May the fourth was not the same in Nandi as they took their wrath against Alison Ngibuini ,after an advert was seen Kencom bus station house brought the attention of the house of Nandi with the wordings “N IS FOR NASTY JUST LIKE NANDI” tweeps from Nandi generated 15,601 impressions, reaching an audience of 2,263 followers within 24 hours in using the Hashtag #ALISON_IS_NASTY Alison Ngibuini is the script writer of the TV drama MALI aired over on NTV Wednesday to Friday at 2030hrs daily. Nandi is a character in TV series though that's a coincidence with Nandi County which is currently at the neck of ICC and PEV which created a negative image to the county.
With some of the reaction being
“This is an insult. It doesn’t matter who the character playing with the Nandi, the display drives home that its Nandi, the only ONE people, county known by all Kenyans. Hiyo ingine ni porojo. Shindwe kabisa. Suing tufanye wapi lawyer”
“Let them prove in court that they didn't mean the tribe Nandi, other things are stories ati character called ..... No way”
"Dear Alison Ngibuini (alison@alisonproduction.c
We take exception to your advert near Kencom House,
Nairobi with the words "N is Nasty as in Nandi". We take this as an
insult on the Nandi people. This advert Billboard coming at a moment like this
when our people are trying to come to terms with the negative publicity
emanating from the PEV and the ICC proceedings doesn't help us in image
re-engineering. It only serves to buttress the negative balkanisation of the
Nandi people while promoting ethnic stigmatization. We urge you in good faith
to withdraw the advert, or adopt a different line altogether. You are aware
that in countries like Germany and the USA, some sensitivity to anti-zionism
may be elicited by similar crass and insulting jokes as this one. We urge you
to find your advert as repugnant as one which would say "N is Nasty as in
Ngibuini". By way of this email, I also wish to draw your nasty advert to
the attention of the Nationa Cohesion and Integration Commission (see CC
info@cohesion.or.ke). This is a joke taken too far. The Nandi people are peace
loving, sociable and proud citizens of Kenya. Our sons and daughters continue
to do this country proud in world athletics among other spheres of life. There
is nothing NASTY about them when they win the Boston. London, Berlin, Rotterdam
and New York Marathons. Your advert hurts our pride and social standing. It
enhances the negative tag while promoting a commercialized form of calumny and
insults galore. We demand immediate reparation to our image. You definitely
know this being in the marketing industry: Image is EVERYTHING. Your advert is
destroying our worth.
We urge you to pull down the advert immediately.
Failure to do so will be deemed as ethnic harassment and promotion of
collective condemnation of the Nandi People, their language and culture as
NASTY.
Looking forward to your help with this sensitive
matter.
Best regards"
“Dear Madam, Alice.
The advert.. “N is for NASTY,…Just like NANDI"
..placed somewhere near the Kencom bus stage has caused passionate discomfort
& uneasiness among members of our community NANDI.
Whether its intentional or not, the advert for sure is
offensive,insultive and uncalled for. It is also discriminatory in a manner
likely to influence the minds of other Kenyans and international visitors to
view the Nandi in a negative way.
We look forward for your kind response and action in
this regard, thank you.
Cc: National Cohesion and Integration commission.”
“the ad near Kencom saying Nandi is Nasty should be removed forthwith!!”
To me Nandi County in Rift Valley presents an interesting face of Kenya. Geographically, it stretches from the low-lying soiin to the south through the lush green highlands of Kapng’etuny (Nandi Hills) to the stretch of endless plateau in Mosop to the North. The landmass seems to rise laboriously from the tip of Kapseng’ere to the west through the pristine forested midlands of Chesumei through Kapsabet to the elevated ridge of Ol’Lessos to the forests of North Tindiret. In between lie the tea estates and a whisper of wattle plantations. Cultural melting pot it is also, owing to the ethnic diversity of the inhabitants and the over 795,000 residents enjoy what is no doubt an eye-catching mix of culture, economic and socio-political menu. Nandi is home to such minority groups as the Okiek, Ngerekek, Luhya, Luo, Kikuyu, Kipsigis and Terik all living in harmony. Thanks to the new constitution, each of these peoples’ rights are protected and future county governments must cater for them by ensuring their inclusion in matters of governance. There are also special populations like the disabled, single parents and widowed families each facing their unique challenges. Our society must provide space for them. Nandi is still faced with challenges in land ownership, lack of title deeds in some areas and people living as squatters. These are issues that require firm action in order to enable every resident feel a part of our rich county.Nandi is home to some 66 potential tourist sites (from the eye-catching water-falls at Mulangu to the North to the caves in Keben to the East), holds the religious HQ of the Nandi at Kapng’etuny (Nandi Hills Town) which is home to Koitalel Samoei Museum, the traditional suicide cliffs (Sheu) at Kibolewo near Kaprochoke and Moropi in Kapsimotwo. The County is blessed with institutions of higher learning led by the prestigious Kapsabet Boys High School right at the centre of Nandi. In a radius of only several kilometres, one finds Kapsabet Girls, St Joseph’s High School Chepterit and the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. These are not enough, Nandi needs more better schools, middle-level colleges to absorb and train artisans and youth who would be ready to go into self-employment as well as a university or two to alleviate the problem of shortage of education places. The future of university education might as well mean that there is need for 47 county universities. Nandi County must not be left behind in this. (writing about Nandi coutresy of Seronei Cheison)
