Last night I attended this lecture at the Kenya Museum Society by Dr. Richard Potts that had been dubbed event of the week by Kenyabuzz..com. We all know Kenyabuzz don't we? They are the guys who have been doing such a decent job listing events and venues in Kenya that they were given a grant by the Kenya government. So when they list an event as event of the week you sit up and listen.

The talk was quite interesting as it centred around the how humans have evolved. The event which was based on the studies the good professor has done for the last 25 years at the Olorgesailie which is an important space as far as human evolution is concerned. The good professor is passionate about history as that Ross Geller dude on that Friends sitcom that came and ruled the roost in the 1990s. The only difference is that Geller was obsessed with dinosaurs while this one is more in the human being and his evolution.

As he spoke I remembered a trip I had taken last year to visit Olorgesailie in the Rift Valley. I would honestly state that it was one of my favourite trips I have taken around my country. Its not that the place has any really cool hotels or beaches or night clubs or any of those places Nairobians love to go to. In fact within minutes of being there most of the people were dusty the end.

What the place lacked in state of the art amenities it made up for in spades in the history. For those who have any interest in history it amazing to see where pre-historic man started his journey. A journey from struggling against the elements eating what was on offer all the way to presently lining up for hours to have a taste of the latest finger licking good KFC. From hand axes made from stone to I-pods and Samsung Galaxy Minis and the like. Its been a huge leap to say the very least. If you have a random weekend and you are tired with drinking at Ole Polos, Naivasha and Mombasa and have any interest in history then I recommend you give Olorgesailie a shot. You'll have to carry your own booze and food to cook but you will get that priceless feel of history.

While we are talking about the past shall we have a look at the future. Kenya had been a one party state for many many years. As this ended in 1992 monopolies continued to exist in the corporate space and they are slowly being eroded. The EABL was the biggest brewer in the region and they fought battles in the 1990s with South Africa Breweries as they were then called or rather Castle brewing and eventually they did win. Unfortunately, the effect of that battle was to leave most of the company in the hands of Diageo and the company stopped being the preeminent Kenyan brewer. It is now a branch of one of the biggest alcohol manufacturers in the world.

SAB which had since become bigger and now goes by the name SAB miller in the recent past decided to return to Kenya. They have as much chance as anyone now. In fact, they are the biggest African brewer now that EABL (unwisely I premise) decided to become this huge non-Kenyan conglomerate. The only Kenya brewers who have claims to the “Proudly Kenyan” tag happen to be upstart Keroche Breweries who started up 13 years ago and to a smaller extent Sierra beer who are interested in the premium end of the market.

Another monopoly that seems to about to explode locally is in the soft drink market. Coca Cola has been the preeminent soft drinks manufacturer and distributor in the country for ever. In the last few years they have been the people who have been able to react to any entry into their market space as was shown when EABL is dipped Into Coca-Cola's Turf by unleashing Alvaro. It was a battle for Market Pitting Heavy Weights.

There has been a new entrant looming into the market however. Pepsi has apparently been preparing a serious on the Kenyan market. They started first with sorting out their distribution and if you go into many supermarkets locally you can find Pepsi, Morning Dew, Mirinda et all in their own fridges. I suppose they wouldn't have wanted top attack the Kenyan market with marketing then we cant find the product.

This past weekend I saw Pepsi starting to show their faces at the Culture Shock event that was happening at the Impala grounds. This is a relatively small gig but it had many younger Kenyans very excited to test their products. They were also alongside 1FM which is starting to be the voice of young hip “proudly African” Kenyans. Word on the street is that more is coming from the huge soft drinks company in Kenya. Expect campaigns involving their brand ambassadors Beyonce, Lionel Messi et al. We shall be following proceedings keenly.

PS. The last few days have been crazy for Arsenal. After the trauma of being beat 8-2 by the Mancs we have had a complete overhaul of the side.

Out: Denilson (loan), Clichy, Fabregas, Eboue, JET, Vela (loan), Nasri, Traore, Lansbury (loan), Sunu, Campbell (loan), Bendtner (loan)

In: Jenkinson, Gervinho, Chamberlain, Miyaichi (WP granted), Campbell, Park, Santos, Mertesacker, Benayoun, Arteta.

The side is revitalised.

Arsene Knows.

Come on you reds!!!

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