Every time he appears on CNN, I have to brace myself for yet another assault, for that is what it feels like. To me, it comes across as a case of a stranger letting himself into our homeland and taking out whatever is in our dirty laundry basket, just to air it to the world. Everybody has some dirty laundry, and likewise every country has something positive.
But nothing good can ever come out of Kenya, as far as Mckenzie is concerned. I have watched this man for a while now, and todate, I lack anything positive that he has ever told about Kenya. It angers me and I have to wonder why we continue to afford him a stay or even a visit in the country.
As of today, Kenya is in Central Africa, i.e. on David Mckenzies map. He then went ahead and chose a poorly captured background view of our otherwise beautiful Lake Victoria, amidst some peaceful women selling omena, to showcase how badly Kenya is affected by the tumbling world stocks: yada yada tourism. Sorta like, while the rest of the world is dealing with ’serious money matters’ the poor Kenyans are dealing with ’salted fish’ , to borrow his terminology for omena. Arrgh!
Becky Anderson was left with a suspicious little smug smile on her face. I have to wonder what the motives are. When the piece was airing, I expected a story in line with how Kenyan banks are fairing amidst the World financial crisis. For once I thought I would see a brief interview with anyone from NSE.
Frankly speaking that piece they aired was stupid, empty, as was the last piece where he showcased charcoal burning in the forest. It was empty of content, shallow and clearly, painfully biased!
I have not forgotten another shoddy one he did on Kenya, when Obama became the sole Democratic Presidential candidate, Mckenzie chose our sprawling Kibera slum, to remind the world that Obama has roots in Kenya.
Much as Kenya is yet to get our political and social systems sorted, I think we have a few things right. At this stage, I have to wonder whether this isn’t an indirect assault at Obama’s bid at the whitehouse. What a perfect timing, just after the second debate with Mzee Mccain.
Grrrrrrgh! Nimekasirika sana na huyu kijana!
October 8, 2008 at 8:38 pm
i try for a reason to watch the news…i fail, miserably.
October 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm
@ 31337, I go through seasons whereby I become a news addict, then I go off. Right now, it’s the US elections that are the major pull. I feel like Obama is sorrounded by wolves.
and if I don’t keep him company by watching news, the wolves might devour him.
October 8, 2008 at 9:07 pm
CNN is just shoddy, I believe reporters have editors? Why can’t the editor vet such crap!
Hi
October 9, 2008 at 9:16 am
I have tried to understand what foreign correspondent are about (http://bankelele.blogspot.com/2008/07/foreign-correspondents-in-africa.html) – their competence, audience, employer motivates etc. and there are good and bad reporters, and perhaps looks like a lazy bad report(er)
October 9, 2008 at 1:39 pm
As far as reporting anything out of Africa is concerned the storyline is sort of ‘cast’ in steel-poverty, disease, conflict, confusion, corruption(yet this is one they are partners for life in making it happen)..the list of negatives is endless!The West refuses to see the positive side of the continent as well as people from the continent. I went home recently and marvelled at Westgate-my comment was like the West needs to know that there is a side of Africa that even the mzungus in their own land never have never will experience. In Netherlands for example I DID NOT even ONE time see a supermarket that gives you the shopping experience as Nakumatt does meanwhile as you do your grocery shopping in those small supermarkets some wazungus are amazed that a miro actually knows how to shop in an organized way!
As for that combination of Mackenzie and Becky Anderson! I find Becky Anderson racist though our very own Kofi Annan put her in her place during the last interview she had with him..only Annan Ive heard tell her “that’s stupid to think….” I still get a high remembering the look on her face as well as her entire body language…Sorry for long post on your blog but yeah it gets annoying always being portrayed as a harpless & helpless dirty continent.
October 10, 2008 at 2:41 am
CNN is a republican leaning media house. Though some of their main anchors like Wolf Blitzer and John Anderson support Obama but they try not to do it openly.
I’ve taken a tour of the CNN center in Atlanta and seen first hand how they mass manufacture news to keep viewers glued to the black box.
October 10, 2008 at 8:31 am
MWari I feel your pain. Am not the kind who meets Mackenzie on everyday duties but when we met recently several days believe me I stepped on him intentionally just to hurt him and made sure a cameraman hit him with a stand and felt nothing about it.
Everytime I meet him I just feel to smack his head and he better stay away from my group beacuse we known to harrass guys nicely let him ask the BBC guy who just asked for transfer.
October 10, 2008 at 8:33 am
this CNN business is all too much. they are the first to show the rotten side of us…..i will tell you something and this is prophetic…these people considering wha is happening in their markets will come to Kenya seeking greener pastures cos we are now the land of opportunity.
down with Mackenzie….work permit denied!
October 13, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Television period is very skewd. It is all one parallel universe that I avoid like a plague!
Send that kijana a ’set u straight’ note!!!
October 13, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Don’t get me started on Becky Anderson. In our house we absolutely do not like her. How she even got the job! God forgive me lakini Becky Anderson.. ah aha!
Now let me read the rest of the post!
See how much she aggravates me! To the point that I cannot watch CNN when she is presenting
October 14, 2008 at 9:48 am
I would like Becky Anderson to stop shouting when she is reading news. She is getting herself hoarse and it is bad for her health. she should also cut down on whatever she has been taking that makes her want to intermittently jump up from her seat. Or someone needs to looks whether there is something pricky on her seat.
October 14, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Lol ! Mwari, you described her to the “T”. The other day Big Al was watching CNN and I was hanging around and kept ranting to him “Where the heck is she wanting to go. Shuffling the papers, banging them on the desk, sitting “kombo”, looking here there and everywhere.. almost comical.. if it was not for the over-enunciation of words.
November 4, 2008 at 8:16 pm
David Mckenzie seems to do a good job of presenting the news from what I can tell – he has presented a lot of stories on how Obama has been a really positive force for Kenya and how much they want him to win the American election.
November 18, 2008 at 2:23 pm
@Ryan- It depends from which side you are looking from. The ‘proud’ kenyan I am, I feel he has the intention to only showcase what’s bad in kenya. A balanced approach would be nice. Kenya has alot of good to be shared with the world!
Ofcourse the vilage of Kogelo is now known to the world, thanks to McKenzie!
January 28, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I stumbled on this looking for Mckenzie email to write him. He is South African and you have to understand the way he has to define Africans through the lens of desease, hunger, want and deprevation-thats what African are to him and his kith and keen. Kenya is not Kibera slum and Kebera slum is not Kenya. The Idea that whenever something happens in the world (stock market crises, Obama, food crises etc) he has to pitch Kenya from Kibera says more about him than it says about Kenya. We seem others and they will leave us here. Kenya imara kama simba
October 9, 2009 at 6:16 am
i think as a kenyan living aboard there is a lot of news that is not presented well , i think david does a lot of good presentation about what is going on in kenya, guys don’t hate because he is not kenyan, i did not even know that he is south african. i look forward to reading his blogs as well as watching him on the news. i think he did very well on the obama mania. i also think he is totally hot.
October 22, 2009 at 9:07 pm
i have been following this journalist for a while now, it’s sad that he really reports only on the negative issues that the country faces. there is millions of positive things that happen but we don’t get to here that from him, really sad though. its also interesting the questions that he usually ask, i feel that he fails to deliver 100%, i think maybe he should report from southafrica and let a kenyan have his job.