Finesse, no doubt, is at its best at the feet of both diplomacy and excellence.  It is at its most rarefied at the finest expressions of excellence in diplomacy.

Ideally, it is unfathomable to pursue diplomacy without the sensibility of excellence.  In other words, excellence is diplomacy’s indispensable centerpiece and insignia. The question however is “excellence in what”?

Before I venture into details, may I indulge you in my three most enduring impressions of excellence in diplomacy.

During my undergraduate days, slightly over two decades ago, I had this friend whose elder brother, a Kenyan, lawyer by training and a UN employee became my mentor. He was a man of few and circumspectly chosen words. To me, he was the ultimate expression of temperance, spontaneous genius and subtlety of demeanor.  He still is. That’s one.

Powerful documentary precedes Kenyan referendum, reminds of last General Election

A 24 Media and Camerapix, in collaboration with Transparency International-Kenya, launched a deeply insightful and powerful documentary titled Kikulacho - The Bite Within, at the Silverbird Cinemas in Nairobi last month.

How devastating are poor organisation and management to a country and its people? How can we ensure better leadership and a better tomorrow for our children?
These are some of the themes explored and exposed in the film Kikulacho – the Bite Within. Kikulacho is a moving Kenyan documentary that examines how corrupt systems and policies have impacted on the common people. But it is also a story of hope and triumph that aims to look at how our institutions and leadership can be shaped by the people themselves to realise their dreams.

The film was broadcast on Nation Media Group’s NTV in July, followed by a global release. It comes at a critical time in Kenya’s history. At the time of the launch, the country was on the threshold of voting in a referendum on a new constitution.

The world, it is said, is becoming a global village – ever shrinking as a result of our ability to communicate through advancing technology.The limited history we are taught tells only of famous European explorers, so we presume that our own African ancestors never went beyond the marketplace of their home village or the next village for the more adventurous. The truth is, there is much evidence that they left deep footprints across the world.

Legend has it that California in the United States is named after an African queen, Califia. The story goes that Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez learned of California, a nation of powerful Black women and ruled by Queen Califia  from a 17^th century best-selling adventure story the Exploits of Esplandian by Garci Oronez de Montalvo and published in Seville in 1510.

Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box

By MADELEINE ALBRIGHT ($40 Hardcover)

Reviewed By JOHN MULAA

Pins, pendants, brooches and other forms of decorative ware have been part of man’s sartorial ensemble from the time of the caveman and Neanderthals, or, for the religiously inclined, since the Garden of Eden after the fall.Leaves to cover nakedness must surely have been complemented with ornaments soon after Adam and Eve were told by God they were on their own.

Insignias to signify rank, importance or prestige are ubiquitous. In the military, Napoleon Bonaparte hit on the wise and inexpensive idea of rewarding his officers and men with medals. Medals, stripes and other forms of rank and valour signifying ornaments constitute an essential part of military culture everywhere to this day.

In some political cultures, wearing pins to signify fealty to a cause or leader is de rigor. Kenyans who experienced a dose of intense Nyayoisim must remember the era of pins when just about everyone in public life wore a Nyayo pin. To be spotted not wearing one in public could have yielded not-so-pleasant consequences.