Noise galore!

It is no wonder that every year, Coast Province in general and Mombasa in particular performs abysmally low academically compared to the rest of the country.

One wonders why, naturally. There are many reasons, of course, but one of them is that the level of NOISE in this county is awful!

Imagine that you are a visitor here and entering Mombasa for the first time. One of the main things that will hit you will be the level of noise and next is the overflowing garbage all over town (city....?!), and the resulting smell and unhealthy environment.

Starting from the traffic to the promotions of various things is done with ear-splitting 'music' using huge speakers, certain tuk tuks which are diesel powered, heavy transport, matatus and private vehicles equally playing loud music which one can hear even if those vehicles' windows were closed, etc., give no thought to the fact that they are polluting the environment.

Of course, to add to all this racket are the religious noises emanating from mosques and churches

Then in this day and age when fuel is so expensive, there is no improvement in the way all these vehicles are operated. Meaning that when they are dropping off people or delivering goods somewhere. They leave their vehicles on idle and the noise and fumes that they give out have to be experienced to appreciate what I am talking about.

Since this is an election year, our recycled politicians, instead of obeying the environmental laws, go about everywhere, with huge speakers tied to various vehicles promoting themselves with - again, you've guessed it - AWFUL 'MUSIC'!

Unfortunately, despite having environmental laws regarding noise pollution, none of our environmental officials - country and county wide seem to be doing their jobs of enforcing these laws and so they have become as good as not being there, anymore, utterly USELESS!

And so now to get back to the initial point of all this noisy environment interfering with our children who are trying to study. They don't and cannot and hence, this county is one of those that hardly ever produce outstanding academic scholars, unfortunately.

What is it about Friday....?

The non-Muslims among us must be wondering, especially those living around the Umoja Estate in Nyali, that while mercifully the whole week, at least two Mosques among the umpteen ones we are surrounded by, have reduced their noise level, Alhamdulillah, comes Friday, and we are inundated by the racket!

So, my question, since I too, am a Muslim, what is it about Friday that they should make more noise than normal? While the Qur'an tells the believers to especially treat the mid-day prayer on Friday as very important and to leave everything aside when they hear the call to prayer and attend congregational worship in the mosque. More so for the men which is a MUST. 

Nowhere in the entire Qur'an nor in the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw), does it say that the prayer should be extra-loud or even the sermon (which is counted as part of the prayer). All of this is supposed to be heard only by the attendees in the mosque/s, just like any other day or prayer.

Therefore, my question is, why are these Imams and Muslims in general changing the rules? 

If one is not even supposed to disturb the person/s standing in line next to us while praying, who gives you the right to disturb those of us who are living in the vicinity of mosques, and who are also trying to say our prayers (those of us who are females, Muslims and not attending mosques)? By the way, it's optional for women to attend mosques for prayers.

What is the matter with the authorities like NEMA and the County Environment Dept., that they continue to let religious noise pollution carry on? When talking to them one gets the impression that they are either scared stiff of applying this law regarding noise pollution or don't know much about what Islam actually says regarding this loud leading of prayers in all the mosques. They should first and foremost separate freedom of religion from senseless noise-making and then carry on from there. If they don't know what Islam allows and doesn't allow, they should educate themselves.

And don't ask residents who are getting disturbed that they sign a letter to them which is when they will take action. Regarding this, if Islam really allowed loud leading of prayers, etc., our signatures would have scant effect on these people. And if they accepted our signatures, it would show that our religion does not allow disturbing others! Also, how do they manage in other countries which are more law-abiding and don't tolerate noise? Such places don't even allow the loud call to prayer on the PA system.

So, will something be done about this, please?

What we all feared, has started happening....!

Today is just the 2nd day of Ramadhan and one of our neighbourhood mosques (Umoja Estate is surrounded by them), is leading the late night prayers over the PA system, again!

For the past week there's been some peace during prayer times when ONLY the calls to prayer have been on the PA systems and as I write this it is 9.00 pm and the special prayers that one says during Ramadhan called Tarawih, are being led very loudly on the PA system of one of the mosques.

Does this mean that our peace and quiet is now gone and since this mosque has started disturbing the whole neighbourhood, others will follow in its wake?

May I again remind this Imam and the various attendees who are praying in these mosques to PLEASE, have consideration for their neighbours as well as the fact that nowhere in the practice of the Holy Prophet (saw), was this done nor is it allowed in the Holy Qur'an to disturb others. It is NOT VALID for others to follow him and therefore, only the ones INSIDE THE MOSQUE are supposed to hear him and so the PA system should be switched inside and NOT OUTSIDE for everyone to be disturbed. 

Please, do remember that most of your neighbours would like to go to bed early and whom you are keeping awake with your loud prayers.... or are you trying to show off to others that you are so holy and as proof you are leading these loud prayers?!

If that is the case, then the Qur'an speaks of people like you - you have little of faith and would just like to be seen and heard by men, i.e. show off how holy you are!!! Then, shame on you, all. What you are practicing is definitely NOT the ISLAM THAT THE HOLY PROPHET (saw), came with!

Have consideration for your neighbours for there are many non-muslims living amongst us and even the Muslims are getting disturbed and cannot do what they would like. Which can be their own prayers, sleep, etc.

The offensive and disturbing noises continue....

 It is beyond me to understand, why some of my muslim brothers are so insistent on having a peaceful and quiet neighbourhood erupt into incoherent noise comes Friday mid-day prayers.

On what basis do they insist on doing this? If, as some on social media, have rudely told us (muslims and non-muslim alike), to move or that they are trying to 'spread' Islam by giving loud and incoherent sermons on the PA systems, I would like to again ask them where in the practice of our beloved Prophet (saw), was this the case. 

Again, I would like to point out to them that there are a multitude of different kinds of people living within hearing distance of these loud sermons followed by prayers and they are disturbing EVERYBODY. I, being a Muslim, myself, was disturbed by this nearly half an hour of sermons being given in the mosques surrounding us. Since, they are ALL loudly given, we cannot make sense of anything. The ONLY thing it does is interfere in our prayers and/or anything else we might be doing at the time. 

Now, imagine the effect these loud (and competing sermons), will have on those fasting from next week. We are told in the Qur'an and the Seerah of the Prophet (saw), to observe more ibadah during this month. Therefore, we will be doing more prayers and especially reciting the Holy Qur'an more than usual, but, these mosques will probably be making more noise than ever, thereby incurring Allah's wrath because they'll be disturbing their neighbours.

So, for what purpose do you do this? You are DEFINITELY NOT doing ANYTHING meritorious by inconveniencing your neighbours, believe me. Again, I would beseech you all to look up what the rights of neighbours are......, not what you're practicing!

By rudely telling us to move, is highly offensive and uncalled-for and akin to giving threats. And I would remind you that Islam was never spread by threats and violence but by adhering to the Qur'anic teachings and practice of the Prophet (saw). 

Islam stands for PEACE and your behaviour is anything but, that. So, PLEASE stop being pests!

Noisy Mosques...continued from the last post....

While the mosques around Umoja estate have considerably reduced their noise levels, and we thought that the bliss would continue, but unfortunately it all lasted only till today, a Friday, 2nd April 2021!

Today, the noise level increased considerably and the sermon after the Adhan, was again given using the outside PA system. This is not allowed. Like the prayer which is to be done only for those within the mosque, the sermon, too is only for them, NOT for the public.

Now, I wonder if this is in preparation for the coming Holy month of Ramadhan? Are we all going to be inundated with noise from all the mosques surrounding us on a daily basis?

I would again, like to ask these imams, why do they do this? First, even if we were inclined to listen (which we are NOT AT ALL!), to their noisy sermons/prayers, etc., we cannot understand or hear what they are saying due to other mosques competing with each other on who can be the loudest. In fact, they sound more like they are telling off their congregants and whoever is listening to them and that they are quarrelling!

The other thing I would like to remind these noisemakers is the fact, that when they are reciting the Qur'an, we, Muslims are told to listen to it. Now, they are putting the non-mosque going Muslim public in a dilemma - we cannot make out a thing other than noise, when they are reciting the Qur'an on PA systems and others are also doing the same. Therefore, they are making a mockery of the Qur'an.

Can they please, stop this? You are disturbing your neighbours which is against Islam! Please do not confuse the freedom of religion with that of noise pollution.

Noisy mosques and religious noises in general

While Umoja Estate in Nyali is surrounded by umpteen numbers of mosques, there's a new one that's been built within hearing and visual distance from us and which has since Thursday, 25th March 2021, acquired one of the LOUDEST public address systems around. The 2nd loudest one is the mosque at Ratna Square.

After having suffered from the EXTREMELY LOUD call to prayer at 4.30 am on the 25th of March 2021 over an hour nearly before the actual morning prayers, the imam then gave another call about 45 minutes later and another one after 5 to 10 minutes. Soon after the actual prayer started which is normally led by the imam.

Now, can anybody tell me (I am a muslim, too, who gets up for prayers in the mornings), what is the point of leading prayers so loudly that the whole neighbourhood and those farther afield can hear, depending on how loud is the PA system that is being used? For the information of non-muslims and quite a few fellow ignorant Muslims, this is invalid. It is invalid for me for example to follow this offensive imam. Since we cannot follow that loud imam who seems to think that what he's doing is a meritorious act, what is the point of him doing this? The ONLY people who have to hear him are the ones inside the mosque! So why are these mosques heard leading entire prayers and sermons outside the mosques? Why not have speakers inside the prayer hall/s so that all the congregants can hear him and not the entire neighbourhood?

In fact, he's disturbing others who are praying and also the non-muslims among us not to mention the sick, the elderly, and the children.

When I went to see the mosque imam the next day to request him to lower the volume of everything including the call to prayer, him and his companions (there were several guys with him), completely denied that the racket emanates from their mosque! My neighbours have all heard them and this mosque, Al Buraq, is awfully loud and we are ALL fearing what they are going to do during Ramadhan when almost ALL mosques will become even louder for an entire month!!!

One of the guys there challenged me to make a recording and then go there to accuse them of being loud. Unfortunately, I cannot do this since I am praying at this time, too. I would also like to ask all those Muslims who seem to find my post offensive to please let me know where in the Qur'an or the practice of the Prophet (saw), is this behaviour allowed and THEN come back to me with your accusations.

Other than the call to prayer, no other part of the prayer is supposed to be heard outside! Also, since there are so many mosques around there's no need for the call to prayer to be so loud that the sound from other mosques overlaps it! It is TERRIBLE. One would think that the various PA systems are competing with each other.

Will somebody in authority please act on this?

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The decimating of one tree!

Since the 15th of April, somebody with our water company decided to cut down a very old Khungu tree just outside our (Umoja Estate), fence.

Why? So that our water company can put down water pipes for the complainant/s as they don't get water. All this is fine and they even got a permit to chop down the tree.

The cutting down started on the 15th, but my question is - how long does it take to cut a single tree? It seems, many, many days! Those of us who live right next to this ex-tree, now probably going to be firewood, have to put up with the terrible noise of the chainsaw used in chopping it up. It goes on for hours on end. We cannot talk, have a phone conversation, etc., without having to shout to be heard and are now getting very, very FED UP with the awful noise!

They were working even on a Sunday till nearly 6.00 pm. I tried calling our County control room where I was assured that someone was being sent out to deal with the situation, hours later when the noise persisted, I called again and was told that their vehicle was out and would come here when finished with whatever it was doing.

The long and the short of it all has been that our redoubtable County officialdom just gives us these numbers to call with over-polite people answering at the other end who make us feel that something will be done, but nothing really is!

Since I happen to be a member of the North Coase Rate-payers and Residents Association, I asked them for help and our office assistant immediately tried getting the help of the County Environment office who assured him that they would pay a visit the next day. Of course, nothing happened and to date, nothing has.

Now, my question to our various officials is this... Do they really work? And that too in a timely manner so that they are not too late. For example, in this case, it seems that they delay doing anything as they are waiting for the issue to pass them by and when they eventually do make their way to the offending place, everything will be over and the complainant will be told that they could not find anything going on...!

So, my question remains - how long does it take to chop up a single tree?

Campaign racket

As I  write this, we, in this residential area of Nyali (near Cinemax), are being inundated with an unbelievably ear-splitting campaign racket coming from the main road. This happens EVERY SINGLE DAY come rain, hail or shine. 

We, the residents are least interested in this kind of 'banana republic type' of campaigning that our useless, brainless and idiotic so-called politicains have of trying to get themselves votes from us.

Since we cannot engage them with our questions on what they stand for, etc., most of us WILL NOT BOTHER TO vote for such insensitive and disturbing politicians, most of whom are a 'recycled' lot who care NOTHING for law and order or justice!

Can the present, nearly on the way out (hopefully), politicians still holding office, please do their final service to the residents of Mombasa by getting rid of these noise polluters, please?

The continued festering wound of noise during the ASK Show...

Since I wrote about this a couple of  days ago to  the NEMA County Director, Mr. Stephen Wambua, nothing has changed regarding the decibels at which music is played all night at this Showground.

Even as I write this, there is the boom, boom sound coming from there.

It would seem that many people who live in Nyali but are not at the receiving end of this racket, cannot understand why I  keep picking on the various authorities for not containing this noise.

While this ASK Show has been taking place at its present location since decades, the noise level has increased since the 1990s.

Unfortunately, our town planners have deemed it fit to also allow residential buildings to sprout all around this show ground.

In other towns and cities in the country, this is not always the case, e.g., Nairobi. There are very few residences close to the Showground, there. So, why is it that in Mombasa it has been allowed to the detriment of  the residents.

There seems to be no kind of  compromise by the Show convenors to allow for this state of affairs and one has to live within the environs of this ground to appreciate what I  am talking about.

Despite there being noise  pollution laws in place, they are not  applied here. Why?

So many of us work, have or are sick or have small children. Can these authorities tell us how we should deal with these, please?

Noise from the ASK Showground

It is now past 1.00 am in the morning (midnight), and most of us who live within hearing distance (and this distance can be measured not in metres, but in kilometres), of this contentious showground cannot get any sleep thanks to the continuous boom, boom kind of racket that is coming from there since this morning.

In the daytime it is not so obvious, but still  disturbing as it goes on and on.....

Now, it's night and it is terrible. Can the various officialdom in-charge of noise pollution PLEASE do their work and get these people to stop henceforth or get out of town with their yearly, nearly a week long racket?!

And if 'officialdom' thinks that they can assign a bedtime for the showgrounds near and far neighbours of 11.00 pm, like they do with other noisy events like weddings, etc., they had better NOT have this noise AT ALL HOURS! We want to live with as little noise as possible in our houses, please.

We are very fed up!!!!

Raziya (member of NCRRA on the environment committee)

Fwd: Unbearable noise coming from the ASK Showground....

Despite having written this last night as an appeal to the ASK Showground authorities as well as NEMA (which is proving itself to  be a very 'cosmetic' outfit without ANY TEETH WHATSOEVER!), there seems to be no reduction in the noise level and sounds like we are in for  another sleepless night!

As Kenyans we are known to be quite lawless in ALL of our dealings with officialdom, and this seems to be just another example of how far this lawlessness goes. Though, there are environmental laws in place regarding noise, it seems that these are applied selectively - only when it suits officialdom.

In nearly in every other town in this lawless country of ours, this ASK Show is held quite far from the town and especially residential areas, except in Mombasa. Why? If these organizers of the 'show' insist on playing their boom, boom and ear splitting 'music' all through the night, we the residents of Nyali and all those within hearing distance of their racket have to insist that they henceforth hold this obnoxious 'show' on the outskirts of town and not within it's boundaries, please.

We are getting thoroughly FED UP of this persistent racket that we are inundated with for 5 days and the insolent attitude of it's organizers who are ignoring the residents' appeal. In fact, we thoroughly HATE IT!!!!

Please get out of town and stay out as long as you want to make a racket.

Unbearable noise coming from the ASK Showground....

Every year we, who live in Nyali in the environs of the ASK Showground DREAD this event! 

Why? The racket that comes out of that place is terrible and gives us sleepless nights and headachy days..... for 5 CONTINUOUS DAYS!!!!!

There is  a NEMA noise pollution law that says that any sound should not travel beyond 30 meters from the source, but, this one travels far beyond that limit. In fact, it's heard on the Island of Mombasa, too.

Then, the unfortunate part of all this is that, it goes on 24 hours a day for all the 5 days that the 'show' is on. Most of us HATE it!!!!

Do you people really care about the effect loud and sustained noise has on the human psyche? Please, do think about this and reduce the racket. It will be much appreciated.

Neighbours and noise

I believe that people who live in close proximity to each other should not disturb their neighbours with their obnoxious behaviour.

One of these is playing loud vibrating kind of music.

The reason I am compelled to write this is because I have one such very insensitive neighbour who since early this morning and whenever she is at home, insists on playing this kind of boom, boom music despite having been requested to lower the volume every time she does this which is practically EVERYDAY!!!!

This set me thinking about the kind of  character she is...

Is she trying to drown out her very disturbing thoughts with noise? One wonders at this... If true, she needs to see a shrink!

Or maybe she is deaf?

Or she is intentionally trying to 'entertain' her unwilling neighbours?

Or she is deliberately being offensive? But why?

As far as we know, we do not disturb her in like manner ALL the time!

I wish I knew her contact so that I would have sent her this email, too, which would, I believe, have resulted in her reducing the volume to a more 'civilized' level.... I  hope and pray.

Sleepless night in the name of merry making...

As I write this, we are inundated with unbelievable noise and this started soon after sunset and it is now past 3.00 am!!!

This is a residential area, yet, the people responsible for this noise put up a marquee outside our estate boundary day before yesterday, i.e. Thursday and that night we were disturbed till around midnight, but since last night the merry making is still going on with complete insolence. 

The place is so small, yet, one wonders why they have to use huge speakers and a PA system to 'celebrate'. Calling our local Nyali OCS has proved totally ineffective. It seems he and his men in blue are helpless and one wonders why.....?

And who is the thoughtless person who gives 'permits' for such insane and disturbing merry making to be held in the open in the middle of a residential area? Does the person have any sense?

So, now we are being tortured by a small party out there for the whole night, so that they can 'enjoy' themselves. 

Are there no rules and regulations regarding such noise making? If there are, who, how and when will they be enforced?

I hope order and justice will soon prevail. But, I don't think it will be in my lifetime, unfortunately. I tweeted to the Kenya police a while ago, but, there too, there's been no response.

Oh, my dear Muslims.....

Why is it that you (Muslims), do not follow the teachings of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in your everyday lives?

I know that this above statement will immediately cause consternation among most of you, but, bear with me for a while and I will point out to you some examples, Insha'Allah.

1. Where in Islam does it say that you practice your religion loudly? Meaning, after giving the Adhan for prayers, why do you insist on leading prayers so loudly on the public address system that your neighbours - Muslim and non-Muslim get disturbed?

2. Why do you give the Fajr adhan one hour before the actual time? This was not the practice of the Holy Prophet.

3. And when the neighbourhood (both Muslim & non-Muslim), whom you disturb every single day, 5 times a day tries to request you to reduce the volume of your speakers, you in turn threaten them?

This is also against the environmental laws of our land and when you are told about that, you threaten these people with dire consequences and not to interfere in the practice of your religion!

For your information, and reminder - this behaviour is not the teaching of our beautiful and peaceful religion of Islam.

Don't you read in the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), that we are told not even to say our prayers so loud that it will disturb the person standing next to us in prayers? That we are not to disturb our neighbour (Muslim & non-Muslim), near and far with our actions?

That there is no compulsion in religion - Surah Baqarah verse 256. So, why do you behave like illiterate and violent people? Thereby giving our beautiful religion a bad name? 

Does it not bother you?

Again, coming back to the loud leading of prayers in mosques;  there are countless mosques all over Coast Province and the country at large where every neighbourhood has not just one but more than one mosque. So, why the need for this noise?

I am a Muslim and get very disturbed when praying at home by our various neighbouhood mosques. Our estate is surrounded by about 4 to 5 of them!

Then, when reciting the Holy Qur'an aloud in this manner (with different mosques reciting different passages of it), there is a cacophony of noise and even if we wanted to listen to one, we could not, as the Holy Qur'an tells us. That when it is being recited we should pay attention and listen to its recitation. 

For how can we when every mosque erupts into noise around the same time?

Anyway, it is totally invalid for one to try and follow an Imam from one's home. Therefore, what is the point of this loud leading of prayers? Are you trying to show the rest of the world that you are praying? This would have no meaning in the sight of Allah, if so. 

Therefore, we would really appreciate it if you would please, go back to the true teachings of Islam and live and practice this religion peacefully among your various neighbours. You will be blessed by Allah.

Revisiting the ASK Showground racket and it's possible solutions...

The above it about to take place next week smack on our (Muslim's), day of Eid, i.e. Wednesday. Now, from what I have been told about the forwarded date is so that Muslims can attend. This is fine and as Muslims we appreciate this consideration, but, what we (the Nyali residents who live in the environs of this Showground), have an objection to is the vibrating racket that emanates from this ground ALL of the days that it is on including all through the night!

Last year, the management of the Showground had scant regarding for the neighbourhood not even for NEMA's officials who repeatedly visited there to get these people to reduce their noise.

It  would seem that impunity and insolence in this country knows no bounds! All the same, I am including one of my emails from last year that I wrote with possible solutions and we hope and pray that this time round SOMEBODY out there will take heed to our pleas.

We DO NOT want to have sleepless and restless nights starting mid next week - PLEASE!!!!!

Raziya


On 8/17/2010 12:02 PM, Raziya wrote:

 'Morning!


After having suffered sleepless nights for nearly a whole week thanks to the ASK Showground maddening racket, I have several suggestions from the various residents (victims), and myself to this annual problem in the middle of a mainly residential area.


There are also some observations included.


1.    Since this is an agricultural show (basically), why include deafening and 24 hours of music into it? In other words exclude the music.


2.    If, it is not possible to do this, then, enforce a decibel level which is acceptable to the mainly residential neighbourhood. Or, have these offenders build themselves a soundproofed enclosed  space.


3.    And if even this is not enforceable and possible, then, move the whole outfit out of this neighbourhood and take it to a less populated place which is not within hearing distance of any populated place. For now, this racket can be heard for miles/kilometers away from the source e.g. the Island of Mombasa proper which is right across from English point and can even be heard in Tudor, etc. At the North Mainland, it can be heard very far, too.


Now, for the observations....


Is our Town Planning Dept. in working order? If so, are they not aware that for people to live peaceful and productive lives, they should not be mixing various things together. Like heavy commercial businesses, night-clubs/bars, etc., within a residential area?


This Show ground is a very offending case in point as well as a shipping office that has been allowed to set up shop round the corner from where I live called Sea Bulk and which attracts huge articulated traffic which is not meant for this side lane and are highly noisy and an obstruction to traffic, too. Reporting this to the Traffic Police has not resulted in any action. Maybe, the owners have 'connections'...?


RE the Showground noisy madness which NEMA was aware of from day one, but, were completely helpless in dealing with. This, I was briefly told was because the Showground management was not at all cooperative. In the process we had to put up with their racket way into the very early hours of Monday morning despite the Show itself having ended on Sunday. Why? Is NEMA without sharp enough teeth? Or were they trying not to tread on some 'interesting' toes by being 'diplomatic'?


So, can the Town Planners start putting their collective heads together and come up with a viable solution, please?


Waiting...,
Raziya

Re: Burning garbage... and the forthcoming ASK Showground racket

Since, my email of yesterday and my talk on the phone with Mr. Wemali, I've had very little encouraging news to report regarding NEMA's action on this matter.

In fact, when I could not get either Mr. Wemali or Mr. Bakari Mangale to take action on the matter, I was compelled to call NEMA's head office in Nairobi. I was finally put through to a Mr. Reagan Awino who in turn gave me the Provincial Director's cell phone number and email address. When I called him, I found that he was on leave but, he smsed me a Mr. Shimba's number.

The final outcome of all these calls was that, nothing could be done today till Mr. Shimba consults with Mr. Bakari tomorrow. In fact, Mr. Shimba did scant little when I had called him the first time earlier in the afternoon, it seems. It was when, I called him again around sunset when clouds of smoke started emanating from the same plot and enveloping the whole area, that I was told that we in this neighbourhood  would have to spend another night inhaling this obnoxious air. I was and am thoroughly disgusted with the way NEMA works..... or rather it does not, in fact. My parting sentence to Mr. Shimba was that I would pass out IF NEMA would do it's work effectively and promptly hung up!

Btw, I think I know what might have miffed Mr. Shimba off. When I requested that they (NEMA), should also, while there's ample time, to look into the forthcoming ASK Show in August and the racket that the residents of Nyali and part of the Island of Mombasa are unwillingly treated to every year. This year, it will also be Ramadhan, then. He was not in the least sympathetic and told me that they have every right to do this since it's a National event. Doesn't matter that there is a NEMA law against noise which says that it should not be heard beyond a distance of 30 metres. This ASK Showground racket is heard for kilometres around!

I have now requested some other people to take up this challenge and I hope and pray that they will be more successful and we, in this neighbourhood, will not have to inhale muck which is highly dangerous to our health.

Burning garbage...

As I write this, most of our estate is enveloped in smoke since 7.15 pm and it is still going on!

I have tried calling Mr. Ben Wemali of NEMA, and when he finally answered, I was told that they are going to do something about it tomorrow. So, till then we spend most of tonight inhaling acrid smoke.

NEMA had, we thought, put a stop to this regular practice last year, but, it would seem that the owner of the plot has gone back to burning what his people dump in that empty plot next to our estate. And since, I took pictures of what they do in the daytime, last year and 'shared' them with the media among others, he/she has taken to setting fire to the collected garbage under cover of darkness.

Of course, our useless Council is also to blame since they do not collect garbage on a regular basis and Mombasa has now got itself the reputation of being one of the dirtiest and stinking 'cities' in the entire country! Starting from the Airport (imagine this from the tourist point of view), as we cross the Makupa Causeway, among the first things that one notices is the traffic chaos, and then a stench assailing our olfactory senses. This comes courtesy of Kibarani.

Heading further afield into town or after crossing the Nyali bridge, people encounter another 'interim' dump site this time courtesy of our Council, on the Mombasa/Malindi road. Again, there is also the chaotic traffic which is also highly noisy.

I'm sure our foreign  visitors think that this place looks like a proper banana republic of their imagination. Where anything goes and no applicable law is apparent to them.

If our officialdom has no care about the residents and the kind of lives they are compelled to live, shouldn't they at least be thinking of the fact that Coast Province, in particular Mombasa is a great tourist attraction? And therefore, clean it up physically and also it's act?

I am wondering if NEMA and it's representative in the form of Mr. Ben Wemali will keep his promise of dealing with the latest environmental 'enemy', that I have reported. They should also inform the public on how to deal with uncollected garbage without setting it on fire.

Re: Fw: Noise in the name of religion...

It is so interesting to note that the religious racket is quite disciplined up-country compared to here, at Coast Province. Possibly because there are fewer mosques and the people who have to listen to the noise both Christian and Muslim, also don't tolerate the nonsense for too long.

The NEMA and various other law enforcers including the cops, for some reason are also more prone to listening and acting on such issues.

Unfortunately, for us here at Coast Province, as soon as one enters Mombasa, one is overwhelmed by noise, lawlessness of many kind, stench from various sources and one gets the impression that one has entered a place where there's little regard for the rights of others - extreme selfishness!

Though, I've mentioned this observation umpteen numbers of times in my numerous emails in the past, I will continue mentioning this logic ad infinitum, till NEMA and other officialdom will act on it.

First, why are mosques, churches, etc., allowed to be built indiscriminately everywhere?

Second, and if they are for the convenience of the residents, then, why is there the need for public address systems to call the faithful to prayer and even have the whole prayer and/or sermon be heard on the PA system for all the world to hear whether they want to or not?

Third, since there are so many of these houses of worship within close proximity to each other and all of them start making their religious racket around the same time everyday, the result is utter chaos and noise pollution at it's worst.

Fourth, why is it necessary for a prayer service to be heard outside the mosque or church when it is invalid for a Muslim (from the Muslim point of view and according to our prayer rules), to follow the imam at the mosque when one is even in a house next door? Therefore, what is the need of this prayer to be heard on the outside?

With regards to mosques and the imams who lead the prayers - are they so very illiterate that they cannot understand this simple logic? Can they not take up my challenge when I have asked them to come forward with any valid argument which is based on the Qur'an and practice of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh), which would justify their ignorant and abhorrent behaviour? By keeping silent, they are just advertising their ignorance regarding their faith.


On 2/14/2011 4:01 PM, Shaileen Shah wrote:

Hi Raziya,

You R NOT the ONLY ONE2feel soooo frustrated!

NO ONE wants2DELIVER what they R paid a salary for!

BUT

NEVER,

never,

GIVE-UP!

Good Luck

Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS,
Box 80197,Mombasa 80100,KENYA.
ph:+254 202326282(O)
+254 41 2224954(R)
Mobi:0722 858303/0733777856

----- Original Message -----

From: Raziya Mohamedali

To: Shaileen Shah

Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 2:12 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Noise in the name of religion...

Hi, Shaileen!

I'm sorry but I've been offline for over a week since returning to this lawless and noisy town! Of course there was the matter of power (still is...), then neither my orange modem nor the livebox were working due to a signal problem and the modem is still not thanks to their useless signal at my place. Even after having reactivated the livebox, it didn't work till Friday, but, then we had another day long outage from KPLC and over the weekend I was very busy.

So, today after over a week of not having dealt with any emails, I'm trying to catch up with a huge backlog of over 150 emails and have finally come to yours..... I am going to deal with it in due course, so please have some patience as I still have nearly a hundred emails still waiting to be read, etc.

I haven't even had my breakfast, forget about lunch, yet and it's already past 2.00 pm!!!

So, ciao for now,
Raziya

On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 4:11 PM, Shaileen Shah <shylyn@hecl.co.ke> wrote:

Hello Raziya!

Please do NOT relent in this exercise!

IMPUNITY in KENYA has to STOP,

PERIOD!

GOODLUCK!

Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS,
Box 80197,Mombasa 80100,KENYA.
ph:+254 202326282(O)
+254 41 2224954(R)
Mobi:0722 858303/0733777856

----- Original Message -----

From: Raziya

To: Mr. Odero - OCPD Urban, Msa

Cc: Director General, National Environment Management Authority ; Director General, National Environment Management Authority ; Wemali ; Bakari Mangale, District Environment Officer, Msa

Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 10:48 AM

Subject: Fwd: Noise in the name of religion...

Dear Mr. Odero,

I was given your email address by a friend who prefers to remain anonymous but, is getting disturbed by the noise made by various religious institutions in this town. Because, this person knows about my writing since years regarding this very contentious issue, I was requested to forward my latest write-up about it to you.

NEMA has a law nowadays regarding this, but, they seem to have been intimidated by some of the Muslims from taking action.

Since, I am a Muslim too, I have great objection to my fellow Muslims disturbing others while worshiping as there is no justification for what they practice. Below, are the points and I challenge any Muslim to dispute these. In fact, I have in my previous emails asked these people to justify their noisy prayers, etc., but, have not had any response, yet. Therefore, it means that they have no reply to what they practice and it is not a part of our faith to disturb others, including fellow Muslims.

We would all, as residents of Mombasa, really appreciate it, if you could take some action, as NEMA can't or won't.

Yours Sincerely,
Raziya

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Noise in the name of religion...
Date:	Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:46:03 +0300
From:	Raziya <rmohamedali@gmail.com>
To:	pcontracts@kenya.go.ke, akariuki@nema.go.ke, Tubmun Otieno:MCM Town Clerk <tubmun@gmail.com>, amnestykenya@sections.amnesty.org, amwinzi@nema.go.ke, power_orgke@yahoo.com, wmathai@greenbeltmovement.org, Cecilia.Andersson@unhabitat.org, ps@psrpc.go.ke, president@statehousekenya.go.ke, raila@raila07.com, abuubakarm@yahoo.com, peoplesttlmntntwrk@yahoo.com, gbm@wananchi.com, ukweli@wananchi.com, haki@knchr.org, ilishe@wananchi.com, info@kara.or.ke, transparency@tikenya.org, railaaodinga@yahoo.com, kacc@integrity.go.ke, omondiosewe@yahoo.com, kmukiri@localgovernment.go.ke, kyengoi@nema.go.ke, ti@transparency.org, thegpr@swiftmombasa.com, miziziyahakipwani@yahoo.com, mkiai2001@yahoo.com, Teckla.Muhoro@unhabitat.org, modhiambos@yahoo.com, mohyder@africaonline.co.ke, Mombasa Human Rights Network <M_hurinet@yahoo.com>, muhuri@swiftmombasa.com, Mwalimu Mati <mmati@marsgroupkenya.org>, pcc@swiftkenya.com, Ngithagui@worldbank.org, nmutembei@integrity.go.ke, "Eng. Samuel Ogege" <ogegesamuel@yahoo.co.uk>, report@integrity.go.ke, National Assembly <bunge@swiftkenya.com>
CC:	Maria/Fakhru Kaderbhai <maria@civiconkenya.com>, 'Ann Wambua' <holwg@yahoo.com>, 'Barry Maeve Mitchell' <himazulu@web2.com>, 'Dan Abwao' <danabwao@hotmail.com>, "'David D. Smith'" <davbeasmith@yahoo.com>, 'Dhiru Shah' <jj@wananchi.com>, 'Donato Fonseca' <marajani@marajani.com>, "'Dr. Hemant Patel'" <hemantpatel@kioskafrica.com>, "'Dr. R S Marjan'" <drrsmarjan@yahoo.com>, "'Dr. S. S. Dhillon'" <dhillon@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Esther Ikiara' <admin@nyalihealthcare.com>, 'Faiyaz Anjarwalla' <faiyaz@africaonline.co.ke>, 'farid abdallah' <farid.abdallah@nyalibeach.co.ke>, 'Gurdeep Nayer' <pirates@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Heinz muller' <heinz.mueller@interfreight2000.com>, 'James Wild' <james.wild@ldcommodities.com>, 'Jenny Somji' <somco@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Kuldip Soar' <kuldip@africaonline.co.ke>, 'kuldipsoar' <kuldipsoar@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Lisa Nesbitt' <lawnes@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Mahesh Dhutia' <mahesh@dhutia.com>, 'Marwan Mishah' <info@solarteknowledge.com>, 'Ravi Bhagat' <urjadistributors@gmail.com>, 'Sadiq Ghalia' <law@ghalia.com>, 'Sarah Spacer' <coco@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Steven Ogwapit' <steven@architronic-ke.com>, 'Timothy Mugo' <t.mugo@mombasawater.co.ke>, 'Timothy Mugo' <timothymugoh@yahoo.com>, comms@comms.go.ke, editorial@eastandard.net, jacque@febaradiokenya.org, kamemenews@kamemefm.com, kendo@eastandard.net, kenyatimesonline@yahoo.com, mmwende@yahoo.com, Mulaa@yahoo.com, mwangiayub@gmail.com, vipslit@yahoo.ca, ntv@nation.co.ke, palaver@eastandard.net, pps@statehousekenya.go.ke, publicwatchdog@eastandard.net, sundaynation@nation.co.ke, ronklif@yahoo.com, COASTWEEK <coastwk@africaonline.co.ke>

'Evening!  Why do certain religions insist on  practicing their faith at ear  splitting levels even in residential areas where peace and quiet should  prevail? I have written about this many times over the years but,  despite there now being a law passed by NEMA regarding noise pollution,  very little enforcement of it is apparent. Why is this?  Why is it that when one complains about religious noise to officialdom,  and especially from the mosques, everybody is terrified of doing  anything about it? If there is a law regarding noise, it should be  enforced, since the law is not denying these institutions from  worshiping but, the people objecting have an objection to them doing so  loudly.  Since God is not deaf (Astaghfirullah), and He can hear the most silent  of prayers, one gets the impression from the loud worship that the  worshipers would like the whole world to know how holy they are. This  smacks of hypocrisy. One reaches the conclusion while suffering from  this noise that these people are more bothered about what the people on  the outside think than what their Maker does.  Take Islam and Muslims for instance - the numerous mosques have no need  to be heard beyond their immediate neighbourhoods and therefore do not  need to use public address systems even for the call to prayer, because  every neighbourhood has at least one mosque if not more, so whom exactly  are they calling for prayers? People on the other side of town? For  their information, those places too, have their own neighbourhood  mosques, so there is no need.  Then, when the Imam starts leading the prayers, there is no need for him  to be heard outside the mosque since he is not leading the ones outside  the confines of the mosque in prayer and it is not valid either, anyway,  for someone to follow the Imam while for example he/she is at home. So,  why should he add to the noise by being heard outside?  Also, in the entire history of Islam and the practices of the Holy  Prophet (pbuh), calls for prayers have never been given a whole hour  before the actual time in the early morning. In Mombasa, this happens at  4.00 am. Of course, if somebody wants to say supererogatory prayers it  is a very private affair and there is no need to give the call to prayer  for it. Also, in this day and age we have alarm clocks, etc., and those  of us who are interested in praying will get up of our own free will and  there is no need for mosques to disturb non-Muslims among us. Why should  they be disturbed? There's freedom of religion, remember?  Now that Ramadhan is just about a month away, most non-Muslims and even  some Muslims are dreading the continuous racket that we will have to  endure for a whole month in the name of freedom of religion. Because, of  the loud recitation of the Holy Qur'an after the mid-afternoon prayers  as well as the Tarawih prayers at night. It is really awful and disturbs  even the Muslims who are praying at home, the sick and the elderly.  Can the authorities please draw a line between freedom of faith and  noise making? And enforce their law about noise pollution, please?  This is also on behalf of the NCRRA, btw.  Salaams, Raziya  --  Raziya Mohamedali P.O. Box 80780 MOMBASA - 80100 Kenya  Fixed line Tel: 254-041-4470817  Tel: 254-020-2137033  Mobile: 0721-485444         0733-947676  <a alt="Click to show my current time" href="http://www.qlock.com/time/simple?city=Mombasa"> <img border=0 src="http://www.qlock.com/images/mytime-button3.png"></a> <br>I am located in<a href="http://www.qlock.com/time/simple?city=Mombasa">Mombasa, Kenya</a>  http://kenyanjustice.blogspot.com/  Email: rmohamedali@gmail.com  

'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers': Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

ASK showground racket - possible solutions...

After having suffered sleepless nights for nearly a whole week thanks to

the ASK Showground maddening racket, I have several suggestions from the
various residents (victims), and myself to this annual problem in the
middle of a mainly residential area.

There are also some observations included.

1. Since this is an agricultural show (basically), why include
deafening and 24 hours of music into it? In other words exclude the music.

2. If, it is not possible to do this, then, enforce a decibel level
which is acceptable to the mainly residential neighbourhood. Or, have
these offenders build themselves a soundproofed enclosed space.

3. And if even this is not enforceable and possible, then, move the
whole outfit out of this neighbourhood and take it to a less populated
place which is not within hearing distance of any populated place. For
now, this racket can be heard for miles/kilometers away from the source
e.g. the Island of Mombasa proper which is right across from English
point and can even be heard in Tudor, etc. At the North Mainland, it can
be heard very far, too.

Now, for the observations....

Is our Town Planning Dept. in working order? If so, are they not aware
that for people to live peaceful and productive lives, they should not
be mixing various things together. Like heavy commercial businesses,
night-clubs/bars, etc., within a residential area?

This Show ground is a very offending case in point as well as a shipping
office that has been allowed to set up shop round the corner from where
I live called Sea Bulk and which attracts huge articulated traffic which
is not meant for this side lane and are highly noisy and an obstruction
to traffic, too. Reporting this to the Traffic Police has not resulted
in any action. Maybe, the owners have 'connections'...?

RE the Showground noisy madness which NEMA was aware of from day one,
but, were completely helpless in dealing with. This, I was briefly told
was because the Showground management was not at all cooperative. In the
process we had to put up with their racket way into the very early hours
of Monday morning despite the Show itself having ended on Sunday. Why?
Is NEMA without sharp enough teeth? Or were they trying not to tread on
some 'interesting' toes by being 'diplomatic'?

So, can the Town Planners start putting their collective heads together
and come up with a viable solution, please?