Middle Class in Nairobi

I dismantled my Swedenborg Library to make way for the ‘refugees’.

I hope that these photos will give you an impression of what middle class Nairobi life is (could be) like.

Note the door to the outside is metallic, to deter burglars from gaining easy entrance.

Feeding on Fear

The last few days have been extremely dramatic. There have been very positive developments on the political scene. The fast developments are unprecedented!

It started with what looked like an invincible deadlock in the mediation talks. One of the government representatives in the panel of mediators, a Minister, had thrown a furious tantrum, literally abused the chief negotiator Dr. Koffi Annan and his Assistant, former Tanzanian President Mr. Mkapa, before walking out of the talks and virtually precipitating a gridlock of sorts. Koffi had been left with no option but to suspend the team of mediators from both sides of the divide and instead preferred to deal with the two principals in the December 2008 presidential election imbroglio, the President and the opposition leader.

Meanwhile, in what looked like a coordinated and perfectly synchronized move, USA, EU, and other western capitals issued a tough warning to those who appeared bent to scuttling the process and sending the country to the dogs, as does the present Chairman of the AU (African Union, our equivalent of the EU), who happens to be the current Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

By midnight on the same day Kikwete arrived, he had conferred with the President, opposition leader, and Mr. Annan. The following day, the four men went into a meeting held in the president’s office from 10am to 3pm! They locked out the selfish hardliners from both sides. I understand it was drama at the office of the president as the hardliners hissed with fury as they unsuccessfully tried to gain entry into the mediation room.

Rumour has it that Koffi and Kikwete gave the president a bare-knuckled assessment of his survival as the president, if he stuck to his position (that all negotiations had to be carried out within the flawed and contentious constitution). He was reminded that since the constitution was what gave him the illegitimate powers, he was wielding in the first place, it must be reformed to reflect the wishes of Kenyans and avail a valve for letting out the explodeable tension in the country. We understand that the obstinate president put up a fight, but was overwhelmed by thinly veiled threats that he would suffer the ‘Ortega’ of Nicaragua fate at the hands of one Mr. Bush and the so called Coddi! He caved in! But it took a whopping 5 hours!

Finally, two legal technocrats, the Attorney General, for the Government, and a current MP cum lawyer (in fact my wife's former boss, she worked in his Law Firm), were called in to draft the historical sharing of power agreement. At around 5pm, in front of local and international media, the Agreement was signed by the two protagonists and witnessed by Koffi and Kikwete. The non-Kikuyu Kenya exploded in song and dance. The Kikuyus felt short-changed, angry, and scared. The hegemonic bliss that they have enjoyed since independence seemed to turn prickly. Their assumed unassailable advantageous positions of control in all affairs of state and governance appeared to crumble under the weight of unstoppable demand for equity from other tribes. We could see those who have been acting with impunity literally shake in their shoes!

The mediator who had walked out on Annan, but saw a copy of the Agreement as it was being signed, could not take it! She walked out of the occasion in a huff. By the way, the Agreement was agenda no.3 in the five item agenda for the mediation team. When Annan convened the team to proceed to item no.4, the next day, she did not show up. That is how deep they had dug in. One thing they can not envisage in the agreement is that the opposition leader, they so loathe, is going to be the head of government, which translates to coordinating all ministerial work, supervising ministers, and evaluating their performance! Once the Agreement is entrenched in the constitution through an Act of Parliament, alas, they have to report to him. Too, he will take 50% of ministerial posts for his party meaning a number of current ministers will lose jobs or be shifted to lesser powerful and glamorous ministries. It is a shake down!

I do not think that without the involvement of the International community we could have wrestled the power from these guys. They were embedded in all arms of the government, so deep that extracting them would have caused blood, blood, blood. And they were prepared to go the all way.

In fact, soon after the signing of the Agreement, there was talk going round that since to entrench the Agreement had to go through the parliament voting system, they would deny the opposition the two thirds majority required to pass the motion. The Speaker swiftly came up and clarified that parliament Standing Orders governing the process to require a simple majority to entrench the Act in the Constitution. Talk of greed for power!

On a personal level, I immediately ‘let go’ of all except one family of three - who lost everything to fire and looters (except for a couple of hand luggage, a laptop, and child’s clothing.)

The security situation is still grim. There is no significant let up by the militias. They feed on fear. They have varied their tactics a little bit by getting less overt. For instance, now they walk in small groups of two and three at most carrying concealed weapons unlike before when they operated openly as menacing marauders!

In darkness they get bolder. They know that the police ratio is so low that it is difficult for the force to man all places at all times. But, also it is common knowledge that overly underpaid policemen and women are accomplices in the extortion business and some are the faceless bosses of the gangs. It is a vicious circle!

Of most concern is the inevitable looming hunger. Lots of food was burnt during the 2 month-long strife. Rift Valley is the bread basket of this country and the region bore the brunt of the skirmishes. We hope that this grand coalition government will move fast to avert a famine crisis.

There is the issue of resettling the internally displaced persons. It is the hardest part in solving the consequences of the conflict. It involves a land reform agenda. It involves rectification of governance injustices that span decades. It is most probably the greatest cause of inter-tribal indignation and the still-alive, emotional dynamite for civil dissension. I will not be surprised that this is the item that will get harder to crack! It runs taunt and deep. It is always signed in blood. It is scary!

Let us leave it there for today.

Flying Toilets

The national political scene is somehow shaping up in a promising way. But this is seen in the context of the on-going mediation effort led by Mr. Koffi Annan. It is evident that Koffi has ignored tantrums being thrown by both sides, more particularly the government side; kept his eyes on the ball and is continually extracting concessions from both sides.

Mr. Bush’s remarks, bordering on threats that the international commity cannot sit around and see Kenya going the Rwandan way, in my opinion, have had an effect on the loosening of the intransigence earlier exhibited by the government team. Of course the opposition had threatened to hit the streets with ‘peaceful’ protests, consequences of which would be blamed on the President and his coterie of court jesters. That has also contributed to the softening stance from the power hungry and blinded hardliners.

But, that is not the situation on the ground! There is a looming security and food crisis that may spin out of control and negate the political gains being made by the Koffi team. Time is of the essence. Patience and food provisions are running out fast. The people need a quick solution and fast-tracked return to normalcy.

First, let me describe Nairobi and its immediate environs, so that you may understand the situation. By the way, our Kenyan cities are planned nearly the same way, such that describing Nairobi will give you a typical physical layout of major cities in the country.

In summary, the city is divided into two economic zones: the West and the East. The West is home to the rich. The leafy estates are mostly owned by Kenyan Whites, Asians, Kikuyus, and economically successful elites from other tribes, especially those who have been previously or are currently being accommodated by the government. The unbridled and pseudo-official corruption makes the civil servants millionaires overnight as the common people gawk in awe.

It is good to note that all our unnecessarily overpaid politicians have bought palatial homes in the area even when they represent constituencies on the other side of town or in the countryside. It is the ugly face of capitalism encroached in deep rooted selfishness!

Just before you enter into the wooded suburbs, you go through or past the largest slum south of Sahara, Kibera, represented by the opposition leader, Raila, who owns and lives in a five acre farm in the West. Kibera is famed for the ‘flying toilets’. Basically, the area does not have sanitary facilities. So how do they dispose of their human waste? They relieve themselves in polythene bags which they swing up the in the air at night. Where they land is not their problem! It is hell! The issue was a campaign topic.

The East, where I live, accommodates life strugglers (hustlers of various degrees): in what you may call the middle class (in the Kenyan context) and the very poor (the scum of the world?). Some of these people are so poor, an American or a person from the developed world can not envisage the penury levels unless by visual witnessing. It is even disgusting describing the situation in this communication! Believe me!

Hence, the East is itself divided into two: the middle class and the very poor. The middle class stay in relatively organized settlements known around here as estates. The houses are either built in clusters, called courts, or are stand alone maisonnettes or bungalows in small compounds (that can accommodate one car or two if squeezed). There are also flats that accommodate the middle class. They look like those inner city buildings in some American cities. I stay in a flat that has six units, hence accommodating six different families, but with built-in facilities, i.e. the kitchen, piped water, sanitary facilities, a shower, etc. It is meant to accommodate three people, but presently we are twelve adults and three children!

The poor stay in unplanned settlements, which they do not own, in the first place. They are slums.

They have no facilities. If there are water or electricity connections, they are those routed to communal facilities or are illegal and are run by militias! These are the people who have so far posed the greatest security challenge to Nairobi and other urban centers.

Sometimes one wonders whether they should be blamed! Most of them come from the politically disadvantaged and minority tribes. Disadvantaged here means none of their own has been the President of this country. They do not have the necessary networks to the center of power and are uneducated. They are so desperate, they kill for food and other basic needs like it is normal, a way of earning a living! Anytime they lay their hands on illegal firearms, they simply cause mayhem. Mostly, such are labeled thugs and end up being shot by the police; eh, summary execution! What do they call it? Extra-judicial killings by the Police force!

Anyway, when hell broke loose in the country, confusion ruled large. So the first instinct was of course to stay indoors. We relied on TV and radio for information. Pictures started coming in of fires, killings, police in the streets, roads and villages, tear gas, and fear stricken Kenyans running, crying, looking helpless.

Through our floor window, we could see running battles between the police and rioters and looters as gunfire and gunpowder lent the air. Of course, most of these people came from the adjacent slum. It was a picture that was repeated across the city and across the country.

When they could not penetrate the security condones thrown around the West by the Police and around the non-slum East areas (by our own paid or self-employed security), they turned against each other. Soon they organized themselves into groups based on ethnicity when word came through that tribal ‘wars’ had broken out in the countryside causing massive displacements of the ‘foreigners’.

What almost looked like parallel ethnic cleansing and pogroms started taking shape depending on a location and the majority tribe in whichever region. Our security, some of whom were actually slum dwellers, got tired or rushed to the slum to salvage their properties from burning ‘houses’. It is at that point that the Kikuyu dreaded militia, schooled in scorch-earth tactics, ruthless, and enjoying some measure of government support surrounded our buildings and demanded protection fees or else. In some quarters, where owners had fled in fear of attacks and some other fleeing families occupied, they are demanding rent.

They have a horrific way of dealing with the defiant. They kidnap one, decapitate him, and skin the head. Meanwhile, they dismember the rest of the body, so that they dispose the torso and the upper part of the body in different locations. I understand they keep some parts of the body for oathing purposes. They belong to a traditional sect that believes in archaic traditions that use such organs to defend themselves from what they believe would be haunting spirits of the victims! Disgusting, but real! Most probably you have read it in our media.

So pay for fear of the consequences. It expensive and unnecessary! Our efforts to get the Police to stop them are still unsuccessful. The Police claim for such dangerous proscribed shadowy organization, they will have to carry out their own investigations in their own time. We understand some in the Police are involved as they share the spoils. It is corruption at its best. Those of us who are looking for help have to be very discrete in fear of victimization.

It is frightening.

However, I am not claiming that the Police are doing absolutely nothing about this particular militia. Only recently, they netted 50 of them who were in the process of taking an oath (they initiate new members through oathing) and just yesterday they were released on bond of an equivalent of US$750 each. Since they are usually sponsored by their local tribal political masters and also from their illegal collections, I am sure they will raise the bonds.

There is spontaneous sprouting of tribal based militias throughout the country. Just this morning, it was said that each tribe, especially in the Rift Valley, is recruiting private armies and readying themselves for a ‘civil’ war just in case Koffi’s mediation efforts fail. One group raided a farm owned by the other tribe and stole hundreds of heads of cattle and sheep and disappeared into a forest.

Second is the food scenario.

The markets are slowly running dry. Those hit are the middle class and the poor who depend on the local products for food. The rich have not only stored their provisions, but also depend on the expensive imported stuff which is still available in the supermarkets. I do not know for how long they will enjoy this precarious advantage. I am seeing a scenario where their homes will be raided by unstoppable hungry multitudes of commoners and food taken! I hope I will not be forced to join them!

However, if security improves, farmers who still have sellable food products will access the markets even though it will be expensive but still a lot cheaper than buying from the supermarkets. Nevertheless, this may not mitigate the general poverty levels. People need money to buy food.

Yesterday, the national labour organization boss said 500,000 employees have lost their jobs due to the instability. Meaning that lot of people are penniless right now; I leave the rest to imagination. In fact, in anticipation of problems, the government has quickly recruited 10,000 more policemen!

At a personal level, I am getting worried. I thought this situation would be over quickly, so I agreed to house some refugees. I went further, in trust of the power of providence and used my little savings to provide for my visitors. Now, I can not anymore because I have basically run broke. So I have been appealing to neighbours, the Red Cross and the Catholic Church nearby for assistance. While they initially looked willing to help, the tone has changed and urged me to send away the refugees. On the other hand, the refugees (most of whom are related to me) have ‘kindly refused’ to leave. As a family, we right now do not have much to go on by.

But, the dilemma is that I can not have even that small meal with my family while they are looking and starving. It is impossible! I’m seriously considering re-locating my family, but I remain behind in solidarity while I make traveling plans for them. All except one family have an ancestral home to go to. I also do not want to involve the corrupt Police who may rape the women. I can not live with the guilt.

My nature is anti-begging. I have never done it. I believe in hard earned income or rewards. When I borrow, I refund. I have built my character around that virtue such that I rarely have problems borrowing. This is keeping us going right now. But the lenders are becoming scarce. I am seeing a scenario where we may have to look outside our jurisdictions for help. Surely we can not all perish when somewhere, friends, sympathizers and the world in general can spare something for us. Some of us are luckier for we can get word out through the Internet like this one.

There are some who know nobody outside their environment! Maybe it was meant that some of us should remain alive to tell the story. I do not know. Hence, we always welcome and are very grateful for ANY help in this hour of our need.

But, I also strongly believe that our country will not go to waste. A solution will be found soon. We are a resilient people who will take off very fast once peace returns, so we continue fending for ourselves. There is no doubt about that. More so, we are a Jesus country. He will perform a miracle. I believe! Meanwhile, I believe prayers will sustain us.

Phew, I think I have de-briefed enough for today.

Stay Blessed
Moracho