Features

Foreign Legion

Why France Created the French Foreign Legion

The main reason the Legion exists was simple, to get rid of them. Or rather, put them to work outside France so they would not mess things up again. But to do so in a way that both served Paris’ global goals, and provided a route, albeit a very dangerous one, for them to become …

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Ethiopia

Why Britain Opposed Ethiopia’s Entrance into the League of Nations

101 years ago this week, Ethiopia formally joined the League of Nations, the precursor to the modern-day United Nations. Ethiopia is famously the only country in Africa that was never colonised. It defeated Italy’s first excursions in 1896, and was occupied during World War II because regaining Italy’s standing as a colonial power was important …

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‘If Gays Didn’t Exist: Inside Kenya’s Dalliance with Homophobia

I In November 1999, Dr. Margaret Ogola, a renowned Kenyan author and paediatrician, walked onto a podium in Geneva, Switzerland. She was there to receive an award, the World Congress of Families (WCF) Award for Humanitarian Service, at the WCF’s second congress. Dressed in a white dress and a white doek, Dr. Ogola’s acceptance speech …

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Have You Ever Been to a Private Hospital?

Everything bad about the global finance system has been happening in Nairobi, and you've been paying for it with your money, and lives.

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What Really Happened on KQ Flight 507?

10 years ago this May, a KQ plane in working order, operated by competent pilots, crashed less than 2 minutes after takeoff. Here's what happened in those 93 seconds.

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The Rebirth of Them Mushrooms

When I ask John about the legacy of the 40-year-old band, he is at first hesitant. It hits me midway through his answer that to him, music is still an incomplete journey, perhaps too soon to even consider talking about legacy.

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Seeing Vintage Nairobi through a 1970s Porn Film

If your uncle worked at Kenol Ruaraka in 1975, you might want to ask him if he was featured in an Italian porn film.

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The Birth of an Airline, How One Pilot Gave Kenya Airways a Headstart

40 years ago, a Kenyan pilot managed to sneak three planes out of a feisty, hostile Dar es Salaam. This is the story of how and why he did it.

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The Unreluctant King

When the former Governor visited the new President at State House, what used to be Baring's home, he found a man just like him. Just how alike they were became apparent when he sadistically said"By the way, I was sitting at that very desk when I signed your detention order thirteen years ago." To which Kenyatta quipped "If I had been in your shoes I would have done exactly the same."Pointing to the desk, he added slyly "And I myself have signed a number of detention orders sitting right there too."

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