Mary is the Director and Founder at Roshani Consultancy Services, an organization that provides customized media engagement trainings & communication services.
French universities are offering 1 euro meals to all students, regardless of income, as the government moves to ease rising living costs amid concerns many young people are skipping meals because they cannot afford food.
Yes I’ll admit
That post about Caesarian section triggered me
Because I’m a woman who was in labour for 40 hours
I was given the maximum dose of oxytocin three times to induce labour and did not dilate beyond 2cm
I was so mentally prepared to push out a human but my body just wouldn’t
Which one should I talk about?
The intense pain ripping through me every few minutes?
Should I talk about how excruciating it is to have doctors check you for dilation while you’re actively in labour?
Should I talk about the exhaustion?
Should I talk about how that when those who have vaginal delivery have long forgotten CS moms are still grappling with wounds and pain and numbness and tingling from the anaesthetsia?
I had my baby in Canada and the nurses kept asking me if I wanted a pain relief
I did not want any drug to interfere
I was ready to bear the pain and I did
I think I have the most supportive husband in the world. He stood there every second with me. Holding my hand. Wincing as Pain coursed through me
But he did not feel the pain. Not the physical one.
I did.
So has every woman who has gone through this
When the doctors saw that my contractions were not the “good type”, they said I could get a uterine rupture, I had to be taken for a CS.
And everyday I’m grateful to God for the miracle of a CS
That a mother who has given her all can still have her baby and they both be fine
So sir, when you have had contractions for 40 hours
When you have had 7 layers of your body sliced open so you can bring forth children
When you have gone months nursing a wound that is layers deep
When you’ve been placed on a cold surgical table and cut 7 layers deep
For some 4 times.
Then come back and have this Conversation with me
Thank God for your mother and the long line of women in your family that had vaginal deliveries.
But no two women are the same.
Don’t put that burden on the woman you would marry.
A CS is not a shortcut
A CS does not make a woman weak
A CS does not happen because you did not pray enough or you’re unlucky
A CS is a medical miracle so that women like me especially pre term moms, can come out alive from the mystery that is pregnancy and childbirth
Blessings.
A coworker died yesterday morning😭.
HR knew by 9 :00 AM, but they kept us working all day. They finally told us around 4 :30 PM, then had the nerve to say, "You can head home early if you need to"—knowing we all finish at 5: 00 PM anyway.
This morning, it’s back to "business as usual." Some of my friends are literally sobbing at their desks, but they’re expected to work and be productive. No time to grieve.
It’s a cold reality. Within a week, the company will have his job posted online. Within a month, someone else will be sitting in his chair.
But his family ,his children will still talk about him every day,they will ask where is daddy , His wife will mourn him for ages ,he was the love of her life .
At work, we are just a "resource" that can be replaced in a week. At home, we are the world. Stop giving your best energy to a desk that will forget you, and giving the "leftovers" to the people who never will.
A Mozambique Journalist Is Shot, A President Is Tested, And Power’s Shadow Looms
IT is not unusual for journalists in Mozambique to be murdered, or for attempts to be made on their lives. What is more unusual, however, is for a journalist who survives such an attempt to appear on television and give evidence against his attackers.
This is what Carlitos Cadangue, a journalist with broadcaster STV, has done after surviving an assassination attempt on 4 February in the city of Chimoio, in Mozambique’s central-western Manica Province, along the border with Zimbabwe. Gunmen fired at Cadangue’s vehicle as he was driving home. He survived, though his car was struck by multiple bullets.
Cadangue (who was in the car with his 19-year-old son) was able to identify the make and model of the car used by his attackers, part of its registration plate, and the type of uniform they wore, one commonly used by police special units. In theory, it should not be difficult to trace the vehicle and its owners. However, given that the attack appears politically motivated, may have involved state security forces, and could lead back to someone powerful, it seems unlikely that anyone will be brought to justice.
For months, Cadangue has been the public face of reporting on mining scandals in Manica Province. He has covered the environmental damage caused by uncontrolled gold mining, including the pollution of rivers and reservoirs. His reporting helped push the government to order a suspension of all mining activity in the province.
He then played an important role in exposing the continuation of illegal mining at the “Seis Carros” gold mine, in which the son and sister of Manica governor Francisca Tomás have an interest. Despite the government ban, operations at the site have continued without interruption. Cadangue has also reported on deaths at the mine caused by landslides and debris from explosions.
His work has been unwelcome to many within the ruling FRELIMO party, not just those connected to the governor. Several senior party figures have mining interests in Manica, including the families of former presidents Armando Guebuza and Filipe Nyusi, as well as current FRELIMO Secretary-General Chakil Aboobacar. It is not difficult to see why Cadangue may have been targeted. Killings by security forces to silence opponents of FRELIMO occur from time to time, and in most cases no one is charged and nothing follows.
The problem for President Daniel Chapo is that it was he who ordered the suspension of mining in Manica. He chose to take ownership of the issue. Having done so, it would be difficult to justify inaction when a journalist reporting on the very abuses he sought to address is shot at.
-Zitamar News
🚨 KENYANS, WE MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THIS
Parliament is proposing changes to the Citizenship & Immigration Act that should concern us all.
After independence, the law allowed migrants who had lived in Kenya to apply for citizenship within a limited window of 7 years post-independence.
Now the proposed amendment removes that deadline entirely and introduces a vague test of “habitual residence since 1963.”
How will anyone verify residence from 60+ years ago?
And who has never 'found' a country 6 decades post-independence?
Yet citizenship automatically means:
• The right to vote
• The right to influence elections
• The right to shape who governs Kenya
Mnaona kwenye wanaenda na hii maneno!!
⚠️ Parliament is considering this amendment right now.
📅 Deadline for public participation: 24th March
YOU MUST SPEAK ON THIS!!
Silence on laws like this today can shape who votes tomorrow.
#PublicParticipation #ProtectKenya #CitizenshipLaw
@Njeriwamwea84@BundiKirianki@eastersins@GyanWahome@KijanayaKabras@mi6rima@MugureNjehia@Wanjiru2027@abbiezuena
The Madness of African Borders and Absurdities Of Its Air Travel
A group of Congolese travellers recently experienced the surreal reality of transit on a continent where geography and logic rarely align. Starting in Livingstone, Zambia, they spent 8 hours at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport waiting for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa. From there, they connected to Kinshasa for a total journey of nearly 10 hours.
The absurdity of this route is clear when looking at a map because Zambia and the DRC share a border. A direct flight from Lusaka to Kinshasa would cover the 1,872 kilometre distance in under three hours, yet no such commercial route exists.
This detour is a symptom of a wider crisis in African aviation. While Addis Ababa and Nairobi have successfully built massive global hubs, their growth often comes at the expense of regional connectivity.
Reports from The EastAfrican highlight a fragmented network where it is frequently easier to fly to a different region or even a different continent than it is to visit a neighbouring state. Ethiopia is currently investing 7.8 billion dollars in a new airport designed to handle 100 million passengers, yet the focus remains on long haul transit rather than fixing the gaps between adjacent nations.
Several factors contribute to this air travel madness. High ticket prices are driven by operational costs that sit 30% above the global average, while aviation fuel on the continent is up to 20% more expensive than elsewhere. Many governments also treat air travel as a luxury to be heavily taxed rather than a critical infrastructure for trade.
Beyond the financial hurdles, geopolitical instability adds further complications. The conflict in Sudan has forced airlines like Kenya Airways to take lengthy and expensive diversions around closed airspace, adding hours to journeys that were already inefficient.
Despite grand political promises of a single African air transport market, protectionism and restrictive bilateral agreements continue to clip the wings of regional carriers. Currently, only about 19% of routes within Africa are direct. In a continent striving for integration, the shortest distance between two points is still a zig-zag across the sky.
https://t.co/jARQgsoIuB
I fully support all measures being taken to bring back order and sanity on our roads. However there are some concerns that @ntsa_kenya should clarify, as clarity and transparency are important for public confidence in such systems.
1. Where exactly will violations be captured?
Are there speed cameras, traffic cameras, or will police officers still be issuing the violations?
https://t.co/68INxYEOPa will the system identify the driver?
Will the fine go to the registered vehicle owner or the actual driver?
https://t.co/pzCxkUEaIQ accurate is the system?
What happens if a motorist receives a fine by mistake?
https://t.co/oetE1YoGok there a process to dispute or appeal a fine?
If a violation is incorrect, what is the process and timeline to challenge it?
5.What types of offences will trigger instant fines?
Speeding, red light violations, lane indiscipline, parking offences or others?
6.Will motorists receive proof of the offence?
For example a photo, location, date and time of the alleged violation.
7. How will motorists know the SMS notification is genuine?
What safeguards exist to prevent scams or fraudulent messages?
8. What happens if the registered phone number for the vehicle is outdated?
Many vehicles change ownership without contact details being updated.
9.Why are payments directed to KCB branches only?
Will there also be options such as M-Pesa or online payment through eCitizen?
10. Will motorists be informed where speed cameras are installed?
Transparency helps motorists comply with enforcement zones.
11.Will proper road signs warning of speed cameras and enforcement zones be installed?
Clear warning signs are standard practice in many countries.
12. Are road markings and speed limit signs visible and properly maintained?
Motorists cannot fairly be penalised where signage or markings are unclear or missing.
13. What criteria will be used to place speed cameras?
Will they be installed in accident prone areas or simply for revenue collection?
14. Who verifies and audits the accuracy of the automated system?
Automated enforcement systems require independent oversight and calibration.
15. Will the public be informed which roads or zones the system will operate on first?
Motorists should know where the system is active.
16. What measures are being taken to remove unroadworthy vehicles from the roads?
Many accidents involve vehicles that clearly should not be operating.
https://t.co/5ZMBJdNskX effective and credible are the current vehicle inspection processes?
There are concerns that inspections are inconsistent or poorly enforced.
18. How do vehicles that are clearly unsafe still pass inspection?
If enforcement on motorists is strict, the inspection system must also be credible.
19. Will NTSA increase random roadworthiness checks on public service vehicles, buses and trucks?
These vehicles carry many passengers and must meet the highest safety standards.
20. Is there independent oversight of the vehicle inspection system?
For enforcement to gain public trust, the inspection process must be transparent and accountable.
It’s not only Mwingi. In Kwale, a man was bitten on the mouth by a snake while sleeping. He tried using a “black stone”, it didn’t work. He survived after hospital treatment.
If snakes can bite someone in a toilet or while asleep, how do communities realistically reduce risk?
We need serious prevention strategies and public education.
KNH has performed Kenya’s first balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty on a premature baby.
This means they used a small balloon to open a blocked heart valve and help the baby’s blood flow properly to the lungs
Every African should grow up reading stories set in their own landscape. Not Narnia or Hogwarts. The forests of Ọṣogbo. The markets of Kumasi. The shores of Zanzibar. Our imagination deserves our own geography.
My coworker used to take the long way home every night. Two extra bus stops, more walking, more money, more time. One day I asked her why she didn’t just take the shortcut alley behind our building.
She laughed and said, “Oh, because a guy followed me there once and told me he could ‘do whatever he wanted’ and no one would hear me scream.”
So now, every night, she calls a male friend and pretends she’s on the phone with her “boyfriend.” Sometimes she even laughs loudly and says things like, “Yeah, I’ll see you in five minutes, babe,” even when she’s completely alone.
Not because she wants attention.
Not because she’s dramatic.
Because sounding “taken” and “protected” is safer than sounding like a woman by herself.
Men cannot even begin to understand the calculations women make every day just to get home alive.
My name is Zainab. I’m 27 years old. An SS.
That is, I live with sickle cell disease.
My parents are both AS.
Oh, they They knew.
They were told.
They still married.
They said God approved it. They said love would be enough. They said faith would cover the consequences.
I am the consequence.
I was diagnosed before I was two. My childhood memories are not playgrounds or cartoons,they are; hospitals, needles, and adults whispering when they thought I couldn’t hear.
In primary school, I missed classes so often that teachers stopped asking why. Some classmates thought I was pretending. Some thought I was cursed. I learned early how to smile while feeling different.
By secondary school, the pain episodes became more frequent. I would wake up excited for school and end the day on a hospital bed. I watched my mates grow normally while my life moved in pauses, school, hospital, recovery, repeat.
At 15, I lost my younger brother to sickle cell.
We were both SS.
That day changed me forever.
My parents broke down in front of me — crying, apologizing, saying “We followed faith. We didn’t think…”
But the damage had already been done.
Sometimes I forgive them.
Sometimes I resent them deeply.
Both feelings live in me.
In university, I tried to be normal. I joined sickle cell advocacy groups, volunteered with awareness organizations, spoke at events, encouraged parents to test their genotype. People call me strong. They call me a warrior.
What they don’t see is me crying alone at night after another silent pain episode.
They don’t see the fear that comes with planning a future in a body that doesn’t always cooperate.
And Relationships?
That’s another wound.
I’ve been loved… briefly.
The moment conversations turn serious about marriage, children, commitment….they leave. Some are honest. Some ghost me. Some promise forever and disappear quietly.
One man once said he would do anything for me. He talked about taking me abroad, better care, a life without fear. I believed him. For the first time, my heart rested.
Then one day, he stopped calling.
That heartbreak triggered one of the worst crises I’ve had as an adult. Not because of physical stress but because hope collapsed.
Now I’m older. The pain episodes come differently. Less dramatic, but more exhausting. My body recovers slower. My fears are heavier. I ask myself questions my parents never asked each other.
I am strong, yes.
But I am tired.
If you are AS and the person you love is AS, please love your unborn children enough to stop and think. Faith is not a license to ignore knowledge. I am a proof to that
I didn’t ask to be a lesson.
But if my life can prevent another child from being born into avoidable pain, then my voice matters.
That’s why I’m writing this to you. Because people listens to you and this story needs to be heard. I hope that your audience share this till it reaches those who are about to walk by faith and not by sight, Sickle Cell is real!.
Adeyinka, keep rescuing lives, I love how you raise awareness and say the truth unapologetically, those who do not like you are probably those who wish they could be you. Have you met you?. Oh,I see you Queen Ade💪🏻
Personal statement: I wish to express my deep concern and profound frustration regarding the health, safety, and continued detention of my spouse, Dr Kizza Besigye, who has now been held in prison for over one year on trumped-up charges of treason.
Dr Besigye is seriously ill and has been denied timely and adequate medical care. Last night, after a sharp deterioration in his condition, he was rushed to the clinic of his personal doctor, where he was treated and then returned to prison late at night.
The prison authorities did not inform me of his worsening condition. I learned of it through other means and rushed to the clinic myself during the night. When I saw him, Dr Besigye was extremely weak, shaking, running a high temperature, and suffering from severe abdominal pain.
At the clinic, Dr Besigye was guarded by six prison officers and a plainclothes military intelligence officer, a woman who concealed her face with a large white shawl. When he was discharged, Dr Besigye was marched to a basement car park and bundled into a prison pickup truck, squashed between two warders. When I approached the military officer to ask for her identity, she ran away. I managed to take a photograph of her as she fled.
I am deeply concerned that Dr Besigye is now effectively in the hands of the army, rather than under civilian prison authority, and that his medical care is being deliberately restricted. I have been kept in the dark about his condition, warned not to inform the public about his illness, and threatened that if I did so, he would be denied further access to his doctor’s clinic. I regard this as blackmail and as a deliberate attempt to deny him medical care and conceal his condition from public knowledge.
This morning, despite the clear facts, the prison spokesperson publicly stated that Dr Besigye is not ill. This is false.
Following my interview this morning, and statements made by his political party, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), the Commissioner of Prisons has now denied Dr Besigye access to a fully equipped medical facility, allowing only his personal doctor to see him at the prison sick bay—an ill-equipped facility where many prisoners have lost their lives.
Dr Besigye has now been denied bail four times and kept on remand for over a year, as the government has fumbled to fabricate evidence to prosecute him. During this time, he has been held in solitary confinement, barred from speaking to other prisoners, denied the right to worship with other prisoners on Sundays, and prevented from engaging in basic physical activity such as playing football. He is confined to a tiny cell with little sunlight, sleeps on a small mattress infested with bedbugs, and is subjected to conditions that are cruel, degrading, and inhumane.
Last week, during the elections, the prison was closed and the internet shut down countrywide. We were unable to visit him, and it is within this period of isolation and deprivation that Dr Besigye has fallen gravely ill.
I therefore demand the immediate release of Dr Kizza Besigye, so that his family and doctors can care for him properly. He is innocent, and these dirty political games must stop. His continued detention, mistreatment, and denial of medical care place his life at grave risk, and those responsible will be held accountable.
Winnie Byanyima
Spouse of Dr Kizza Besigye
20 January 2026
QUOTE: "President Museveni is my brother. I want him to live, and at the same time, I want him to leave the leadership of this country. Let me tell you, I have been here [long enough]. You should have been here [to see] when Amin left, hooooo! The dancing that invaded the streets of Kampala. Even during Obote's time, people were there singing "UPC! UPC! UPC!" The moment he left, you should have seen the singing and dancing that happened here. You see all these people dancing and singing as they follow Museveni in yellow, if, for instance, he quit tomorrow, hoooo! They will be the same people who will flood the streets of Kampala and Mbarara singing and dancing. It would pain me to see them dancing because he's gone, yet they have been deceiving him that he's the god of this land."- former Ethics Minister, Miria Matembe.
#MonitorUpdates