By Watchman

For various reasons, many people welcomed the recent elevation of Kisumu and Mombasa to cities. Carol Muasa hopes that the new status "will translate into good news for my favourite media house, the Nation Media Group". She says: "I hope the Communication Commission of Kenya will give it the long overdue broadcasting licence to cover the two new cities. We should also have what those in Nairobi are enjoying – good TV programming, well-presented news and a radio station that both entertains and educates."

Pauline Kuria, mother of a Jumbo Junior account holder at the Co-operative Bank is hopping mad. Proud of her son's frugal ways, Pauline picked up his piggy bank and headed for the bank in Nairobi. To her utter surprise, she was informed by the teller that a commission of 1 per cent would be charged "for the time and effort spent in verifying the cash". Having spent her valuable time counting the coins in different denominations and putting them into separate envelopes, Pauline was not amused.

The first time he sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination in 2000, Kiplangat John scored 537 out of 700 marks. Unfortunately, he couldn't join secondary school as his family failed to raise the fees. Therefore, last year he opted to repeat at Kericho's St Patrick Primary School and excelled once again, this time, scoring 424 out of 500 marks. Kiplangat, who hopes to become a scientist, is worried that he may miss the boat again, though he has done so well. Any good Samaritan out there? His address is P.O. Box 1002, Kericho.

Kimani Gachohi of P.O. Box 623, Nakuru, is not one to give up easily. Though he has applied to the US embassy for a visa eight times, since 1998, he still hopes that lady luck will smile on him some day. His last application was last November 13 and – no prize for guessing – he has received no reply, so far. He says: "I was even at the embassy during the August 7, 1998, blast, having dropped my documents 30 minutes earlier and what a narrow escape! It took nine months to recover my documents from the embassy. Sadly, my I-20 is about to expire."

Blame your wife, Harrison Yieko advises the man who moaned that a rich Thika resident was trying to snatch her from him. He adds: "Propose divorce (as you officially hand her over to him) and copy the letter to the man, the pastor who wedded you, your parents and your parents-in-law, and take off as fast as you can."

The activities of the alleged Thika Casanova wouldn't disturb Mobbi Gichaba at all if the man were dealing with other people's young wives as long as they were 18 years or older. He says: "I'm sure nobody would complain if a rich woman preyed on young men out there at Thika." Mobbi's only fear is Aids and involvement with teenage girls as they are not mature enough to handle such sexual exploitation. "Please, report this man to the police next time you see him going out with an underage girl," he appeals.

At Kilimambogo, near Thika, reports Gilbert Kamau, a ballast mining firm uses powerful explosives daily, late in the morning and in the afternoon. And it's in the vicinity of Kilimambogo and Kianjahi primary schools and Kilimambogo Teachers College. Do the authorities realise the kind of danger this activity poses to the local school and college communities? They should be moved far away, Gilbert pleads.

Have a harmless day, won't you!

*Write to Watchman, PO Box 49010, Nairobi. Faxes: 214531, 213946.
E-mail: watchman@nation.co.ke