There is a gene in myself which does not and will never allow for fraudulent people and ideas to rule my life. I will stand up and tell you there and then that you are wrong when I feel that you are wrong. I have told my dad, siblings, teacher, bosses and even friends. That is the mantra which I live by.
So it really does not surprise me that twats and conniving whores really see me as a troll. Lets start from where this is coming from. I was summoned by the Kenyan Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over tweets I supposedly sent regarding Alfred Mutua. I obeyed the summon and the CID decided to detain me until then next day when I was sent to court, charged and then released on bail.
While away, like the proverbial cat, the neocolonialist twats who have forever expected me to get desperate and really need their resurrection decided to try to gain some attention while I was away. And the twat was doing it with a not so convincing excuse that they disagreed with some “Kenya Censorship Laws.”
Erik Hersman decided to say how I am a troll and so have been banned by iHub, Skunkworks, Nokia and Google (someone tell me what sets the four listed entities uniquely apart). The sad reality is that Google Kenya, Nokia Kenya, iHub Ngong Road and Skunworks nowhere are not unique. The same few 50 or so people operate and run the entities.
The four have no ideals which anyone with futuristic thought can boast of apart from that they are all Manambas hoping that by clutching the tails of the torn coat of Erik Hersman, they will spur any meaningful innovation.
Erik Hersman on the other hand passionately hate independent mindset. You will not survive at iHub, Ushahidi or any of the loudly celebrated but rarely accepted entities if you have a mindset which will challenge and prove that Erik Hersman’s mindset is shallow, narrow, neocolonial and conniving.
At the launch of mLab East Africa, one of the managers at the Bishop Magua based facilities warned me as much. Again just 2 weeks ago, I came to know of the supposed iHub ban which is nothing but Erik’s personal declaration of persona-non-grata.
While talking to one of the iHub managers about the same, he was bluntly honest, “Erik Hersman hates you. We have really told him that we see nothing wrong with you but he is insisting that he threatened not to work with anyone who thinks that you should be allowed to freely visit or attend events at iHub.” That is Erik Hersman.
I have met developers doing great work outside the iHub and even those still are inside the iHUB. Majority of them say that Erik Hersman is such an attention whore who will do anything to remain the centre of attraction. The same crimes Erik is accusing me of committing.
So let me tell Erik Hersman about myself and @Korruptsoul, @arabari and @robert_rabari can all attest to as they are my closest relatives on Twitter.
I am a person who will never get to be a selfish opportunist. I will never stop to tell Nokia that they are losing the market when they are doing so. I will never fail to remind Google time and time again that they are behaving like colonialists by luring Kenyan entities into ideas which will lock them and make sure that they earn no meaningful return from the same.
When Nokia or any vendor or tech company does not want to hear, they will always try to hide their inadequacies by locking out the
sane voices and sticking with praise singers and ass-lickers. The result is that Nokia is preparing to even close its much touted research lab which it so much advertised as revolutionary in this side of Sahara.
With Google, no Kenyan developer is making money from its Android platform or any of the initiatives it has started apart from few prizes here and there which are just bribes packaged as reward for “great ideas.” If Google was serious in changing the tech landscape in Kenya and Africa as a whole, it would listen and engage especially when we disagree.
Secondly, Erik should know that I never get to disagree, correct and even take people and ideas head-on for any virtual traffic gain as he has stupidly alleged. Ask the three I mentioned above and they will tell you that I have very strong views which even my teachers, family and even bosses have found hard to accommodate one time or the other. I told off my Headmaster in Onjiko High School, my boss at the UN Mission in DRC, my dad and even my MPs.
My strong views earned me a beating as a kid or student and has not stopped into my adulthood. I was assaulted in in Kisumu in August 2011 and left for dead. Just because of my tweets disagreeing with what Minister Anyang’ Nyong’o was doing at the medical services ministry.
Disagreeing and holding divergent opinions from the people Erik would have wished that I ass-licked does nnot bring me any meaningful traffic nor Adsense earnings. I live on other things. I will never be reduced to begging for handouts and space from Erik Hersman. I have better ideas of making money my own way.
And on the very desperate blog post, Erik Hersman claimed how “a lot of Kenyans on Twitter” laughed at my incarceration. Who is a lot to Erik? The usual barking mongrels he feed coffee and few beers at iHub to attack me? Before Erik who is an American and not a Kenyan ask us to defined who define our laws, let us ask him who defines his statements. Kenyan laws will be defined by Kenyans not some jobless American who few corrupt Kenyan government officials have saved from being irrelevant.
Erik then goes on to say how I am guilty of libel and defamation while marketing the blog post as a fair analysis of the going-ons.
The same mindset which Erik holds declared both Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela as terrorists. There is nothing unique or inspiring in the thought. It is shallow, patronising and colonial to say the least.
Erik Hersman would wish that I constantly cleaned his rear opening. Others can find it tasteful and do it however much they want, the truth is that I will never or simply I WON’T.
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24 Comments
LOL
“some jobless American who few corrupt Kenyan government officials have saved from being irrelevant”. Harsh but true. Of late their numbers is on the rise and their survival dependent on a mass of confused Kenyans seeking or waiting for their “big break” in IT.
Our national psyche is fed from hypocrisy and fattened with mediocrity and sometimes we need the Alais of this world to remind is that beneath the sweet smelling perfume there is a dirty stinking armpit.
I agree that Robert brings out very important issues. We always ignore and blindly sing praises
That’s only true if you as well are not blindly singing Alai’s praises.
Wow. You may have legitimate issues to air out, all i saw was twat, whore and a few other choice expletives. Makes you sound bitter.
I totally agree. Alai didn’t give any evidence except “he hates me”. How juvenile is that? That’s the problem with a lot of Alai’s claims.
Alai MAY have a point but we WILL never know what his point is if all he does is cry about some mzungu hating him and then calling said mzungu a twat and conniving whore. Here’s a challenge for Alai’s fans: stop acting like the lemmings Alai tries to expose and use your own brain instead of accepting all he says as truth.
Alai, I don’t see the relevance of having 3 of your friends attest to your claims. They are obviously biased.
As for whether Erik Hersman is a twat and conniving whore, I am yet to be convinced as you gave no evidence.
Interesting piece Alai. It is unfortunate that the authorities had to use you as a guinea pig while you were trying to call for Justice for one Karen who was assaulted. On the iHub issue, thanx for sharing.
LOL
“some jobless American who few corrupt Kenyan government officials have saved from being irrelevant”. Harsh but true. Of late their numbers is on the rise and their survival dependent on a mass of confused Kenyans seeking or waiting for their “big break” in IT.
Our national psyche is fed from hypocrisy and fattened with mediocrity and sometimes we need the Alais of this world to remind is that beneath the sweet smelling perfume there is a dirty stinking armpit.
I agree that Robert brings out very important issues. We always ignore and blindly sing praises
That’s only true if you as well are not blindly singing Alai’s praises.
Wow. You may have legitimate issues to air out, all i saw was twat, whore and a few other choice expletives. Makes you sound bitter.
I totally agree. Alai didn’t give any evidence except “he hates me”. How juvenile is that? That’s the problem with a lot of Alai’s claims.
Alai MAY have a point but we WILL never know what his point is if all he does is cry about some mzungu hating him and then calling said mzungu a twat and conniving whore. Here’s a challenge for Alai’s fans: stop acting like the lemmings Alai tries to expose and use your own brain instead of accepting all he says as truth.
Alai, I don’t see the relevance of having 3 of your friends attest to your claims. They are obviously biased.
As for whether Erik Hersman is a twat and conniving whore, I am yet to be convinced as you gave no evidence.
Interesting piece Alai. It is unfortunate that the authorities had to use you as a guinea pig while you were trying to call for Justice for one Karen who was assaulted. On the iHub issue, thanx for sharing.
“…..been banned by iHub, Skunkworks, Nokia and Google (someone tell me what sets the four listed entities uniquely apart)….”
haha, very true. I recently walked in to the iHub and a wave of pretentiousness hit me directly in the face. Good sentences, Alai, and well pronounced.
Kudos for standing up for what you think is right no matter what. You spur up the much needed spirit of our late founding fathers who outrightly and without mincing of words, stood up against all odds and wrongs and hit the nail straight to the head with the sole purpose of the betterment of all and shunning ignorance in the masses. Albeit, to avoid getting in the wrong corners, please use clean speech. You surely do not need to use such uncouth and abusive words to stress your point. But someone by the name Idd Salim, a pervert in all ways, thinks that our following you on twitter makes us idlers and lovers of beef – losers”. So now he’s so interested in knowing how many followers someone has on twitter? In any way, his mere labeling us as idlers does not hold since if blogging makes someone an idler then he’s the chief idler in town.
Kudos for standing up for what you think is right no matter what. You
spur up the much needed spirit of our late founding fathers who
outrightly and without mincing of words, stood up against all odds and
wrongs and hit the nail straight to the head with the sole purpose of
the betterment of all and shunning ignorance in the masses. Albeit, to
avoid getting in the wrong corners, please use clean speech. You surely
do not need to use such uncouth and abusive words to stress your point.
But someone by the name Idd Salim, a pervert in all ways, thinks that our following you on twitter makes us idlers and lovers of beef – losers”.
So now he’s so interested in knowing how many followers someone has on
twitter? In any way, his mere labelling us as idlers does not hold since
if blogging makes someone an idler then he’s the chief idler in town.
Hehehe lemme call you R.Alai,Thanks for the info. I know of some 2 brilliant students who were nearly duped by iHub for their ideas. The good thing they realized earlier enough and took off and now we are with them trying to fund their project despite the limited resources. 2 years ago I told some senior manager at Nokia that they are headed nowhere with their stale ideas, and she laughed it off saying that i have no background in IT. thanks for confirming!
waah my guy pole bana. I loved the article though you clearly showed what i have been telling this upcoming ‘tech gurus’ m-lab, i-hub, and all the hubs have nothing to show in regards to tech development in the country right now we should see our own developers partnering with google to come up with solutions that will digitize most if not all our day – in day out duties. I am happy that IBM has finally agreed to come to Kenya, lets wait and see how they will embrace the kenyan techies.
On iHub, well that’s deeper info i didnt know! Now i do! Pole for your ‘incarceration’ but dude you sure have tons of enemies lining up to feed you to the sharks and slammers for sure! As much as you are outspoken bro, free advice, watch your back! They have shown their intent! They definitely will strike again!
I agree 100% apart from the name calling of course, Alai points out issues which only afew would dare and that is the truth. though he has a following of many mudslingers on twitter, if they did not see what he was saying as important, they should simply unfollow him.
Also, having followed the progress of the ihub community for the past few years, what I expected to grow into some really big self-reliant enterprise still remains a community running on grants, benefiting just a few individuals. I have yet to see an idea with huge market potential launched, such as we are seeing from our ghanaian counterparts.
If failing to run such a small organization fails, what now of konza city’s pipe dream?
I have always advised people, if at all you need a funding and you believe in your idea, get it from friends and family, build it up and scale before you propose it to some individuals in the Kenyan I.T. scene, which is a guaranteed source for failure.
Agree 100%
“…..been banned by iHub, Skunkworks, Nokia and Google (someone tell me what sets the four listed entities uniquely apart)….”
haha, very true. I recently walked in to the iHub and a wave of pretentiousness hit me directly in the face. Good sentences, Alai, and well pronounced.
Robert Alai, I have much respect for this rech page but your language man!!! You can make a point without being disrepectful. You are just like bosire of thejackalnews.com, both of you would be useful if you stopped using abusive language and knowing that your freedom ends where mine begins! You should be busy telling us why Mpesa is a monopoly and new stuff in the market like pingit and how nationhela is of benefit.
On Nokia, so called Ihub and Google, you said the truth. But Fools, wont hear any of it. Everyone is serving their self interest in these entities and here we are, clueless Kenyans, seeking some elusive salvation from otherwise irrelevant people.
Kudos for standing up for what you think is right no matter what. You spur up the much needed spirit of our late founding fathers who outrightly and without mincing of words, stood up against all odds and wrongs and hit the nail straight to the head with the sole purpose of the betterment of all and shunning ignorance in the masses. Albeit, to avoid getting in the wrong corners, please use clean speech. You surely do not need to use such uncouth and abusive words to stress your point. But someone by the name Idd Salim, a pervert in all ways, thinks that our following you on twitter makes us idlers and lovers of beef – losers”. So now he’s so interested in knowing how many followers someone has on twitter? In any way, his mere labeling us as idlers does not hold since if blogging makes someone an idler then he’s the chief idler in town.
Kudos for standing up for what you think is right no matter what. You
spur up the much needed spirit of our late founding fathers who
outrightly and without mincing of words, stood up against all odds and
wrongs and hit the nail straight to the head with the sole purpose of
the betterment of all and shunning ignorance in the masses. Albeit, to
avoid getting in the wrong corners, please use clean speech. You surely
do not need to use such uncouth and abusive words to stress your point.
But someone by the name Idd Salim, a pervert in all ways, thinks that our following you on twitter makes us idlers and lovers of beef – losers”.
So now he’s so interested in knowing how many followers someone has on
twitter? In any way, his mere labelling us as idlers does not hold since
if blogging makes someone an idler then he’s the chief idler in town.
Hehehe lemme call you R.Alai,Thanks for the info. I know of some 2 brilliant students who were nearly duped by iHub for their ideas. The good thing they realized earlier enough and took off and now we are with them trying to fund their project despite the limited resources. 2 years ago I told some senior manager at Nokia that they are headed nowhere with their stale ideas, and she laughed it off saying that i have no background in IT. thanks for confirming!
waah my guy pole bana. I loved the article though you clearly showed what i have been telling this upcoming ‘tech gurus’ m-lab, i-hub, and all the hubs have nothing to show in regards to tech development in the country right now we should see our own developers partnering with google to come up with solutions that will digitize most if not all our day – in day out duties. I am happy that IBM has finally agreed to come to Kenya, lets wait and see how they will embrace the kenyan techies.
On iHub, well that’s deeper info i didnt know! Now i do! Pole for your ‘incarceration’ but dude you sure have tons of enemies lining up to feed you to the sharks and slammers for sure! As much as you are outspoken bro, free advice, watch your back! They have shown their intent! They definitely will strike again!
I agree 100% apart from the name calling of course, Alai points out issues which only afew would dare and that is the truth. though he has a following of many mudslingers on twitter, if they did not see what he was saying as important, they should simply unfollow him.
Also, having followed the progress of the ihub community for the past few years, what I expected to grow into some really big self-reliant enterprise still remains a community running on grants, benefiting just a few individuals. I have yet to see an idea with huge market potential launched, such as we are seeing from our ghanaian counterparts.
If failing to run such a small organization fails, what now of konza city’s pipe dream?
I have always advised people, if at all you need a funding and you believe in your idea, get it from friends and family, build it up and scale before you propose it to some individuals in the Kenyan I.T. scene, which is a guaranteed source for failure.
Agree 100%
well we are giving you the attention you deserve Alai … if it makes you sleep easy tonight … even rebels have self respect man, put across your point clearly and humanly … only whip the Pharisees when the sell wares in church so to speak … your language clouds your issues… its all about evidence and proper dialogue ranting will only get you into a “mtaro” like a lost “mongrel” and eventually it will matter little if you ever existed … you actually sound a lot like Miguna any relations ….
Robert Alai, I have much respect for this rech page but your language man!!! You can make a point without being disrepectful. You are just like bosire of thejackalnews.com, both of you would be useful if you stopped using abusive language and knowing that your freedom ends where mine begins! You should be busy telling us why Mpesa is a monopoly and new stuff in the market like pingit and how nationhela is of benefit.
On Nokia, so called Ihub and Google, you said the truth. But Fools, wont hear any of it. Everyone is serving their self interest in these entities and here we are, clueless Kenyans, seeking some elusive salvation from otherwise irrelevant people.
well we are giving you the attention you deserve Alai … if it makes you sleep easy tonight … even rebels have self respect man, put across your point clearly and humanly … only whip the Pharisees when the sell wares in church so to speak … your language clouds your issues… its all about evidence and proper dialogue ranting will only get you into a “mtaro” like a lost “mongrel” and eventually it will matter little if you ever existed … you actually sound a lot like Miguna any relations ….
Alai, sometimes you have legitimate points. Lakini your style is so abrasive that the message gets lost in the telling. Pole for your ordeal.
Punguza the confrontational attitude and don’t rush to react when angry. If the issue you really care about is getting justice for the Kenyan lady who was assaulted, then focus your energy in that direction (and consult your lawyer to find out what you can tweet or post without crossing the legal line). Don’t detract from the real issues with these other side battles.
Rose, this article was in response to a very abusive article by Erik Hersman. You know that it is wrong to demand decorum from one side. That way you look more stupid and insane than both
I read the article by Hersman before responding to this one. I could see why Alai took offense, but I didn’t think rushing to write a response while angry did him any favors. He already comes across as abrasive in much of his writing and in his actions. It’s not ideal to project that image if you want people to take your core message seriously.
The reason why it makes sense for Alai to temper his tone is
because he is the one who has an important message to deliver in the
first place. Sasa most people who come to this story late in the day
will only see the abuse. They won’t even bother with the original
story.
You guys seem to have missed the fact that, later in the article, Hersman actually asked questions about the legality of Alai’s arrest and his concern that it might set a precedent for the way the law deals Kenyans who express themselves online. That was the most important part of his article, not the part where he was taking potshots at Alai.
Alai, sometimes you have legitimate points. Lakini your style is so abrasive that the message gets lost in the telling. Pole for your ordeal.
Punguza the confrontational attitude and don’t rush to react when angry. If the issue you really care about is getting justice for the Kenyan lady who was assaulted, then focus your energy in that direction (and consult your lawyer to find out what you can tweet or post without crossing the legal line). Don’t detract from the real issues with these other side battles.
Rose, this article was in response to a very abusive article by Erik Hersman. You know that it is wrong to demand decorum from one side. That way you look more stupid and insane than both
I read the article by Hersman before responding to this one. I could see why Alai took offense, but I didn’t think rushing to write a response while angry did him any favors. He already comes across as abrasive in much of his writing and in his actions. It’s not ideal to project that image if you want people to take your core message seriously.
The reason why it makes sense for Alai to temper his tone is
because he is the one who has an important message to deliver in the
first place. Sasa most people who come to this story late in the day
will only see the abuse. They won’t even bother with the original
story.
You guys seem to have missed the fact that, later in the article, Hersman actually asked questions about the legality of Alai’s arrest and his concern that it might set a precedent for the way the law deals Kenyans who express themselves online. That was the most important part of his article, not the part where he was taking potshots at Alai.
Dear stranger on the internet….try and use some decent language please, disagree with people decently, calling people whores, twats etc, is very disturbing … which could implying you are a disturbing person, you speak and write as you think. Dissent with decorum is the motto…always…those two people you quote (Martin Luther and Mandela disagreed with the status quo of their day, very strongly, and they paid a huge price for it…But they always did it with Decorum and sensibility, honor their legacy by doing the same, if you can’t…stop placing their names alongside your insults, because that is an insult to their immortal legacies.
That said, I have never met Erik,never seen him,having analysed that ihub con of a place, I know a ‘closet’ racist when I see one, Erik comes across as one of the very ‘good’ at masking their hate. Just wonder why these types are always hanging around. Can’t he just take off to florida and look for a nice community full of nice w###e people and leave us alone in a our ‘misery’??
Dear stranger on the internet….try and use some decent language please, disagree with people decently, calling people whores, twats etc, is very disturbing … which could implying you are a disturbing person, you speak and write as you think. Dissent with decorum is the motto…always…those two people you quote (Martin Luther and Mandela disagreed with the status quo of their day, very strongly, and they paid a huge price for it…But they always did it with Decorum and sensibility, honor their legacy by doing the same, if you can’t…stop placing their names alongside your insults, because that is an insult to their immortal legacies.
That said, I have never met Erik,never seen him,having analysed that ihub con of a place, I know a ‘closet’ racist when I see one, Erik comes across as one of the very ‘good’ at masking their hate. Just wonder why these types are always hanging around. Can’t he just take off to florida and look for a nice community full of nice w###e people and leave us alone in a our ‘misery’??
i agree, the ihub people are such fuck faces. they thing carrying a mac makes them techies…has there been even one product from them that has been shipped..nada, zip, ziltch. cant believe orgs pay to have their logos on that place. herd mentality and sad scene in kenya internet space……total bull, this man and his plans,
i agree, the ihub people are such fuck faces. they thing carrying a mac makes them techies…has there been even one product from them that has been shipped..nada, zip, ziltch. cant believe orgs pay to have their logos on that place. herd mentality and sad scene in kenya internet space……total bull, this man and his plans,
Perhaps you should stop and think why you have such a profound urge to tell off everyone.Your language is foul and the grammar needs refinement. Another soul to tell off!!
Perhaps you should stop and think why you have such a profound urge to tell off everyone.Your language is foul and the grammar needs refinement. Another soul to tell off!!