Nduru Gichamba

For the last few weeks @Gichamba55 and I have been trying to purchase an @mojaexpressway ETC gadget, we have been told to check because there was a shortage. Today, blatantly at the Museum Hill entrance, we were told we can get one for an extra amount on the side🤬🤬 #whatgives

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. by executive order, reaffirming more than a century of legal precedent and national tradition that babies born on American soil are automatically American citizens. abcnews.com/Politics/supre…

A student submitted an essay she wrote by hand. Her university ran it through an AI detector. The detector said she cheated. She is autistic. Her name is Moira Olmsted. Adelphi University. February 2026. Turnitin flagged her essay as 100% AI-generated. She was disciplined. Two other AI detectors classified the same essay as human-written. She sued. She won. The court called the school's decision "arbitrary and capricious." She is not the only one. In May 2026, a high school student in Palo Alto was expelled after an AI detector flagged his work. He faced visa revocation. He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. A researcher at Griffith University just proved mathematically why this keeps happening. The paper is on arXiv. The finding is one sentence. AI text detectors have a structural flaw that no amount of better engineering can fix. Here is what the math says. If a university wants its detector to catch 80% of cheaters, at least 750 out of every 10,000 innocent students will be wrongly accused. That is not a software problem. It is a theorem. If the university tries to limit false accusations to 1%, detection power collapses to 6%. It catches 6 out of every 100 AI-written papers. The other 94 get through. There is no setting where the detector is both fair and effective. The reason is diversity. Every student writes differently. Non-native English speakers use simpler vocabulary. Shorter sentences. Clearer structures. So does AI. A Stanford study found that 61.3% of TOEFL essays written by non-native English speakers were misclassified as AI-generated. A separate analysis tested 14 commercial detection tools. Zero out of 14 reached 80% accuracy. The students most likely to be wrongly accused are non-native English speakers, neurodivergent students, and anyone who writes with clarity and precision. The qualities that make their writing effective are the same qualities the detector mistakes for a machine. Vanderbilt University understood this. They disabled Turnitin's AI detection in 2023 after calculating that even a 1% error rate across 75,000 submissions would produce 750 wrongful accusations per year. 750 students accused of cheating for writing like themselves. The paper's conclusion is not that we need better detectors. It is that the diversity of human writing itself makes accurate detection mathematically impossible. The same thing that makes your writing yours is the thing that gets you accused. arxiv.org/abs/2603.20254

Just a random kid from Siaya, Kenya shooting a question at World Cup winner and France head coach Didier Deschamps on the kind of challenge to expect from African giants Senegal🙏🏿🙌🏿 Keep dreaming the impossible kids✨ #FIFAWorldCup

Today, a new proposal was introduced in the Finance Bill 2026 that would require taxpayers to first pay the principal tax before filing an appeal. Example: If KRA says a business owes Sh10 million in tax, the business would have to pay the Sh10 million before its appeal can be accepted. If the business wins, KRA will refund the money or allow it to offset future taxes within 90 days.

In Australia, a 26-year-old woman who has not eaten solid food for more than 10 years has chosen to legally end her life. Before that, Annie Holland is working through her “fuck it list.” The list includes wearing a wedding dress for a photoshoot with her father, holding a newborn baby, and taking a helicopter ride. She says she is finally reclaiming control over a life that has taken so much from her Annie lives with a rare incurable condition that fully paralyzes her stomach and intestines, making normal eating and digestion impossible. She has survived only on intravenous nutrition drips since her teenage years, battled more than 25 episodes of life-threatening sepsis, constant severe pain, dozens of daily injections, and multiple organ complications. After years of hospital stays and immense suffering, she has been approved for voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in South Australia.

“Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown, and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. Fear is the basis of the whole thing-fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion has gone hand-in-hand. It is because fear is at the basis of those two things. In this world we can now begin a little to understand things, and a little to master them by help of science, which has forced its way step by step against the Christian religion, against the Churches, and against the opposition of all the old precepts. Science can help us to get over this craven fear in which mankind has lived for so many generations. Science can teach us, and I think our own hearts can teach us, no longer to look round for imaginary supports, no longer to invent allies in the sky, but rather to look to our own efforts here below to make this world a fit place to live in, instead of the sort of place that the churches in all these centuries have made it.” — Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian

“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” — Malcolm X

“Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature.” — Hubert Reeves

@kenyanpundit Long a night, heavy hearts, watching those parents beg to know of their daughters fate, has me numb. All they did was want a better tomorrow for their children, all they got was 'relax' they were considered noisy, messy, where does one even start.

Yesterday, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria posted on Twitter that Nigerians can now export cow bones duty-free to China. Under the comment sections, some Nigerians were asking the ambassador to tell them what they are using the cow bones for😁 Some were telling the ambassador to tell his people to come and setup the processing facility here in Nigeria, so they can create jobs. Funny people. I laughed at our inability to do simple Google search. As a livestock farmer and Agro commodities trader, I already know the uses of cow bones. And about building a factory here in Nigeria? Nigerians are the ones to do it, but sadly everyone is building hotels😁 Let me tell you a few uses of cow bones. Here are 4 major uses of cow bones you can mention in your content; ✍🏻Bone meal fertilizer: Cow bones are processed into bone meal, rich in phosphorus and calcium, used to improve soil fertility. They prefer this to fertilize their soil not the chemical sold to our rural farmers. ✍🏻Animal feed supplement: Processed bone meal can be used as a mineral supplement in livestock feed, especially for calcium and phosphorus. We use this for chicken feed, pig, and fish feed production. Verify the price per kg and you’ll be shocked. ✍🏻Gelatin production: Cow bones can be processed to extract gelatin, used in food, pharmaceuticals, capsules, and cosmetics. Just imagine the volume of cow bones wasting in your village? Pharmaceuticals companies are paying billions of dollars to buy it from those processing it. And I believe those Chinese companies will focus more on this. It is big money wasting away in Africa because we don’t know anything about value addition. ✍🏻Activated carbon / bone char: Burnt bones can produce bone char, used in filtration, sugar refining, and water purification. Pause here and think deeply with me. They use bone char for water purification in their country. But they produce capsules and sell to us for water purification😳 Let’s not blame them. We take responsibility. Now, let’s be honest. This is a golden opportunity for us. Let’s export the cow bones and cash out. Also, let’s learn how to process the cow bones locally and export the finish product too. If I tell you now that chicken feed producers in Nigeria import bone meal, you won’t believe. Research it yourself. A ton of bone meal is around $200 - $750 currently. Bro, just imagine earning over $200 from wastage thrown around our local markets in Africa. Business opportunity for you. Do your research and see how you can position to serve this market

Finance Bill 2026: Ruto’s “Forgetful Warthog” Moment 🐗 🔁 Deja Vu — What He Clearly Didn’t Learn 🫆The 2024 Finance Bill triggered massive Gen Z protests that forced govt into full retreat — yet here we are, same playbook, 2 years later 🫆A 23-year-old protest organiser says it best: “We are not the same people who protested in 2024. We are worse off” 🫆Inflation is at a 2-year high — the worst possible moment to pile new taxes on ordinary Kenyans 🫆Budget deficit has worsened from 4.7% to 5.3% of GDP — meaning the fiscal mismanagement continues unabated 💸 The Pain Points — What Gets Taxed Now 🫆Mobile phones — 25% excise duty 🫆Bottled water — Sh6.41 per litre, despite unreliable tap water supply 🫆Fruit juices — Sh14.14 per litre (unsweetened); Sh20 per litre (with sugar) 🫆Mitumba clothes — 5% customs value levy, hitting the poorest hardest 🫆Imported furniture — 30% excise duty 🫆Ceramic sinks, toilets, urinals — 5% of excisable value or Sh50, whichever higher 🫆Crypto & digital wallets — 10% excise duty on every transaction fee 🫆Gambling winnings — 20% withholding tax 🏦 The Card Swipe Trap 🫆Interchange and merchant fees (Visa, Mastercard, mobile payment networks) now taxable as royalties 🫆Every debit/credit card swipe could attract two separate taxes 🫆Banks will pass costs to merchants → merchants pass to consumers 🫆Small shopkeepers risk financial ruin if electronic invoicing systems malfunction ⚖️ KRA’s Expanded Draconian Powers 🫆Commissioner can re-open any transaction for up to 5 years — a 5-year look-back with no upper limit 🫆KRA can generate pre-populated tax returns using your electronic data — shifting burden of proof: you must disprove what KRA says you owe 🫆Penalty for non-compliance with electronic tax system: higher of twice the tax due or Sh100,000 (Sh10,000 for individuals) 🫆Tax filing deadline moved from June to April — shrinking compliance window dramatically 🫆Nil returns now due by January 31 — squeezing small businesses with limited capacity 🏠 Landlords & Renters Feel It Too 🫆Residential rental income tax raised from 7.5% to 10% 🫆Non-resident rental income (foreigners earning from Kenyan property) taxed at 30% — landlords will simply pass this to tenants as higher rents 🎰 Gambling Gets Squeezed 🫆Betting & gaming excise of 5% on every deposit 🫆Gambling winnings subject to 20% withholding tax 🫆A Sh1,000 bet that wins Sh10,000 = govt takes Sh2,000 immediately plus 5% on deposit plus existing excise — total tax Sh4,050 on one transaction 💊 Even Medicine Gets Hit 🫆Previous excise exemption for glass bottles used for pharmaceutical products removed — meaning medicines get more expensive 🔑 The Revenue Target vs. Reality Gap 🫆Govt targets Sh3.63T in 2026/27 — an ambitious figure against a backdrop of economic pain 🫆Yet the budget deficit grows, suggesting revenue collection failures, not just revenue shortfalls 🫆The road maintenance levy on fuel has been halved from Sh3 to Sh1.50 per litre — the only genuine relief in the entire Bill 🔥 Political Recklessness — The 2027 Election Gamble 🫆Elections are next year — introducing punitive taxes now is political self-destruction 🫆Gen Z is angrier, more organised, and explicitly says: “They think we are tired. They are wrong” 🫆”The Standard” correctly calls this “tone-deaf” — a president who either doesn’t remember 2024 or doesn’t care

The longest road in the world that a person can walk is said to run from Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦 to Magadan, Russia 🇷🇺. It includes bridges over rivers, meaning no boat or air travel is needed. The route is over 22,000 km long and would take about 587 days to complete if walking 8 hours a day. It passes through 17 countries and 6 time zones, with the traveler experiencing all seasons and weather conditions along the way.

"If we say God made the universe, then surely the next question is, "Who made God?" If we say God was always here, why not say the universe was always here? If we say that the question "Where did God come from?" is too tough for us poor mortals to understand, then why not say that the question of "Where did the universe come from?" is too tough for us mortals?" = Carl Sagan

"Religion deals with history, with poetry, with great literature, with ethics, with morals, including the morality of treating compassionately the least fortunate among us. All of these are things that I endorse wholeheartedly. Where religion gets into trouble is in those cases that it pretends to know something about science. The science in the Bible, for example, was acquired by the Jews from the Babylonians during the Babylonian captivity of 600 BC. That was the best science on the planet then. But we've learned something since then. Roman Catholicism, Reform Judaism, most of the mainstream Protestant denominations have no difficulty with the idea that humans have evolved from other creatures, that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old, the Big Bang. They don't have any trouble with that. The trouble comes with people who are Biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is dictated by the Creator of the Universe to an unerring stenographer and has no metaphor or allegory in it." — Carl Sagan

The High Court has just handed Kenya's digital lending industry a landmark tax victory. In HCCOMMITA/E080/2025 (Branch International Ltd v Commissioner of Domestic Taxes), Justice Moses Ado upheld the Tax Appeals Tribunal's decision allowing Branch International to deduct KES 796.7 million in bad debts written off during the 2018 year of income. Here is what every digital lender, microfinance institution, and licensed DCP needs to understand about this ruling: 1. You do not need to exhaust every recovery avenue. The Commissioner argued that Branch failed to pursue all possible collection options. The Court rejected this. Legal Notice No. 37 of 2011 requires reasonable steps and satisfaction of at least one uncollectability criterion — not a crusade against every defaulting borrower. 2. Unsecured lending default is a recognized business risk, not a tax disallowance. The Court affirmed that for a digital micro-lender, borrower default is inherent to the business model. Automated reminders, CRB reporting, licensed debt collector engagement, and write-off after 90 days of non-payment constitute a legally sufficient recovery trail. 3. Disproportionate recovery costs are a valid write-off ground. When the cost of chasing a KES 500 unsecured mobile loan exceeds what you would recover, Legal Notice 37 explicitly permits write-off. The Court confirmed this arithmetic is enough. 4. The Equity Bank Kenya v KRA [2021] KEHC 8047 principle now applies squarely to digital lenders. Satisfying one limb of the Guidelines is sufficient. The Commissioner cannot demand satisfaction of all limbs simultaneously. What this means practically: If you are operating a digital credit business in Kenya, your bad debt deduction strategy should be built on three pillars — a documented recovery workflow, a board-approved write-off policy anchored at 90 days, and a structured bad debt schedule in your tax return that maps every write-off to a recovery step. This ruling does not mean bad debts are automatically deductible. It means a well-documented, process-driven lender now has strong judicial backing when KRA challenges those deductions. The distinction between fraud-related losses (still disallowed) and credit default losses (now firmly supported) is also critical. Get your internal loss classification right before the assessment comes. Kenya's digital credit sector is maturing. The legal framework is catching up. What questions does this raise for your institution's tax provisioning strategy? #DigitalLending #TaxLaw #Kenya #Fintech #CreditRisk #FlashCredit #FinancialInclusion #KRA #DCPKenya

If your listen on the national chatter on GOONS (euphemism for militia) in Kenya and who are the OWNERS OF GOONS, it points to one office and one person alone...the Office of the President and the PS in charge of Internal Security. Let us stop pussyfooting and call a spade a spade! Hon CS Murkomen must call his officers to order and disband the goons/militia alleged to be associated with his office and used to target the government's political competitors. Murkomen and Dr. Omollo know more than ordinary Kenyans, that rogue elements within the political class in Rift Valley, Central Kenya and Nairobi are probably organising goons/militia to create havoc and mayhem in the rundown to the 2027 elections. That is why it's both alarming and senseless for mandarins in the Office of the President to have goons and militia that compete with the police and other security officers under their control. The violence unleashed on Senator Godfrey Osotsi and the mayhem unleashed in Kikuyu to disrupt and scuttle H.E Rigathi Gachagua's rally are alarming and unacceptable. Kenya has no place for militias. The buck stops with CS MURKOMEN. He must nip in the bud this alarming and shameful ACTS OF STATE.

After years of hard work in the Gulf, Kamau is ready to build bedsitters in Juja and earn passive income. This strategy is very popular in Kenya, but the belief that rental income is truly passive, is where many get it wrong. Let's see why, and what truly counts as passive...🧵

My father never came to a single thing I invited him to. Not my primary school graduation. Not my secondary school prize giving where I collected 3 awards and kept looking at the gate. Not my university matriculation. Not the ceremony when I got called to bar in 2012. I'd send him the date weeks in advance and he'd say I'll try and that was always the full sentence. I'll try. No follow up. No explanation after. My mother would sit in his place and clap loud enough for 2 people. I stopped inviting him after the bar call. Not from anger. Some people love you completely and still cannot show up and after a while you stop making them feel guilty about it. He was not a bad man. I want to be clear about that. He was a mechanic in Mushin for 35 years. Worked 6 days a week. Sent every one of us to school. Never raised his hand. Never left. The lights stayed on and the rent was paid and there was always food and he did all of it quietly without asking to be celebrated. He just could not sit in a plastic chair and watch something. I accepted that and moved on. Last year I bought my first property. A flat in Ojodu. Took 9 years of saving and 2 years of paperwork and a lawyer who nearly finished me. When the keys finally came I sat in the empty flat on the floor for an hour just breathing. I called my mother first. She screamed. My sister cried. I didn't call my father. 3 days later he called me. Said he heard about the flat from my mother. Said he wanted to come and see it. I didn't know what to do with that so I just said okay. Gave him the address. Figured he'd say I'll try and we'd never speak of it again. He showed up on Saturday at 9am. Stood at the door in his good agbada. The one he only wears for serious things. Holding a small nylon bag. I let him in and he walked through every room without speaking. Not quickly. Slowly. Like he was counting something. He checked the pipes under the kitchen sink. Knocked on the walls. Opened and closed the windows twice each. Looked at the ceiling in every room the way only a man who has fixed things his whole life looks at ceilings. Then he came and stood in the sitting room and looked at me. Said the pipework is good. Said the windows seal properly. Said whoever built this knew what they were doing. I nodded. Long silence. Then he opened the nylon bag. Inside was a small framed photo. Me at maybe 7 years old sitting on the bonnet of an old car in his workshop. Grinning. Both legs swinging. He's standing beside me with his hand on my shoulder looking at something outside the frame. I remember that day. I had gone to the workshop after school and he let me sit there while he worked and gave me a Fanta and put a Michael Jackson cassette on the small radio. I didn't know anyone had taken a photo. He said he kept it on his workshop table for 22 years. Said he wanted me to have something for the new place. I held that frame and stood very still. He said he knew he missed things. Said he was not good at the sitting and watching. That crowds made something in him go wrong in a way he never knew how to explain. Then he said the flat was good and he was proud and he asked if there was anything in the kitchen because he hadn't eaten. I laughed. Made him eggs and bread while he sat at my kitchen table in his good agbada like he owned the place. We ate and he told me about a car he was working on. I told him about a case that was giving me trouble. Normal conversation. The kind we should have been having for years. He left at 1pm. At the door he gripped my shoulder the same way he did in that photo. Didn't say anything. Didn't need to. The photo is on my sitting room wall now. First thing I hung in the whole flat. Some fathers cannot sit in the plastic chair. But mine drove to Ojodu in his good agbada on a Saturday morning with a 22 year old photograph in a nylon bag. That was his standing ovation. I just didn't know to look for it in that shape.