I was told once that if you’ve just had a brilliant original idea, there’s a pretty good chance that someone else has already thought of it and perhaps even acted on it. Having spent a good part of the last fortnight toying with unique knowledge management concepts, I was devastated to find that not only […]

A few days ago I lost my smartphone on a flight from Nairobi to Accra, not something I do very often. Actually it was the first time I’ve lost a phone, usually any loss is due to me dropping them or worse still, drowning them in salt water. To cut a long story short, I […]

Although I admire people who fold their clothes and meticulously pamper every item until the edges line up, I personally don’t have the time, patience and usually the desire. Home-maker magazines do make a romantically neat statement of what the ideal wardrobe should look like but the reality is that most closets are anything but […]

Caffeine is something I’m well accustomed to consuming in very large quantities, but until recently I’d never witnessed the birthplace of the fragrant coffee bean. On a heavily precipitous day in late June the tracks leading up Mt. Kilimanjaro are awash with cars navigating the precariously muddy surface. It’s not uncommon to see them sliding, […]

Some family, friends and colleagues can be incredibly demanding and in this case completely clueless of where it is I work or the conditions I work under on a daily basis. The only thing I can say is “Guy’s I’m in Africa” — that should in one way or another form an educated guess on […]

It’s about time these old diesel-spewing decrepit traffic hazards went off the roads. Far too many times I’ve seen accidents caused by their overly-wide bodies squeezed into tiny streets. Sure they look great as an icon, but in today’s world completely impractical; and given the number of cars on the roads it’s one less thing […]

You would think that a simple trip to the airport would be nothing out of the ordinary — right? I’m packed and waiting for the taxi, two last things on the to-do list: switch off the electricity and turn off the water Almost done, the taxi is waiting just outside the front door. I flip […]

Electricity is somewhat of a scarcity in parts of Africa, and as road-warriors — irrespective of how large the batteries are — we’re on a constant quest to find that next charging station to power our phones, laptops and other sanity-aiding devices. On this particular day the power had been out since 10:30am and it […]

When it comes to subtle complexities in relationships, sex, love, dating or friendship, nowhere have I found a descriptive vocabulary so intricate as in Botswana. As is the case with many African countries, the moral high-ground plays little in the way of monogamy. In fact, many cultures have thrived on a rich diet of promiscuity […]

A few days back I was staying at a hotel directly opposite the University of Nairobi [Kenya], where the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) was delivering a lecture on the refugee situation in Kenya. I decided to sit in and find out for myself whether the pencil-pusher stories would prove themselves correct. A […]