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Kenya woke up to shocking news of a fire that broke out or was maliciously set in a school dormitory.Leading to 16 fatalities and over 80 plus students injured in the fire.Unfortunately this is no isolated case but folklore that the country has continued to give ear to for some time now. In total Kenya has lost at least 160 students over time when fire broke out in the dead of the night in Bombolulu,Hillside Endarasha,Moi Girls,Utulishi and Kyanguli secondary schools where 67 students died in a single dormitory fire emergency.

Market fires are another fire incidence whose recurrence begs the question of which nothing is being done about the issue.Remarkably Gikomba market has had 15 megafire fires from around 2018.To mean at big inferno if not two in a year that leads to massive destruction for property and loss to human life too.Again there seems to be no meaningful action being taken to nip these crises in the bud. 

Fire in informal settlements are also exceedingly common.There hardly passes a fortnight or month before all sirens are heading towards the informal settlements.

In the Mukuru Sinai informal settlement inferno 120+ lived were lost including to upwards of 150 persons escaping with minor to severe injuries.

If you ask me the lack of fire investigation frameworks is hugely to blame for this unfortunate scenario.As a trained fireman myself I have not met any certified fire investigator in the country.I remember even posting on a question on our first responders WhatsApp channel demanding to be pointed to any available investigator.And surprisingly there was no response.The few I was pointed to are fire inspectors and auditors who have no knowledge of how to process and reconstruct a fire scene for insights into possible cause and origin.

Our institutions of higher learning that offer fire related programs including the university I went to also are teaching this.Nor are fire fighting academies doing it anywhere in the country.

Notably Kobi Fora and Chesowanja archeological sites in Kenya house evidence of early man's discovery and use in the prehistoric fire.So our land has really dealt fire for a long time to lack investigations capability pun intended.

If we had investigators  trained able to work professionally and with access to laboratories and other such facilities.The likes of Gikomba Market Traders Association would easily contract them.For investigations that continue to cause huge economic losses year in year out for the traders.

Only the National Police Service DCI unit has a small team of Investigators with know how around fire investigations.The team is offcourse overwhelmed by a big margin with the innumerable number of fire emergencies that would require their attention.They only investigate a few high profile ones with most of the fires resorting to remaining investigated hence the recurrence.

We hence should as a nation.Think towards filling this lacuna.And availing fire investigators to our brigades and first responding teams including to some working on private capacity in tandem with the police service and the judiciary.

Failure to which we remain sitting ducks awaiting the next school residential and market fire.Lacking necessary contingency plan to inquire and begin to provide solution.

FIRE IS A GOOD SERVANT

Fire is a good servant but a bad master.Since the lower palaeolithic period when early man began opportunistic gathering of fire.To when man was finally able to make fire using friction and flint striking methods  towards the end of this period.This element of nature has played a fundamental role in the human existence providing warmth,light,wading off of predators and social cohesion.

I am convinced that fire often has a bad connotation to the extent that we almost fail to resonate with this element in it's good servantood role.

Food being a primary human need cannot especially in the modern world  be taken without onboarding fire to cook it.Clothing is the next primary need.Most garments we wear have undergone singeing,edge sealing,lamination and burn testing where they are passed over open flames before they get to our stores.Shelter being the third primary need for an optimum human existence applies fire a lot too.Cement,ceramics,roofing,matalworks/welding all require fire somewhere along the way.

Hence no primary human need in the world as it is currently construed is achievable without fire.Other essential activities like vehicle,marine and air transport also require combustion which is basically fire for their engines to run.And there cannot be security because most modern weapon systems including basic rifles and pistols require a measurable amount of combustion and deflgaaration to launch various kinds of projectiles. 

We can all unanimously agree that mankind and spirituality are interwined and that man needs spirituality to exist holistically .Since time immemorial, there were so many deities associated with fire.Deities were christened and continue to be christened god or goddess of fire. Most notably are Hephaestus in Greek mythology,Agni in Hinduism and Shango the most powerful of deities among the Yoruba of West Africa. In contemporary religion like Christianity .Mention is made of a lake of fire full of sulphur and brimstone that will be the damnation of the rebellious to point at fire again in the spiritual sense.Hence evidently fire is such a good servant and reliable servant without which the human existence is left in sheer disarray.If we tame it well enough and subordinate it for our use and good.The benefits to reap will be immeasurable.

 

MBAVU VS MAJEMBE

As Mbavu was making his attempt to destroy.Which unfortunately didnt go as predicted.Deontay Wielder and Derek Chisora ​​were squaring it out in the 02 Arena.This time two great athletes turned bosom friends had to face each other pound for pound.The fight was the 50th pro fight for both,at 42 and 40 years of age respectively.

Derek Chisora ​​now retires after a boxing career spanning 20+ years. A close bout this was. With Deontay being declared winner by split decision.

Being a Sunday there is an interesting trend that is developing in the boxing and footballing worlds. I have noticed so many boxers in the day give credit to God/Jesus Christ for their win. Something they did not do in the Tyson era.

And it's becoming way quite common to see a star footballer flash a T-shirt underneath their jersey with some gaspomessage. After putting it in the net in the characteristic celebratory phase. Something that was again quite rare to unheard of before going back in time.

I am strongly persuaded that something must be in the works.Something is cooking

 VURUGU CHALLENGE

As Mbavu was making his attempt to destroy.Which unfortunately backfired.As predicted.Deontay Wielder and Derek Chisora ​​were squaring it out in the 02 Arena.This time two great athletes turned bosom friends had to face each other pound for pound.The fight was the 50th pro fight for both,at 42 and 40 years of age respectively.

Derek Chisora ​​now retires after a boxing career spanning 20+ years. A close bout this was. With Deontay being declared winner by split decision.

Being a Sunday there is an interesting trend that is developing in the boxing and footballing worlds. I have noticed so many boxers in the day give credit to God/Jesus Christ for their win. Something they did not do in the Tyson era.

And it's becoming way quite common to see a star footballer flash a T-shirt underneath their jersey with some gaspomessage. After putting it in the net in the characteristic celebratory phase. Something that was again quite rare to unheard of before going back in time.

I am strongly persuaded that something must be in the works.Something is cooking.

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 SPORTS AND BLOODLINES

Her brother Daniel Dubois also has an upcoming match against Fabio Wardley. If by any chance Daniel wins...

and Fabio is a tough course to navigate, a nut that won't crack easily. The Dubois' will have two world titles locked in the family.

If there is sth that seems to run smoothly in families, then it must sport prowess.

Closer home Zarika njeri kangethe popularly known as Fatima zarika has a brother in Musa Mohammed former Gor Mahia captain. Not forgetting the animals' including their sister. The oliechs', the injeras'. Across the borders again, the Furys', the Itaumas', the williams' and now the Dubois'.

I mean we can go on and on.

Who else can you add on the list.

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 A GINI WASEKAO MOMENT

I'm coming from this part of the larger metropolis that had quite a torrent yesterday. Only to alight midway to connect the bus home and find it surprisingly all dry.I did notice some "silly" looks from some bystanders. Who were probably wondering why my shoes were almost muddy and blah blah blah...Yet little did they know it had been a measurable downpourfrom whence I came. Barely ten kilometers away, just a couple of minutes ago.

The reason I didn't mind them though was the eye catching events that were unfolding before my eyes.That made me well reminisce the good old boyhood stage.Where for some reason, all young boys are fantasizing about carsand moving objects.

Back in the day, we would shuffle, as a group of boys to a certain raised ground that was overlooking ahighway. Then start with the counting, and the choosing. And the tussling over who verbally possessed the next good car that appeared before the other. And with auction bid level gusto.

Yesterday though, I was all alone. This time watching matatus full of Gor Mahia fans. Racing one after the other. With flagsrepresenting the hoodthey were from displayed. And the fans jubilating, ululating, and blowing with zest into their whistles. As the matatu honked and vroomed down the road in characteristic fashion. And off course with substantial decibels of classics blazing.All in a celebratory spree after their win against their arch rivalAFC leopards. In the famous or rather infamous, brothers-in-law derby.

Of football derbies. They are known to be high octane events. Sometimes requiring diligent organization in case things head south. When the pot of emotions behind to boil over. And that's around the globe. Whether you are dealing with a Celtic-Rangers, AC-Inter, Real-Barca or even a volatile Boca-River Plate affair.

In some jurisdictions football clubsattract a huge and heated fan base. To the extent that even the way to the top seat in government. Is carved by an access to actual leadership of these clubs. Or, at the very least, the blessings of those in their charge. Translating to the club's fan base, in its millions.

Locally, if every football club had a fan base as zealous as what Gor and AFC enjoy. Say the same for Kakamega Homeboyz, Bandariand ,Nzoia sugar,Thika United,name them all.Soccer in the country would improve in leaps and bounds.The huge crowds would pull with them massive sponsorship and media coverage.The ripple effect would be affordability of better quality in the field and technical bench, better remuneration on the part of the players, sports tourism domestic and otherwise. And so many other add ons.

My viewership was however short lived....After a dozen or so buses, the bus home arrived. Sooner than I had wished for.

Embarking, I continued to ponder on the untapped potential football would offer. If proper structures were put in place to attract the right stakeholders.

This as I sat on my seat arms crossed. Occasionally peeping throughthe window as another fan packed matatu overtook us. Before waving my phone on the conductor to display the payment message as is tradition.

Of weekends....

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Keppers Mwerrs