Could this election be a turning point for Kenya?
In Kenya’s latest general elections, ‘The Hustler’ William Ruto has been declared our new President after a narrow victory against…
There are almost no animals left – but we’ve been here before
Laikipia You know things are bad when the zebras are thin. Even during most droughts, zebras are like matrons at…
What’s behind Africa’s love affair with country music?
What’s behind Africa’s love affair with country music?
The long and the short of it in Africa
Kenya As late as the 1920s, it was believed that Africa’s tropical sun would boil a European’s brains. ‘The direct…
The real reason Africa can’t feed itself
The real reason Africa can’t feed itself
When flying was fun
On the BOAC VC10 flights to Nairobi, the pilots would invite children like me up to sit in the cockpit…
Why Kent is being bulldozed by buffalo
Buffalo are now living in the fens of Kent. Why – have we slipped into the metaverse of Lewis Carroll?…
The sin of neutrality
Yet again, millions of civilians across the Horn of Africa are starving. The world blames the crisis on drought and…
Why so many African leaders support Putin
Why so many African leaders support Putin
Hell is an English train journey
Delayed, on Southern Rail Home From the Hill is a 1987 documentary by Molly Dineen about Hilary Hook, an elderly…
Africa’s lessons for Ukraine
Kenya During Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 I got a close look at Moscow’s troops and their kit. These…
After Covid, Kenya’s flower industry is gearing up for its next challenge
Kenya’s flower growers have a busy time ahead
Why a church in Jerusalem is the model for all family-owned holiday homes
Malindi, the Indian Ocean When I lived in Jerusalem a long time ago, I often visited the Church of the…
My ocean voyage from hell
Kenya Wondering what this year will bring, at dawn this morning I stood in the waves in front of our…
A long-forgotten tale of sorcery and a severed head
Laikipia Plateau, Kenya Our local chief Panta wore a government-issue khaki uniform with epaulettes, beret and swagger stick. On a…
When it comes to Africa, the media look away
Kenya Each time I sit in St Bride’s on Fleet Street during the memorial of another friend, I look around…
Africa’s empty vastness has vanished under the concrete of the present day
Kenya When I was a child in Kenya, the road from the Indian Ocean up to Nairobi was still…
Our farm is a haven for lost souls
Laikipia He was turned out in a crisp bush ranger’s uniform and handled his assault rifle like a man hardened…
With tourists absent, the teeming marine life has returned to the sea off Malindi
Malindi, Kenya Beneath the Indian Ocean’s surface, I wondered if the pandemic had turned out to be a good thing…
Is today the day I become a Kenyan citizen?
Nairobi Since my father first caught sight of Mombasa from his ship in late 1929, at least some of my…
How WhatsApp mums saved Kenya’s castaway children
Kenya In March, Global Britain signed a new, post-Brexit trade deal with Kenya. This was a welcome agreement for my…
Thirty years ago, I saw the rebels take Addis Ababa
Kenya The evening before the assault on Addis Ababa, my guide Girmay and I ventured into a complex stuffed with…
Did I catch Covid from a naked-rumped tomb bat?
Laikipia Until I promised to slaughter a fat-tailed sheep with a goat thrown in for a feast, the farm cowhands…
Why I’m investing in sheep
Laikipia In the past I had a low opinion of sheep. During my first forays into farming I saw them…
The healing power of sweat
Laikipia In one of Kenya farmer Karen Blixen’s short stories, a character says: ‘I know of a cure for everything:…
