Kenya is famous the world over for its athletics prowess. (Photo/@LeonLidigu

Kenya is famous the world over for its athletics prowess. (Photo/@LeonLidigu

Two news stories early this week brought home just how much Kenya is mired in scandal. On Sunday night KTN aired two documentaries that revealed how unscrupulous foreign investors had conspired with prominent politicians and government officials to set up a lead smelter near a slum in the Changamwe area of Mombasa thereby poisoning residents and heaping more misery on an already impoverished area.

“Survey: Kenya heading in the wrong direction” blared the front page of the Kenya’s newspaper of record the Daily Nation on Monday. According to the Ipsos survey on which the lead story was based, 52 percent of Kenyans currently feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction due to corruption, high cost of living and the spike in unemployment.

Amid these gloomy stories a group of Kenyans have tapped into some local pride and taken to social media to try and look at the positive side of the country using the hashtag #SaySomethingNiceAboutKenya

 

But the stench of scandal is too overpowering for some.

The hashtag has also put Kenya’s classic humour on display.

It’s not good to always dwell on the negative. Looking at the positive side of matters however reminds us how great this country could be if we get our act together.