It is now a law in Kenya tha alcohol cannot be sold before 2:00 PM on weekends and 5:00 PM on weekdays. Establishments selling alcohol should also close shop by 11:00 pm and should not be located within 300 metres of a School.

While this law has been welcomed with a lot of praise to the Member of Parliament, Hon. Mutotho, many bar proprietors have been crying fould claiming that their daily revenues have dwindled. Women and children are among the majority of people who stand to benefit because many have suffered for a long time whilst their husbands or fathers could not utilise their money and time with meaningful activities other than drinking alcohol.

Which is the best mode of local public transport while in Nairobi? There are various options but the quickest answer you would get for the question is simply ‘matatu’. A ‘matatu’ usually refers to the fourteen seater vehicle popularly known as Nissans or the twenty tow and above seater minibuss. In Kenya, it is a law that all matatus bear a yellow line on its body and should indicate their route along the line.

After Kenya enforced new laws to regulate the Matatu Sector a few years back, it is now relatively safe to travel in the matatus. One thing one should know about matatus is that the cost is normally not regulated, fares are easily hiked during rush hours or when it is raining.

Matatus also have the habit of passing through unfamiliar routes or ‘panya roads’ to escape traffic. If you are unfamiliar with the area you might end up getting lost. Another notorious habit associated with them is pick pocketing, use of abusive language and one being hurriedly ushered in or out.

Those who feel they cannot tolerate these evils would rather take a taxi which is usually very expensive or the bigger capacity buses which are deemed slower.

The government is looking forwards to eliminating these small capacity vehicle and advocate the more sane and branded buses like Citti hopa, Kenya Bus, Double M and most recent Smart Bus.

Kenya is renowned for its talented athletes who have brought home numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals after competing both in global and international Championships. Majority of the athletes come from the Rift Valley region which is a high altitude area, the likes of Eliud Kipchoge, Wilfred Bungei, Luke Kiprop, Catherine Ndereba and Janet Jepkosgei, among others. Majority are long distance runeers, the simple explanation is that their lungs are accostomed due to activities that involved going up and down the hills and valleys since they were young, like going to far distance schools and markets, fetching water and herding their livestock.

Interestingly most of the names that feature prominently in the athletic world start with the letter K, little wonder they come from the community that starts with the same letter, the Kalenjin tribe of Nilotic origin; names like Keino, Kipchoge, Kemboi, Kibet, Kipkorir, Kiptanui, Kiptum, Kipruto, Kipketer, Kibowen, Keter, Kiprugut, Kipyego, Kirui, Komen, Koech, Konchellah, Korir, Kosgei and Koskei.

Some of these men and Women are already making a great impact back in their rural homes by starting Projects and Foundations to help the poor and needy in the society. Others have played a great role in the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation, a traditional practice in the Kalenjin community.

Each community has a staple food but the overall ‘national’ dish is Ugali and Sukuma wiki (translates ‘stretch the week’), normally accompanied by a stew or roast.

Sukuma Wiki, otherwise known as kales is a leafy green vegetable. One way of cooking this meal is:

Sukuma Wiki

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
3 Chopped tomatoes
1 Chopped onion
2 Pounds of chopped Sukuma Wiki
½ Cup of water
Salt

1. Heat oil in a pot and add the chopped onions. Stir well till lightly cooked.

2. Put in the chopped tomatoes and sauté.

3. Add chopped sukuma wiki and stir.

4. Add water and salt to taste.

5. Simmer until the sukuma wiki reaches desired tenderness.

6. Serve hot with Ugali

Ugali

Ingredients:

4 Cups of finely ground maize meal flour (Corn flour)
8 Cups of water

1. Heat water in a pot till it reaches boiling point.

2. Slowly pour maize meal flour into the boiling water while stirring to ensure lumps do not form. Keep adding maize meal flour until the mixture is thick.

3. Cook for about 10 minutes while stirring continuously as the ugali thickens.

4. Remove from fire, turn over pot onto plate so that Ugali settles on plate. Serve with Sukuma Wiki.

Every Place on earth has its own peculiar characteristics surrounding the way its people behave, like or dislike, habits attached to tradition and others that are born due to the environment or climatic conditions or merely for the love of their Country.

Some peculiar habits with the people of Nairobi and Kenya in general include the love of roasted maize. The sweet aroma of roasted maize is very contagious and very hard to resist and you will find people buying and selling the commodity in streets, buses and matatus and even bars.

Other items hawked usually on streets and highways include roasted peanuts, potato crisps, imported and local fruits like apples, oranges, pears. Other than food items, you can also buy loads of items from the comfort of your car while waiting on the traffic jam such as your car's steering wheel cover, childrens toys, pillows, Passport holder, belts, face towel, kitchen knifes and gadgets, video cassettes, et cetra. Your only begging question will be if the items are genuine or not; but so long as the item serves its purpose, who minds?

Uhuru park received such a huge face lift after the August 27th Promulgation day for the New Constitution. A Jumbo Kenya Flag was set at the Hill and word has it that it will be there to stay.

The promulgation of the New Constitution has and will bring with it many changes that the Kenyan residents did not ever think about before. One of them being an addition to the official Languages to make two; English and Kiswahili.

For over two decades, Kiswahili has been the National Language but English was the language to be used in offices, courts and other public and private institutions. Even though Kiswahili is a compulsory and examinable subject in Kenya Schools, a small percentage of Kenyans are eloquent if not proficient in its usage. Hence the old arguement by some politicians and law makers that it should not be made an official language.

The new constitution is good news for those who cannot speak English but can speak little Kiswahili, however broken, especially the aged as well as those who did not get an opportunity to advance academic wise. These people form a big part of Kenya's population; at least they now have a chance to be heard and can grab opportunities that were not available to them before.