Kimani Chege

Michael Kinyua’s cows are the source of all evil. Kinyua lives on the outskirts of Nairobi, in Ruaka. He owns five cows, which he milks to feed his children, wife Nyokabi and himself. Anything left over is sold to his neighbours, former farmers who are now reluctant city-dwellers in the Kenyan capital’s sprawl. His neighbours are wistful for the days when they, too, were independent entrepreneurs.

A new trust fund in memory of outstanding Kenyan scientist Thomas Risley Odhiambo is being set up by the African Academy of Sciences to bankroll young scientists across the continent who are tackling local problems. Odhiambo believed that scientists could be instrumental in changing the fate of his continent.