Former Machakos First Lady Lilian Ng’ang’a during a press conference in Nairobi on Thursday (Star, November 5, p.1). The former Machakos First Lady now terms the county chief as a threat to people close to her, whom he has threatened to execute with the assistance of willing people (p.2). In her press statement, Lilian said she wasn’t married to Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua. If she acted as county first lady, then she was an impostor.
Egerton University’s new vice chancellor has a herculean on his hands (Nation headline, DN2, November 1, p.2). Herculean is an adjective that means enormous, huge, heroic, etcetera. The noun phrase is herculean task.
Mudavadi insisted the alliance would not be coerced into a coalition but will instead let the people choose a leader of their choice (People Daily, November 1, p.4). Argh! Choose a leader is enough; “choose a leader of their choice”?!
Ruto said that the current employment of fear and coercion to shape next year’s political choices was primitive and out of date (People Daily, November 1, p.4). Ahem, say “use of fear”, leave employment to jobs. Also, “primitive” and “out of date” mean the same.
Wambugu whose political leaning is tantamount to the Kieleweke camp which strongly opposes the deputy president said he is keenly listening to the electorate to determine in whose hands between Odinga and Ruto will Kenyans be safe (PD online, November 2). Writer doesn’t know the meaning of “tantamount”.
The women sired the children with the late governor in 2009 and 2015 outside his polygamous wedlock (Nation, November 1, p.8). No. To sire is to be the father of; women can’t sire children with a man. It is the other way.
One of the women battling to prove marriage to the late Nakuru tycoon Eliakim Washington Olweny has been accused of derailing a DNA test to prove her maternity to a child she allegedly sired with him (Nation, November 3, p.12). It’s Olweny who allegedly sired a child with the woman.
The two claimed to be widows of Mr Olweny after having been married to him through customary marriage (Nation, November 3, p.12). This is awkward. Say married to him through customary law or African traditional rites, not “married to him through customary marriage”.
Drumbeats rend the air in the village that was flocked by hundreds of mourners from Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Bungoma, Vihiga, Eldorete, Mombasa, Kwale, Tharaka Nithi, Kiambu and parts of Uganda and Tanzania where the church has its branches (Sunday Nation, October 31, p.8). The drumbeats “rent the air”, which is the past tense of “rend” (tear into pieces).
