to get a visa, the visa challenges many Africans encounter in a bid to travel to the Americas (especially the USA) and the Schengen Area, and the need for African countries to create opportunities for their people. We also talk about the need for African governments to remove travel barriers to ease the movement of people and foster trade. This comes at a time when Kenyan and Eritrean Presidents announced visa-free entry to either country by their nationals. This announcement follows the same one the Kenyan government had with South Africa. We also touched on the challenges with the issuance of passports, the challenges that Kenyans in the diaspora face, and how the new State Department of Diaspora can help solve them.

Please watch and don't forget to subscribe.

Thank you for coming by.Many Africans feel that they are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to getting travel visas to the United States of Ameri...