The Jester’s Curse: Boychild, Bokke & the Mexican Standoff
(Same Forest. Different Monkeys.)
We shall never sleep. Nunquam Dormio. That’s the Harlequin motto. A boast, a promise, a curse. We celebrated all night when we won; we couldn’t sleep a wink when players went on strike. Victory or turmoil, we are wide awake. (and this is not a rugby story)
Today the Jester is no longer laughing. He hangs upside down like The Hanged Man in tarot — suspended, calm-eyed, in limbo. Not defeated. Just paused. Sacrificed. Waiting for clarity.
That is Kenya Harlequins today: inverted, uncomfortable, but not broken.
Kenyan Standoffs Everywhere
Kenya itself has its own Hanged Man moments. Aviation workers just issued a seven-day strike notice against the airport’s authority. Management and workers in a stare-down, passengers caught in between. Who blinks first?
And across the world, an athlete in Tokyo just sprinted 100 meters on all fours. A Guinness record. Ridiculous? Yes. But isn’t that what we do when we hit extremes? We contort ourselves into shapes no one expects. Rugby players on strike. Workers downing tools. Lovers refusing to say sorry. Life’s quadruped race — absurd, but real.
Quins, Culture & Generations
Everyone who loves Kenya rugby is aware of the recent ruckus at Kenya Harlequin FC. 38 players released…..are they mad!!
The issue at Quins is not just contracts or terms. It’s a wider theme: old school thinking vs Gen Z’s expectations.
Oldies anchor on culture & loyalty. “In our days…”
Gen Zs demand performance & growth. “Show us the money.”
One side asks for heart, the other for a payslip. Neither wrong. But both staring at each other, waiting, is how we got here.
And this isn’t new to the Harlequin family. In England, Quins themselves once faced a player boycott when senior players clashed with management. Saracens — our noisy cousins — were relegated for breaking the salary cap. Silverware one day, second tier the next. Closer home, Saracens “cousins” Impala have been down and up. Relegated, reborn. Today, Quins walks that same fire.
Here’s my truth: I don’t care if Impala qualifies for the URC, Super Rugby, or some European league we only watch on DStv. I don’t care if Quins is relegated to the lowest league.
Derby Day is Derby Day. We shall petition KRU for special consideration for this match.
Ngong Road will always stop. Quins will always show up.
Because Quins is not just a club. Quins is history:
Moses, the bartender who once put on a shirt when we lacked players.
Leonard the barman turned driver who did a back=flip with a members’ car
Maina, the guard at the gate for 24 years, still doing his 4x10s, ready to play if needed.
James “Arrest” Mwenda, who at 66 still runs onto the pitch, or car No. 5 that keeps building fences ;)
Quins doesn’t retire you — you retire yourself.
The Boychild vs Girlchild Standoff
The girlchild has programs, scholarships, safe spaces, networks. The boychild? He has vibes.
When the girlchild is told “you can do anything,” the boychild is told “be a man.” But what does that mean? Pay bills? Hide tears? Carry pressure until you break?
That’s why outcomes look the way they do. Too many young men slide into alcohol, gambling, crime, or quiet surrender. Too many stumble when moving from junior to senior level — in sports or careers. It’s not a talent shortage. It’s structure. Talent without ladders is a house built on sand.
The question is: Where do boys gather? Who builds their ladders? Because if they keep hanging upside down with no clarity, society pays the price.
Ground Inasemaje
One thing I’ve learned since starting this series: the ground never lies.
David: “You’ve got the mirror right, but give us more actionable insights.”
Ess: “I love the sales stories, but sometimes you lose me in the rugby.”
SK, NM, SM, RE — all weighed in on the boychild with courage, challenge, honesty.
That tells me two things:
We’re building a community conversation, not just a blog.
If we listen, we can turn reflection into action.
Building the Ladders
So what do ladders look like for the boychild?
It starts with men gathering round their own fortresses. Not to drink and complain, but to build:
Rugby clubs — brotherhood, discipline, teamwork.
Gyms — consistency, health, mentorship.
Faith-backed programs like Man Enough. I went through it myself. The last lesson is titled “For God & Country.” The foreword reads:
A real man is a king, a warrior, a mentor and a friend… the quality of a nation is a reflection of the men thereof.
I would add: …and the women.
Lofty ideal? Or an actionable plan? That depends on whether we turn our fortresses into ladders.
Global Rugby & Football Pivots
The Springboks obliterated Argentina with a pivot squad — risky reshuffle, but it worked. Youth, fresh positions, courage to experiment. Sometimes pivots mean throwing rookies into the fire.
Meanwhile, Manchester United lost again. Their coach wants steeplechasers, but the squad is sprinters. Wrong horses, wrong course. Fans grumble: the pivot may be visionary, but without the right athletes, it’s doomed.
Lesson: a pivot only works when talent and system align. Rugby, football, business — same forest, different monkeys.
Business & Sales Standoffs
Salespeople know the Mexican standoff well. It happens in boardrooms every day.
The client sits on one side. Your team takes the other. Two armies, glaring.
Here’s the trick: don’t play into it. Sit among them. Break the fortress. Scatter their opposition. Suddenly, the client team can’t gang up. They must engage with you as individuals.
👉 Tip: Next pitch, don’t just prepare your deck. Prepare your seating strategy. Sometimes where you sit is half the battle.
And pivots? Same story. A sales strategy fails if you’ve got the wrong “athletes.” Some are hunters, others farmers. Some sprint, others grind. Management’s job is to align squad and system — not dream of sprint finishes with marathon legs.
Love & Courtship Standoffs
Same thing in love. Boys walk in packs. Girls walk in packs. Two armies, staring across the dance floor.
Attack head-on? You bounce. Stay opposite? You stare. Secret? Crack the fortress. Talk to the friend. Break formation. Laughter opens up, opposition dissolves, standoff ends.
And sometimes, someone has to take one for the team.
On a rugby tour in Scotland, we were invited for dinner. Lovely ladies, but with a chaperone. The ringleader. Nothing went through her.
We did stone-paper-scissors.
I lost. My job: distract her, make her laugh. Take one for the team 😉.
That’s life. In love, rugby, business — someone must sacrifice for the greater good. Someone must step up so the rest can play. The only question is: will it be you?
Diaspora Voices
And let’s not forget the diaspora. Groups like Bora Bora Entertainment — one of the biggest Kenyan diaspora forums — bring voices together across the world. What started as lockdown entertainment has become a space where Kenyans abroad laugh, debate, and still care deeply about home.
They remind us: it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Ngong Road, New Jersey, or Newcastle — the standoffs we live in Kenya are the same ones our brothers and sisters abroad are watching, discussing, and trying to fix in their own way. Diaspora voices matter, and they make Kenya better.
The Olive Branch
Through all this, my loyalty to Quins & its leadership is not in question. This is my club. My silverware. My story. I stand with them.
But I still advocate for an olive branch. A listening ear for the bruised. Pathways for those who can return. Dignity for those moving on. That is how clubs last. That is how couples last. That is how nations last.
The Jester is hanging upside down, but not broken. Paused. The standoff won’t last forever.
The only question is: when we blink, will it be in collapse — or in rebirth?
📌 Actionable Lessons
Salespeople: How do you break the fortress in your pitches? What’s your seating strategy?
Life/Relationships: In your last standoff, who blinked first — you or them?
Boychild/Girlchild: What ladders are you building for the boys and girls in your life?
Universal: What’s your olive branch — from locker rooms to boardrooms to living rooms?
Ange says tunangojea weekend update. I think she really meant: “we are waiting for this week’s mushene.” Thanks for reading… with permission of Bora admins. Hehe.
👉 And since we don’t just mushene — we act:
At Sales Resource Africa (SRA), we’ll sit down with you for chai, run a free diagnosis of your sales team and structure, and show you where the fortresses are — and how to break them.
Or simply share this article with someone who needs to reflect, laugh, and put things into action.
As Dre would say…..Till the next episode….Jah bless!!