MERU DAILY

Boda Boda Operators Waiting for Customers. There has been issues within Makutano after a New Sacco was allegedly registered in the area. Photo/NTSA. If there is one thing Makutano boda boda operators know very well, apart from shortcuts, traffic police moods and where to get tea at odd hours, it is their Saccos. Mention Cornerstone and almost everyone around Makutano knows what you are talking about. Mention Mark 5, Three Steers or Kinoru and riders can tell you where they operate, who belongs there and probably give you a brief history before you finish your tea. But apparently, somewhere along the way, a new Sacco entered the chat. And according to several boda boda operators and leaders who spoke about the matter, even the people expected to welcome it were left scratching their helmets. The controversy surrounds a newly formed boda boda Sacco in Makutano which, according to operators, came into existence roughly a month ago. Questions quickly emerged over its formation, certificate...

A view of the Beautiful Mati Road. Photo/Felix Kinyua. Ladies and gentlemen, I love technology. A lot. In fact, I work with technology almost every other day. I trust it. I defend it. I tell people technology is the future. But after what happened to me last weekend, I have reached a painful conclusion: Vitu zingine ni za wazungu tu. And today, my exhibit number one is Google Maps. You see, our now-infamous Mikocheni Base is more than just a place. It is a family. Apart from the occasional story za jaba, serious national debates that solve absolutely nothing, and other activities that cannot be properly documented for legal reasons, we also attend social gatherings together. So last weekend, one of our own, Mr. Boniface Mutuma, AKA Tush, was having his dowry negotiations ceremony somewhere in Mitunguu, roughly 50 kilometres from our beloved Mikocheni Base. Naturally, we had to show up. That afternoon, I confidently told my childhood friend Ali that I was not going to touch my jaba unti...

      An illustration of the modern day Relationships. Image/AI Generated.  A few days ago, I came across a WhatsApp exchange that forced me to put my phone down, drink water and reconsider everything I thought I knew about poverty. I have encountered broke people before. In Kenya, being broke is not exactly breaking news. It is practically a national weather condition. You can wake up financially stable on Monday, then by Wednesday a relative falls sick, school fees become urgent, your car develops a gearbox problem and the landlord sends that deceptively peaceful message: > “Good morning.” By Friday, your bank balance looks like the last three digits of a phone number. So being broke was not the issue. What shocked me was the confidence with which this particular poverty conducted itself. The lady in the conversation casually described herself as: > “Mh nae ni maskini jeuri.” A maskini jeuri. A stubborn poor woman. Broke, but unwilling to let insufficient fun...

One of the participants at the concluded Aquadel’s Carwash and Auto Spa Carwash Darts tournament featuring Aquadel and Menandi 51 Social Club. Photo/Felix Kinyua. There are weekends when life insists you stay indoors, recharge your batteries and pretend adulthood is enjoyable. Then there are Aquadel weekends. Now my dear readers, it has been quite some time since I last showed up at a proper social event. Not because I suddenly became holy or anti-fun, but because most weekends have found me somewhere on the road, busy showing my new love just how beautiful Meru is. That story deserves its own chapter. Today, however, let us focus on another love affair... my ever-growing relationship with Aquadel Carwash and Auto Spa, Gakurine. You see, I firmly believe in the old saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Fortunately, my name is not Jack, and dullness has never been listed among my personal qualifications. Last weekend, courtesy of an invitation from my good friend and A...

A Poster for Aquadel Carwash and Auto Spa Wordcup Watch Party Events. Designed by Felix Kinyua . Football fans, breathe. The Premier League season is finally over. For Arsenal supporters, it is a chance to recover emotionally, spiritually, and financially after another season of "next year is our year." For the rest of football fans—especially those who spend entire weekends hoping Arsenal loses—your hobby is temporarily on hold. Well, almost. Because football, unlike your landlord, never takes a break. And neither does Aquadel Carwash and Auto Spa. Just when we thought we'd have a few weeks of peace and normal sleep patterns, the football gods have handed us another global obsession: the FIFA World Cup, the greatest sporting spectacle on earth. As expected, Aquadel has refused to be left behind. Like that one friend who always arrives first at a wedding and leaves after the DJ packs up, Aquadel is already in tournament mode. For the next month, football lovers from Meru ...

Fans follow the Arsenal Vs PSG, UEFA Champions League final at the Watch Party Event organised by Aquadel Carwash and Auto Spa. Photo/Felix Kinyua.  There comes a time in every Arsenal fan's life when reality arrives, sits you down, pours itself a cup of tea and says, "My friend, it is time we talk." That moment arrived for me three days ago. The pain was so severe, so emotionally expensive, that it took me exactly seventy-two hours to recover enough strength to write this article. Three days. Three complete days. Jesus resurrected in three days. I resurrected from Arsenal's latest Champions League heartbreak in exactly the same period. Coincidence? I think not. The banter has been merciless. WhatsApp groups became crime scenes. Facebook turned into a public court where Arsenal fans were prosecuted without legal representation. Even people who spent the entire season asking whether offside is a type of transport suddenly became football experts. Manchester United fans...

A poster of the Aquadel’s Sponsored Watch party event.  Design by Felix Kinyua.  My dear readers, if there is one thing I have learnt in this life, it is that fate works in mysterious ways. One day you are peacefully washing your Probox at Aquadel, the next day you are planning to sacrifice a goat because Arsenal has finally remembered the Champions League exists. And ladies and gentlemen, after 22 years of waiting, praying, fasting, crying, suffering, trusting the process, and posting “Next Season Is Ours” every August, Arsenal fans are now staring at destiny itself. Some people have waited for land title deeds. Others for serikali jobs. Arsenal fans? They have waited for European glory longer than some marriages survive. But this story is not just about Arsenal. No. This is about football powered by the only place in Meru where miracles, nyama choma, pressure washers, and entertainment coexist peacefully — Aquadel Carwash and Auto Spa. Now listen carefully because Bwana Blok...