TT 142

TIMES TODAY TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

WISDOM

CONTENTS 1. My Pulpit message - notes | 3-4 2. Getting your oomph back! . | 5 3. Business | 6 4. My Inspiration | 7 5. My Entrepreneur | 8 6. My Health | 9-10 7. My Kitchen | 11 8. My Sports | 12

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My Pulpit Message - notes Grow in Wisdom

My Pulpit Message Notes are extracted from sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 27th February 2022. Preacher: Topic: Scripture: David in Psalm 139 says ‘Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any 1.

Personal examination offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

2. Pursue God David was one of those people who was not afraid. He invited God, come, show me if there is anything wrong in my life.

3. Protect yourself And he said, God, then as you show me, deal with it and lead me in 4. Practice the Word. the right path. He opened up his life to the LORD and we should do the same.

Jesus is saying we need to always start by examining ourselves and not be quick to judge. We need to also note that when Jesus is saying, ‘Don’t judge…’He is not saying we should overlook Many times our natural instinct as human beings is wrong behaviour, not at all. when we hear something that is quite challenging we start thinking Many times in society people tend to say, ‘Don’t judge about the person who needs to me,’ meaning we don’t have a hear and we often forget to beright to tell them when they gin with ourselves. are going wrong, but this is not If the sermon on what Jesus is saying because in the Mount was is this age, how Matthew 7:5 we see Him saymany forwards would have So as we allow God to deal with the planks in our eyes, may ing, ‘first take the plank out of been sent out right there from we continue to share the truth of God’s Word with each oth- your own eye, and then you will where Jesus was teaching? If aer in love, even if it means sometimes it will be a gentle see clearly to remove the speck we had WhatsApp, it likely we rebuke or correction. from your brother’s eye.” would be sending the messagTherefore Jesus es out to the person you think still had the expectation that we needs to hear that message. would be removing specs from Jesus begins this each others’ eyes, but we need final section of the Sermon on to be able to see clearly in order to evaluate, where am I or the other the Mount with these words, ““Do not judge, or you too will be person doing so that we walk this journey together. judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, Jesus is saying, even in pointing out error, we should and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. not have a judgemental attitude of haughtiness, feeling proud or holier than others, because we are all sinners who have fallen short of 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your God’s glory and we are on the journey of sanctification. brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 Jesus called the Pharisees, who had adopted this attiHow can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your tude of feeling better or holier than others. He called the hypocrites eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? because they would often look at others and condemn them to have So Jesus here is pointing out how we magnify and fo- this pride of, ‘I am doing better than you,” Yet God is the only one cus on the faults in other people’s lives and we fail to see our own who can judge and decide people’s ultimate destiny. major faults. That our eyes have huge planks of wood, but we are Our attitude, as we remove specs from other people’s looking at the speck in our brothers’ and sisters’ eyes. eyes should be one of gentleness, humility, love, a deep desire to see Jesus is telling us that we need to begin by examining each other doing well in Christ. To treat each other as we would ourselves. This is something that we need to put into practice in want to be treated. our day to day lives that we’ll come to the LORD and lay our hearts So as we allow God to deal with the planks in our before Him and allow Him to lead us in the process of examining eyes, may we continue to share the truth of God’s Word with each ourselves. To ask Him, ‘Lord is my character in line with what you other in love, even if it means sometimes it will be a gentle rebuke desire? God is there any offensive way in me, any sin hiding in my or correction. heart? Lord, can those around me testify, my mother, brothers, sisters, spouse testify that I really am truly a believer? Can my workmates actually say that I am a believer, a follower in Christ? Have I been relying on Your righteousness, or have I been trying with my own strength to walk this journey of life?

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Personal examination

TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

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My Pulpit Message - notes 2. Pursue God Jesus encourages His disciples to pursue God. He says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

So He is saying to us, keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking in prayer. Don’t give up, because our heavenly Father is a good Father who know how to give good gifts to our children. Even though evil people know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more a Father who is good? He knows exactly what we need and so we can come to Him knowing He will give us what we need. Sometimes it may not be what we want, but it is exactly what we need.

More importantly we need to pursue God because He is the only way to eternal life. Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction…, But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,…”.

Do we desire to live abundantly to have life in it’s fullness?

Then Jesus is the only Gate. Christ is the only Answer.

To live this life in abundance we must pursue Him. We must come before Him. If we have not given our lives to this Saviour surrendered and said, Jesus be my Saviour, then I urge us today not to leave before we have surrendered our lives to Him. Those who have already surrendered their lives to Christ, He is saying, ‘Keep pursuing Me. Don’t give up. Bring your requests before Me. Come to Me in prayer. Seek my face. Get to know Me. Pursue Me with everything that you have.

When other things like work become our first priority in our lives then even our relationship with God will take a knock and our fire/passion will slowly begin to die. Some of us may be focused on our careers, getting ahead and we forget everything else in the process.

We may come to church, do everything, but we have forgotten the God who called us.

So Jesus is saying to us, Pursue the Father in prayer. Don’t give up, even there is an answer you have not yet received, come and sit at His feet, ask, seek, knock and the door shall be opened.

Some of us need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. Some of us need an empowering to just continue with life in our families. Some of us need breakthroughs and miracles. We need to pursue the LORD.

dering, sexually immoral lives and so many different things and when we begin to look, by their fruits you will know them.

Jesus says in the same passage, you will know who are His true disciples because they do/follow the will of God. We need to ask ourselves, if we are to protect ourselves from false teachings, from people who desire to lead us astray in our pursuit of God, what do we need? The answer is the Word of God. How will we know their fruits? How will we evaluate their fruits? Again coming back to the beginning, though God tells us do not judge, He does not say, throw all discernment and evaluation out of the window, no.

Here when He is talking about false teachers we must engage in some sort of evaluation of their lives, of the fruit that they are bearing and our standard is the Word of God.

4. Practice the Word.

Jesus finishes His sermon on the Mount by emphasising how important it is to practice God’s Word.

Jesus tells us, the one who is wise builds his house on the rock. But the one who is foolish builds his house on the sand.

In verse 26 He says, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

As we look at the fruits and these prophets and teachers’ lives are they in line with the Word of God? Are their teachings in line with the Word of God? Is the fruit in our own life a reflection of the truth of God? Are we true followers of Christ who not only listen, having heard so many sermons, attended all the BSF sessions, doing one year through the Bible, growing in our knowledge and understanding of who God is but if it is just head knowledge, Christ says to us, not everyone who calls me LORD shall enter the Kingdom. There shall be people at the end of life who say God, did we not do this or that in your Name? And He will say, but you were not my true disciples. Did you do my will? Did you put my words, the things that I spoke to your through my words, did you put them into practice, or did it just remain in your mind?

There is no one who is removed from this challenge that Jesus is posing to us and says you can choose. Will you be the wise man who built his house on the Word of God, or will you be the foolish man who chooses to build his house on sand and eventually his life and world comes crashing down because the foundation is not the Word of God. Are we putting God’s Word into practice in our lives? Are we obeying the words of Christ? In our relationships with our spouses, We need to be aware that in our pursuit of God, there are children, parents, workmates, the boss? people who want to lead us astray. They want to pull us out of the truth of God and we seen in Matthew 7:15, Jesus cautioned His followers, “Be ware of false prophets who want to lead your astray. They look like harmless sheep who cant do anything to you, but they are ferocious wolves, beware!

Christ says the same thing to us today. Are we protecting ourselves from these false prophets who want to lead us astray?

Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets and He says, you will know them by their fruits/actions / character. We look around and 4we hear so many cases of these self proclaimed prophets of money laun-

3. Protect yourself

TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

HAIR STRAND THIN: HARSH JUDGEMENT OR GENTLE REBUKE?

By Liz Omondi | Email: timestodayke@gmail.com | Image courtesy: medium.com

Concern that she had lost noticeable weight and appeared aloof during our last girlfriends’ meeting, barely two days afterward, I listened to her explanation for my concern. Her interesting introduction moments into the phone conversation, I felt like my ears raised and head cocked slightly like a cute dog on high alert.

“The reason I have called you first among our friends is because…”

She went on for over half an hour, pouring out her heart to me. I listed attentively without interjecting, and as she went on, I began to pray short questions to God in my heart, ‘What do I tell her without appearing judgemental? How do I gently rebuke my sister in Christ? Have I failed to set a good example in my Christian walk for others to emulate? Now that I have just completed reading the book of Job, are You O God testing what l have learnt, if anything at all, on how not to respond as job’s friends did during his plight?

Though this was not a sin against me, I felt the pain of those voiceless and vulnerable children. When I got my chance to speak, I cited the story of David and the sin he committed with Bathsheba. I also reminded her how God used the prophet Nathan to rebuke that sin and David’s response was repentance from the heart.

On the flip side, I mentioned the story of King Saul and the attitude he had towards the sin he had committed and his lack of repentance. This cost him dearly and was rejected by God as king of Israel. King Saul continued in his sin and was very miserable and died pitifully.

I wanted to carryout James 5:19-20 on this friend who is only a year younger than myself. It says, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that Like an acrobat balancing on a suspended rope mid-air, I found he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul myself balancing the thin hair strand between what may appear from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” as gentle rebuke, or as harsh judgement. The one disseminating the rebuke may think it as gentle, but to the one receiving it, may Having dismissed some of her other friends, whom she deemed to perceive the reproof as harsh judgment. I listened on and felt dis- have a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, I wanted to be cautious not to be appointed. labelled the same. How was I to practice the Scripture in Matthew 5:7:1-5? “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same The one I called my friend, freely and willingly confessed her sin to way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure me. I was concerned when she started justifying her sin based on you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck her parents’ background and the experience of her siblings. Sexual of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank immorality is the name of the sin she had committed. Worse still, in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take she did it without remorse to satisfy her desires. the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own Now, she is expecting her second child out of wedlock with anoth- eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your er woman’s husband. I was disgusted, but this could not be seen brother’s eye.” since this conversation was over the phone. I was disappointed, yet this was someone who was probably expecting me to console, According to the Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, to judge is or maybe even support her misguided decisions. But, I was de- to form an opinion about somebody, or something based on the termined to put into practice the twenty seventh Proverb verse information you have. So in regard to my friends story, it would five and six, “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. have been very easy for me to judge and give her a bad label. But, Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the an enemy.” glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

A family somewhere is hurting and two children will be raised without a father. I was a recipient of this upsetting news, yet I was Aware of this hair strand thin line, I found myself in a situation not going to keep silent and determined to remind her the truth where I had to be cautious balancing between being silent and of God’s Word. I was going to apply Matthew 18:15 to this conver- judge friend in my heart, or speak out and gently rebuke a sin that sation, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; would soon be evident to all. May God help me. if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

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Business Prime Bank Scoops Customer Satisfaction Award

By Agency

Kenya Bankers Association Chief Executive Mr. Habil Olaka (centre) presents the first runners-up award for Best Bank in Customer Responsiveness and Satisfactory Digital Experience in Tier II category to Prime Bank’s Head of Customer Service Ms. Rosemary Kiboro( right) and Head of Marketing Ms. Connie Kirika (left).

Prime Bank has emerged first runners-up in Best Bank in Customer Responsiveness and Satisfactory Digital Experience in Tier two category in the 2021 Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by Kenya Bankers Association.

Celebrating the win, the bank’s Managing Director Bharat Jani said, “This recognition by our customers affirms our deliberate and consistent efforts and investment to provide personalized and seamless best-in-class digital banking service to our customers across our touch points.”

The survey is an annual undertaking of the Kenya Bankers Association aimed at enhancing customer experience in the banking industry. The 2021 survey was carried out in the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic which saw the industry redefine the conduct of business especially in access to services by customers.

“The award, which is a pleasant improvement from the

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previous year in which we ranked third, shows our relentless efforts in ensuring that our customers get the best services”, Jani added.

The award also comes at a very important stage in the bank’s history as this year it mark 30 years of putting our customers first. This award affirms the bank’s commitment to ‘Putting its Customers First’ and its continued strive for excellence in providing quality banking solutions in line with its vision of being the first-choice financial service provider.

The survey showed that banking Apps are the topmost preferred digital banking channel, endorsed by 26 per cent of the respondents, followed by mobile banking with 25 percent, while 46.7 percent of the respondents preferred fully automated or self-service banking services signifying that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital banking.

TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

My Inspiration God Will Show You A Plan

By William King | Email: kingwilliam189@gmail.com | image credit: fellowshipofgrace.org

The highest levmark for the el of joy you will prize of high ever know is havcalling and ing a clear underpress towards standing of God’s it everyday.” will and knowing Philipians 3:14. how to fulfill it.

Once you know You have to stay that, you can lace connected to up your shoes God if you want and start running. You can to reach your goal. Jesus only win if you run on the said: “I am the vine; you track the Lord has chosen In order to fulfill your calling, you need to set goals. When God are the branches. If a man for you. gives you a goal, He will supply all that is required to reach remains in me as I in him, it. Without goals, you cannot measure your progress in your he will bear much fruit; calling.

As King David prayed, apart from Me, you can do you will pray for the Lord nothing.” John 15:5. Stayto teach you His ways and ing connected to God is vilead you. Once you are tal in fulfilling your calling. convinced that God has a unique plan for your life, be ready to abandon yourself King Saul’s greatest concern was his standing before the to Him, in trust. Refuse to settle for what you can do as people but King David’s greatest concern was his standthis will not let you see what God can do. ing before God. What a difference! If you abide you will automatically abound. You have got to know where your Pray that the Lord will strengthen your faith to do His help comes from, otherwise you will waste your time will, as it is impossible to please God without faith. chasing people who have more power than you.

In order to fulfill your calling, you need to set goals.

When God gives you a goal, He will supply all that is required to reach it. Without goals, you cannot measure your progress in your calling.

The secret in great ministry lies in what we are willing to lay aside in order to respond to God’s call; like laying aside the comforts of home to go where His name has never been heard or giving sacrificially to support those who go in your place. Let God be your compass for diUnless you determine where you are going, you will end vine direction. up somewhere else. You have to be specific on what you want to achieve . Apostle Paul says, “I press toward the

TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

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Every Good G S ift

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Entrepreneur Can Christian businesses borrow money?

By Tom Harper — CEO, Networld Media Group| www.biblicalleadership.com

The borrower is servant to the lender.

– Prov. 22:7b

My understanding of the biblical position is that borrowing is permitted but should be done cautiously and prudently.

Years ago I asked some successful Christian executives their The two definite prohibitions of borrowing are (1) if it enopinion on the Scriptural validity of borrowing money to slaves the borrower; and (2) if usurious interest is paid. grow a business. I was torn between Dave Ramsey’s no-debt approach to personal finance, and on the other hand the op- The Bible doesn’t teach that debt is wrong, just that it’s danportunity cost of never leveraging corporate growth. gerous, and something to be forgiven when conscience requires (God forgave our debts, didn’t he?) Interesting that Here are a few notable answers to the question “Is borrow- the longest debts in ancient Israelite communities lasted ing money to make an acquisition within biblical bounds?” only seven years before they were forgiven (see Deut. 15:1).

I think Romans 13:8 would say no (“Let no debt remain outstanding”). Whether or not that is reality in today’s business world, I do not know. My only advice would be for you to consider carefully counting the cost … and then lay it all out before God and ask him for an answer.

So the counsel of these leaders and of Scripture is that we should avoid debt if we can, and when we do decide to employ other people’s money, we should seek fast freedom before the chains of debt tighten.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt I would think that it is OK to borrow for growth. The dif- to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled ference is between borrowing for consumption vs. borrow- the law (Romans 13:8). ing for investment. There is, of course, still risk, and so prudence is required, but I don’t think borrowing for acquisition would be inherently sinful.

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TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

My Health

30 daily routines of healthy, productive people that are easy to adopt

By Laura Berlinsky-Schine | www.theladders.com |image credit: inc.com

This week: Daytime routines Next week: Night time routines

Last week we looked at morning routhines. This week we con- why not make a simple, delicious lunch to eat in the park or centrate on easy daytime routines even your kitchen table? This is healthier and cheaper than eating out every day.

11. Check your email at the same time every day.

Unless it’s critical for your job, make going out to eat a treat, rather than a routine. This will make the times you hit up your DO NOT make it first thing in the morning, as tempting as that favorite coffee shop or cafe all the more special. may be. This will more than likely agitate you and immediately make you start thinking about work and everything you need 13. Stretch. to respond to that day. Unlike the to-do list, this will bring up Sitting in your chair all day long isn’t good for you. You need issues you may not have been aware of last night. Instead, wait to stretch. Make it a routine to get up at least once every hour until you sign on to work or enter the office to check. (or more frequently, if you feel like you need it). Get up out of your seat and do some simple stretches. This will make you If you can, try to avoid leaving your email in the background. feel a lot better and get the blood flowing.

This isn’t feasible for all jobs — you might need to address urgent issues as they arise — but if at all possible, establish regular times to check during the day rather than looking at it obsessively.

12. Make lunch.

Are you in the habit of going out to lunch every day? Instead,

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My Health

14. Schedule in short breaks.

space. This will help prepare you for what’s next on your plate It may sound counterintuitive, but if you work continuously and encourage you to stay focused through it all. throughout the day, you could end up being less productive than you would be otherwise. We need breaks. Schedule in short 15-20 minute breaks every 90 minutes or so of contin- 18. Set and stick to a sign-off time. uous work. During each break, take a walk around the block, When you’re working from home, as many of us are during eat a snack or do something else — the point is to take a few the pandemic, it’s easy to get caught up in your tasks and keep telling yourself, “Just 10 more minutes.” But it’s also imminutes to recharge, so you’re prepared for the next cycle. portant to establish boundaries between your work life and your personal or home life. To prevent yourself from getting 15. Do one thing that intimidates you. overwhelmed with work and feeling exhausted all the time, I once made it a New Year’s resolution to one thing that scared set and stick to a sign-off time every day. This, too, will help me every day. This is healthy for personal growth and over- you maintain some semblance of order. coming your fears, and who knows? It may just pay off and allow you to meet your goals. It could be as big as applying 19. Track your habits. to a job or as small as saying hi to a stranger on the street — whatever gets you out of your comfort zone.

Habit-tracking is highly beneficial for understanding how you work and how you can maximize your productivity.

When you keep track of what you’re doing and how you’re 16. Commit to time for honing a skill. spending your time. Use these insights to improve your performance.

Learning a language, a musical instrument or a technical competency? All of these skills require time and commitment. 20. Have at least one real conversation.

But you don’t have to sacrifice hours and hours. Duolingo lessons take about 5-10 minutes to complete, for one.

Texting doesn’t count. Many of us are missing that social connection, especially if we’re working from home. Ensuring 17. Straighten up your workspace. you have one real conversation, whether it’s with your neighbor, on the phone with a friend or even with a colleague on a Is your workplace cluttered and disorganized? Certainly, this Zoom meeting, will help you curb the isolation you may be can happen after a long day of work. But you definitely don’t experiencing right now. want to come back to that chaos tomorrow. So, near the end of the workday, take a few moments to straighten up your

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TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

My Kitchen Make it a good morning with these mango and coconut pancakes https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/mango-coconut-pancakes

Staring at your impulse-buy tray of mangoes? Tired of that desiccated coconut at the back of the cupboard? Use them up in this easy, summery breakfast recipe.

INGREDIENTS a clean whisk, whisk 1 1/2 cups eggwhites to medium (375ml) coconut peaks. Fold whisked cream eggwhites through 6 eggs, separated coconut cream mix1 1/2 cups (225g) ture. self-raising flour, 3.Grease a non-stick sifted frypan and place over 1 1/2 tbs finely medium-high heat. grated palm sugPour 1/3 cup (80ml) ar pancake batter into 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted pan and cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles form. Flip Cooking oil spray, to grease and cook for a further 1 minute or until cooked through.

500g sour cream Transfer to a baking tray and place in oven to keep warm.

Thinly sliced mangoes, desiccated coconut and runny Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan as required. honey, to serve 4.Stack pancakes, layering sour cream and mango between each. Scatter with desiccated coconut and drizzle METHOD with honey, then serve immediately.

1.Preheat the oven to 100°C. 2.To make pancake batter, whisk coconut cream, egg yolks, flour, sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt flakes in a bowl until combined. In a separate bowl, using TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022

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My Sports Ex-internationals bring back fond memories in Mombasa tour

By Ernest Ndunda | www.standardmedia.co.ke

Former Harambee Stars captain Musa Otieno in a past training session.

[Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Two friendly matches between former Harambee Stars internationals brought back fond memories as the players exhibited their dribbling artistry during their weekend Mombasa tour.

During the penalty shoot-outs, Julius Owino, Peter Gor and Mbarak (Twaha) scored, with Musa Otieno and Zadock Shaban shooting wide.

On Saturday, both ex-internationals and Likoni Legends settled for a 1-1 draw at normal time before the ex-internationals won 4-3 on penalties.

“I had a great moment with the players and fans. It was a great honour to play in Mombasa,” said former Harambee Stars captain Musa Otieno.

On Sunday at Mbaraki Sports Club, Mombasa Legends The ex-internationals played against Likoni Legends won 3-2, also through penalty shoot-outs, after a 1-1 and Mombasa Legends teams at Bomani ground and at draw. the Mbaraki Sports Club.

Dennis Oliech scored for the ex-internationals while The matches brought together football enthusiasts as Abdulmalik Wafula, formerly with Coast Stars, starred their rekindled the good old times. for Mombasa Legends in the normal time.

During the normal time, Twaha Mbarak, who played for Mombasa-based Wanderers, scored for the ex-internationals before Said Cheya replied for the Likoni Legends.

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TT 142 | MAR 1st - 7th | 2022 The Times Today is a publication of Elizabeth Omondi Consultancy. P.O. Box 833-00100 GPO Nairobi. Tel: 0722 927792. www.thetimestoday.wordpress.com