Now we are closing for the Christmas holidays (the Star will be back on December 28, although our website will continue to be updated).
A year ago Kenya was locked in political crisis as Nasa refused to accept the victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta in the 2017 election.
Civic disobedience was threatening to lock down the country. The handshake between Uhuru and opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in March finally resolved the deadlock.
Christmas should be the time of peace and goodwill towards all men and women. Last year it wasn't. This year it will be, despite the increasingly bitter battles between supporters and opponents of Deputy President William Ruto.
How do we maintain this peace and goodwill? The root of the problem seems to be the winner-takes-all system of the executive presidency.
There is a lot of talk about parliamentary models such as Westminster or the French hybrid that could reduce the domination of the major ethnic blocks.
But we need to maintain national unity and cohesion, whatever system we adopt. Let us reflect on that necessity this Christmas, and how we might achieve it.
Best wishes from the Star from a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Quote of the day: "It is never too late to be what you might have been."
George Eliot
The English novelist died on 22 December, 1880
