Senior Counsel John Khaminwa during an interview at his Kileleshwa home in Nairobi on September 9, 2023.
| Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media GroupOur Columnists
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Readers have their say: Khaminwa smartphone that never was
The article “Khaminwa: My 53 years as a lawyer and why I do not own a smartphone” (Daily Nation, Sept. 25, 2023) was an interesting piece on one of Kenya’s most prominent lawyers, John Khaminwa. But on reading the piece, I noticed one glaring omission: There was no mention of why he doesn’t own a smartphone!
It’s surprising that “why I don’t own a smartphone” was part of the title of the article about the senior counsel but there was nothing about the phone in the story. The smartphone matter is what pulled me into the story. I felt cheated.
—Kinyua Thuku, Mombasa
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The high priest of error corrections
Thank you, Peter Mwaura for your articulate piece, “Githuku Mungai, the high priest of error corrections, hangs it up”. And what a wonderful touch in your last sentence—it was hilarious!
—Steen Larsen, Nairobi
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There is an elephant in the room
I refer to “Do not use this expression unless there is an elephant in the room” (Daily Nation, Sept. 29, 2023). As is usual with Peter Mwaura, it was a very enlightening ‘lecture’. I’m a secondary school teacher of English and he just made my day.
—Fred Mutiso, ex-NMG revise editor
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Anchors, your only role is to read news
I refer to Moses Mwangi’s “Newsreaders irritate with useless chatter” (Daily Nation, Sept. 22, 2023). Indeed, they are annoying. This habit is noticeable in all media TV houses. To escape this rubbish, I keep on flipping the channels to find who (which TV news) has completed feeding us the rubbish.
Just this week, one stated: “Today is Friday, 22nd September, 2023. It has been a rainy day and I hope you had a good day and remember El Niño rains are coming. Today, we have a lot for you and here are the headlines....” However, El Niño was not part of the bulletin!
Who can train them that their only role is to read news? Moses is right. Please share these complaints with them and request them to watch CNN or BBC.
—Chris Harris
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The irony of ‘Nation’ Public Editor
I’m a fan of Peter Mwaura’s column, “Public Editor’s Notebook”, and I’ve always admired his criticism and critique of his colleagues in the newsroom. Every time I read his articles, I confirm my long-time fears that some reporters, writers, sub-editors and editors and all men make errors.
Going by his mastery of newsroom assignments, his age, experience and authority in the media, he ought to move from the morgue of poorly written, biased, subjective and grammatically wrong articles to the wards and observation rooms of training these writers and editors.
—Carlos Cheluget, Nakuru
