

The Daily — July / August
Aug 31, 2018 · 6 min read
An ongoing article chronicling life in Nairobi
#QEScholars #WHE
If you are unfamiliar with Colonial/Post-Colonial African History, I recommend you read this for context: http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-challenge-of-decolonization-africa.html
My intention is to convey perspectives, my own & others, however, my reporting is subject to unintentional biases and ignorance. If I have mistold any story, used less than ideal diction, made a linguistic error, or you have any suggestions regarding methodology, please reach out to discuss.
August 5th 2018
- One of my favourite ways to eat in Nairobi is by walking to the main road by my hospital and buying a cone of peanuts. The cone is made of rolled up magazine paper and for 10 cents I get the perfect snack. I appreciate the lady I buy them from because she is consistent – always sitting on the same plastic stool in the same spot ready to sell peanuts to passers by. While I love getting a cheap, healthy snack, it does always cross my mind that I am only able to enjoy the nuts because this lady has no better opportunity than to sit at the same street corner every day and sell magazine wrapped peanuts for 10 cents per serving. Participating in the extreme inequality of Kenya has made it clear to me how the luxuries enjoyed by some require the service of those who provide those luxuries for a low cost. Because there are no other opportunities within a realistic domain for this woman to better herself I get to enjoy peanuts for pocket change.


July 21st 2018
- For readers who are tempted by libertarian ideals, you should come visit Kenya and see what a libertarian government looks like in practice. In Kenya there is no welfare state. If you do not work, no one will take care of you. If you get sick, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) guarantees are too small to save you. What few labour protections exists are sparsely enforced. What are some of the outcomes of this? First, people work extraordinary hard, because they have to. They have nothing to fall back on so they must work hard to survive. Second, businesses and workers take significant risks regarding on the job safety because there are no consequences when workers get injured. Third, unhealthy, poorly educated, low-job security people become vulnerable voters, creating unfavourable democratic outcomes. Finally, petty crime is rampant because it is a low risk opportunity to secure the resources that will enable survival. This leads to a society that diverts significant resources to security as noted by prevalence of armed guards and guards for hire at nearly all businesses.
July 17th 2018
- Had my first run in with a corrupt cop yesterday. 10/10 experience, but would not do again because I got lucky getting away without having to give him “kitu kidogo” (‘something small’ — a catch phrase that can solve many problems in Kenya). My purported offence was riding a bike without a helmet. I am not entirely sure how we got away without a succumbing to a bribe but from now on I will ride a bike with a helmet because I don’t want to go to Kenyan jail or contribute to perpetuating the “rule of ̶l̶a̶w̶ bribe”.
- Follow up: this did happen again and I found the second experience frustrating. We were walking from the bus after a morning hike and we were stopped and asked for ID. Luckily I was with a Kenyan who was able to talk us out of the situation. For me, two run ins with corrupt cops is enough for a lifetime. I wonder what type of sentiments would emerge after chronic long term exposure to the feeling that the justice system is against you?


July 16th 2018
- A Washington Post published a article on the 13th partially summarizes some of the governance challenges that exist in Kenya. What is described in this article helps to explain what I have been seeing and learning about from Kenyans over the last two months: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/kenyans-have-had-it-with-corruption-their-leaders-may-finally-be-doing-something-about-it/2018/07/09/1a895830-7984-11e8-ac4e-421ef7165923_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5b1f9d9330e7
July 13th 2018
- Non-politically aligned Kenyans have affirmed the perspective that those who go to politics are those who are looking for a get rich quick career.
- A seemingly closed loop has emerged: Many HDI deficiencies could be solved with better governance, better governance could be solved with less corruption, less corruption could be solved with making more opportunities to aquire wealth legally, more opportunities to acquire wealth legally are forestalled by bad governance.
July 9th 2017
- I have a whole new appreciation for atheism after living in a fairly religious society. I used to think that perhaps religious societies and modern societies were compatible. I assumed that the negative consequences of religion were held by an extreme few. Kenyan Christianity & Islam has shown me the risks of mainstream religion. Largely unquestioned religious institutions leads to a few challenges: restricted access to birth control and abortions (Note that Kenya’s population has doubled since 1995); justified abuse of LGBT community; low locus of control. Unquestioned faith has very risky outcomes. I think a healthy dose of atheism in society is good to challenge people’s assumptions and to foster some scepticism.
July 6th 2017
- Hanging out with some young Nairobi professionals shed some light on the political corruption issues in Kenya. From these people’s perspective, a key difference from ‘the west’ is that Kenyan politicians are flamboyant so young people growing up see politics as a means of achieving material status. This is coupled with a view held by many that practicing corruption is only bad when you get caught.
- This connected to a conversation with a Canadian later that evening when they ironically acknowledged how on a hike two of their colleagues participated in corruption by bribing national park authorities so that they were not charged the full foreigner rate.
- Both examples contribute to the thesis that if given the opportunity to become corrupt many people probably will.



