THE CUTTING EDGE - Daily Nation

CAR HIRE RUSE: Crooks are ripping off unsuspecting would-be car hirers, as John Muniu found out. Still reeling from a disappointment, John advises: “Please don’t trust some of the car rental firms advertising heavily in the newspapers.” On December 24, keen to get a self-drive vehicle, he called one of the firms, whose ‘staff’ promised to send him a car for use on Christmas Day. However, immediately after he sent her the money by M-Pesa, the woman switched off her phone and, several days later, he still could not reach her. “My advice is that you go to the firm, pay the fee and drive away. I have details of this sweet-talking woman if the police, Safaricom or anyone else can help.” His contact is

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VIOLENT POLICE: The increase in cases of killings reportedly by police officers is worrying, says Jimmy Thumbi. These include officers shooting people at will and a recent case of women locked up in a shop and burnt. Among other cases is that of a GSU officer accused of hijacking a woman and others who shot at one another over petty issues. “The many homicide cases involving police officers tend to show a force full of persons whose mental status is suspect. Do the recruiters ever evaluate the mental status of those wanting to join the armed forces?” His contact is

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NOISE MERCHANTS: Mirema Drive, northwest of Nairobi, was a quiet and serene neighbourhood, says a resident who has sought anonymity, fearing being targeted, until the liquor licensing authority recently allowed the proliferation of bars in the area. “We hardly get much sleep and we fear for our children, who’ll go back to school next week and will require some peace and quiet to do their homework.” The bars, the resident claims, play loud music from evening until morning. There are two that are notorious for noise pollution. “Can the authorities, especially the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), please, come to our aid?” pleads the resident on behalf of homeowners, landlords and tenants.

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NEW DECADE OR NOT YET? Only the seasoned mathematicians, Kisumu resident Opiyo Oduwo is fully convinced, can solve this arithmetic puzzle. Adding a new twist to the continuing debate on the supposedly legendary inability of journalists to handle numbers, Opiyo says: “We are apparently celebrating the end of the second decade of the 21st Century prematurely. The second decade of the 21st Century ends on December 31, 2020, and not on December 31, 2019. Do the mathematics again.” His contact is

Have calculable day, won't you!