成人论坛

Thirty one programmes and 19 locations later, season two of Kenya鈥檚 TV and radio debate show Sema Kenya has finally wrapped.听As we prepared to record the last show of the season, our web editor Audrey Wabire asked me what my highlights were and it got me thinking.

Weathering the storm

Editorially I would say it was the clash of the titans in Kenya鈥檚 biggest rural constituency Kakamega.听

With our eyes permanently glued to the gathering clouds, the whole team went on a charm offensive to persuade the punctual governor to wait for the delayed senator to arrive. I think it鈥檚 safe to say there is not much love lost between these two men, but on a cold, damp, murky morning they both sat down and faced the people who had elected them.听

Recording outdoors we are always at the mercy of the elements and some may say planning an outside broadcast in Western Kenya in September is asking for trouble.听It rained, we ran for cover.听It stopped, we started again. The debate was heated.听The weather was not.

Far and wide听

This is the county where locals ask 鈥淗ow is Kenya?鈥� - an indication of how removed and remote they feel from life in the rest of the country.

Our seven-tonne equipment trucks - one carrying our precious generator -听took four days to travel almost 700km from Nairobi to Lodwar, on a route which bore little resemblance to anything I would consider a road.听

On arrival the location was a beautiful green oasis on the banks听of the River Turkwel.听Local people thanked the 成人论坛 for remembering them and we were made to feel so welcome.听

Responding to Westgate

Of course what will always stick in my memory is the programme we produced in the aftermath of the Westgate siege in Nairobi in September.  

In the days following the shooting of 67 people in the Westgate shopping mall, we were still reeling from the events. Some of us had lost friends and loved ones and others had been involved in the coverage. The need to talk became powerfully obvious.

Our presenter Joseph Warangu hosted a special programme which, instead of inviting our usual panel of guests, simply brought together people who had been affected – from those who had been wounded or escaped the mall, to those who had helped the injured.

And for those of us there that day, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that bringing people together in this way felt like a small contribution to the ongoing healing process.

Gift of hope

In our final show we run through some of the commitments, promises and key themes of the season – insecurity, political in-fighting and how the devolution story is playing out across the country. 

I write this on the day the show is being recorded, the day our presenter spent in the labour ward with his wife as she delivered their new baby Zawadi – the Swahili word for ‘gift’. 

Bleary eyed and giddy he dashed to the studio and presented the programme with his characteristic style and professionalism. 

It is somehow fitting to end the season with new beginnings and hope, sentiments I know all the dedicated staff on the Sema Kenya team wish for this amazing and beautiful country.

Sema Kenya will return in April 2014.

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