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Ciku Kimeria is a Kenyan author "Of goats and poisoned oranges" - (https://www.amazon.com/goats-poisoned-oranges-Ciku-Kimeria-ebook/dp/B00HBBWPI6), development consultant, adventurer and travel blogger (www.thekenyanexplorer.com). She writes both fiction and non-fiction focusing on African stories that need telling. She has worked on diverse pieces for various international and local publications including Quartz, Ozy, The East African etc. She has travelled to 45 countries – 16 of them in Africa. 153 countries to go and 63 territories!
"Of goats and poisoned oranges" has been extremely well received in Kenya and beyond. It tells the story of a Kenyan middle aged power couple and their complicated marriage. The novel explores issues of greed, revenge, betrayal and murder. It runs from the 1960s to 2013. It has been described as “Wicked, funny, poignant, wacky, human, a big ball of fun and danger”, “A unique and captivating book”, “Fun and intriguing”, “Impossible to put down once you start reading.”
She recently moved to Dakar, Senegal from Kenya to work on her second novel. She also works at as the Africa Communication Manager at a leading global strategy consulting firm.
She holds a B.S. in Management Science from MIT with minors in Urban Planning and International development studies.
Trevor Noah’s Response To Criticism Over Calling France’s World Cup Win An African Win
There are several reasons that a recent video by Trevor Noah – the South African host of The Daily Show – has gone viral. For some context: after France's world cup win, Trevor Noah joked about this being an African win given that the winning team is primarily composed of players of African descent. Some were born in France to African parents, while others were born on the African continent – but all of them have roots on the continent. After making the joke, Trevor Noah was criticized by many in France and received a letter from the French ambassador to the US expressing disapproval at his joke.
The ambassador's sentiment was that by calling the team an African team, Trevor Noah was denying the players their Frenchness—something far-right groups in France often do when it comes to Africans and Arabs. Trevor acknowledged that this happens, but also emphasized that when he – an African, born and raised on the continent – calls them an African team, it is out of admiration. He also called out the attitude of claiming immigrants when they are successful, but attributing any negative issues to their "Africanness."
“I watch what politicians say about African migrants when they are unemployed, when they may commit a crime, or when they're considered unsavory, they are 'African immigrants’,” Noah added. “When their children go on to provide a World Cup victory for France, we should only refer to it as French.”
Trevor Noah also called out the erasure of origins that France is forcing on its African immigrants when it can't accept that they can be both African and French. He explained that he finds it "weird" to suggest the players can't simultaneously be African and French.
"Why can't they be both?" he said to applause.
As I celebrated the French World Cup victory, I celebrated knowing that families in Congo, Cameroon, Guinea and several other countries, along with France, were celebrating their sons."So what they're arguing here is, in order to be French, you have to erase everything that is African?"
