Hi Makhokha,
Your piece in the Saturday Nation of April 26, 2008 refers. Let me first make you know what an "Army Housewife" is.
Makhoha you and Dipesh Pabari are just trying to be cheeky. "Housewife" may not really make sense to an ordinary civilian and does not carry the meaning you and Dipesh are insinuating. It is an important asset to a soldier in the battlefield and is one of the mandatory items for a full battle order. It is actually an assortment of items ordinarily used by housewives to repair and stitch worn out clothes and garments. It is a small cloth bag containing needles and threads to help soldiers do their own sewing. The name originated in England and is rooted in the English culture and depicts the traditional role of an English housewife. It is important for a soldier who is likely to be away from home for long. So; stop being cheeky. I have attached a picture to help you understand what an "Army Housewife" is.
What bothers me most Mr. Makhokha is the level of ignorance you have displayed in this matter. You have used very many words (235 to be exact) to bring triviality into prominence. I think your piece is a gross abuse of editorial privilege.
I am a writer myself and I have a number of editorials in the Nation and the Standard in my name. I always get baffled by the level of deliberate misinformation which most of you in the 4th Estate take our people through. I am not sure if you spent any time looking for a plausible explanation of the kind of item that the MOD had described as a "house wife". If you had cared to call any serving or retired officer or soldier, you would not only have gotten the simple explanation but you would not have used 235 words to make a fool of yourself. You used good newspaper space to make news of a very petty matter. If you had just taken a few minutes to desk research (i.e. google) you would also have gotten the answer. Your piece clearly depicts a person who has never read anything about war or military history. And many Kenyan media people don't read if the misinformation I read regarding matters legal and military is anything to go by. And that is probably why professionals who research on factual matters rarely get publication space.
I want to imagine in your favour that you just wanted to make fun and create laughter. You did not pull that through because on Friday, the Standard had published an explanation of what the item is all about. To Officers and Soldiers, your piece is not any funny. Just what level of intelligence do you think is required before enlistment? Do you really know what it means to have both the mental and physical aptitude to serve in the Armed forces? Are you suggesting that Military Officers and Soldiers would need help in social blending and etiquette? I can assure you Makhoha, that you are very wrong on this one. Pay a visit to any Officers' Mess and you surely will revise your erroneous impression.
The saving grace is that you are not alone in this pettiness. When I was doing my time offering legal advice to officers and soldiers in the Kenya Air Force & Kenya Army, I used to hear snide remarks from senior officers regarding some professions but brushed them off.
Now I know why generals said that to advance in some professions, one has to major in pettiness.
