A New Face of African Reporting

Ledama Ole Kina is set to be the “new” face of African reporting. He’s a Masai who currently does work for the BBC and Sky News. His most recent piece, a video found on Sky News, talks about the way many rural Kenyans move towards the urban centers like Nairobi only to find a much harder life in the slums. It’s actually quite a good short piece that contrasts the abject poverty of places like Mathare Valley and Kibera to some very upmarket, posh houses in Muthaiga and Kitisuru.

One quote by Ledama struck me:

“My country’s leaders need to do something for these people, before these people decide to do something for themselves.”

I know what he is trying to say here. That the Kenyan government needs to wake up and start making things better for the people, rather than just for themselves and their friends.

However, I’ve always said that Africans need to make change happen for themselves, so I’ll mis-use this quote for my own purposes. Kenyans need to realize that as long as the ruling elite are happy and content, that nothing is going to change. The status quo is good for them, why would they do anything about that?

I like what Ledama is doing. Word on the street is that his next piece will be on corruption in Kenya, which should be interesting to say the least. So stay tuned and keep your ears open for him.