Why Kenya is a failed state - too shit hole for brainees

News & Politics
1

I have been doing some research on where Kenya’s best and brightest high school brains ended up. Here is what I found out.

By Collins Mabinda

1989- KCSE Naaem Samnakay (Alliance High School), top student in 1989- He is now a pediatric surgeon in Australia.

1990 KCSE- David Were (Starehe), he is now an engineer in America.

1991- Humphrey Wattanga( Alliance High School). He went to Harvard and is now in a leading insurance company in South Africa.

1992- David Tengetta. (Mangu High School)- He is an engineer in America.

1993- Kaniaru Wacieru (Alliance High School)- He went to Harvard and is now working in Wall Street.

1994- Kirimania Muriithi (Alliance High School). He went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Now a computer engineer in America.

1995- James Mwangi (Alliance High School), went to Harvard. Now a management consultant in South Africa.

1997- Mwashuma Nyatta (Alliance High School), went to Harvard, now works for Soft Bank as Latin America as head of startups.

1998- Timothy Thairu (Alliance High School). Went to Harvard, now a computer engineer in America.

1999- Samuel Gikandi (Alliance High School). Went to MIT, worked for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, before confounding Africa’s talking. A board member of Stanbic Bank.

2000- Dhar Tishampati (Mangu High School)- Went to Adelaide university in Australia. Now a defense systems engineer in Australia.

2005- James Kandie Rotich. Went to Kabarak High School. Enrolled in MIT and is now an engineer at Google.

Now you understand why things don’t move in Kenya. Our best fled/were given full scholarships to universities abroad. The top girl in 2019 KCSE Maryanne Njeri Baraza said she wants to go to Harvard, study medicine, and live in Boston, USA. No Kenya in her future plans. She made good her plans, she is now a biomedical engineering student at Dartmouth college, an Ivy League college, and may well apply to Harvard Medical school since medicine in America is a postgraduate professional course. But can you blame her really in a country where semi illiterate politician thieves are billionaires and PhD holders are broke and tarmacking?

2

Academics is good but I think we seriously overrate it. They topped in school but ended up as regular employees in their new domiciles. Churning computer code just like any other kid who scored C’s.

That same America and Australia have no idea who best highschooler is academically ( they don’t rank one exam). But they can show you who is the best athletically ( they rank sports).

So while we hardly create new industries ( because everyone wants to work in a office and we can’t think beyond that), they continue to employ millions in the sports industry, as an example.

If I had my way I would ban ranking students based on one exam. In fact schools shouldn’t be ranked individually but in groups. Theres no information that says students from Alliance have made a bigger impact in our society than any other school.
But I don’t blame them for taking advantage of opportunities.

3

I agree.

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But there is always a silver lining in every cloud.

These Kenyans who are based abroad still have parents and relatives living in Kenya.

They send billions of dollars back home even more than what Kenya earns from tea, coffee and tourist dollars.

5

@simiyu is correct,truman is correct.

But at this stage our country is in,we need people who can think and offer solutions.After that the people simiyu has in mind can then work within those solutions.

Because of the brain drain,we remain puppets of the west,waiting for their orders,copy pasting what they think will work for us.

That is the reason I take this chance to highlight Enigma Raila Odinga ability to convince those smart kenyans come and offer solutions under his political leadership.Baba the 6th/or baba Kalonzos PM after we are done amending the constitution soon.

Bonus wisdom:why is our music industry struggling on the global stage?This is the answer:Have you ever read any of Chinua Achebe’s books?The stories utilize a technique of directly translating from their local language to English,it is always interesting.Fast forward I feel the same spirit in their music.But here,Ngugi is in exile and our music is tasteless but horny.The spirit is abroad.