My Bags Are Packed

I’m leaving for the airport in two hours to go home.  My two months here have been amazing.

Kenya is a country of extremes.  Hope and hopelessness, fear and laughter, despair and delight.  There are moments when the weather is so perfect – so perfect – that I literally throw out my arms and thank God for this moment in time.

But, in the end, it’s all about the people.  Their stories make your soul sing and your heart weep.  They are so worth the investment. 

So my trip is at an end, but I think maybe the journey is just beginning.

Kwaheri!

Corruption, Impunity and Ambassador Ranneberger

I actually stopped eating my breakfast this morning and re-read this again to make sure I got it right:

         

“Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi yesterday rallied central Kenya voters for Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta [one of the Ocampa 6 indicted for crimes against humanity].

“She criticised those planning to oppose him in the 2012 presidential election.

“'I think they should be locked up during the next election and released after we elect the president of our choice.'”  (Emphasis added.)

I had the same reaction last week when I read that another Kenyan Minister publicly told the Anti-Corruption Commission that it shouldn’t concern itself with crimes, graft and corruption by elected officials in the past, but only in the future, on the basis it would be a waste of time and resources.  Kind of a “what’s past is past” philosophy.

Sometimes I don’t know what is more astounding, the incredible and undeniably wrong things that politicians say and do here in Kenya every day, or the fully informed public’s tolerance of those demagogues.  Corruption and impunity, Kenya’s unrelenting demons.

Our outgoing ambassador to Kenya is Michael Ranneberger, a controversial figure here, primarily for his outspokenness regarding Kenya’s political corruption and his efforts to engage Kenya’s youth (officially defined as ages 18-35) in the governance and economy of their own county.  The horror!  At one point, enraged politicians unsuccessfully tried to censure him in Parliament.

He became even more a focus of political wrath when Wiki Leaks released many of his communiqués to Washington which candidly described the same issues he publicly decries within Kenya.  His confidential email described how Kenya’s “culture of impunity” perpetuated by Kenya’s political and economic elite – that links directly to President Kibaki and PM Raila – continues to frustrate genuine reforms that could lead to yet more civil violence.  This summary, for example, seems right on:

“While the culture of impunity and the grip of the old guard political elite on the levers of state power and resources remain largely intact, hairline fractures are developing in their edifice.”

I found Amb. Ranneberger’s comments, both publicly and in his confidential summaries, insightful and refreshingly honest.  I’m also impressed by his behavior after the confidential information was released by Wiki Leaks – he fully embraced all he reported and stood behind his assessments with no apology or embarrassment that he somehow misstated or overstated the issues as he sees them.

I think Kenya will miss him, although he plans to keep close contacts.  He is currently very involved with a Kenyan woman, whom he describes openly as his “soul mate” and his “queen” (gotta love him just for that).

Last week he left this final message for Kenya:

“The agenda for change cannot and should not be imposed from the outside. . . . My message to the Kenyan people is simple and direct:  Hold leaders accountable, reject hate speech, insist on prosecution of corruption and the imprisonment of those found guilty.  Insist on full implementation of the Constitution.”

He’s one of the good guys.

"How Obama got Osama"

That’s the front page headline in today’s Daily Nation here in Nairobi, along with the sub-title “US President’s greatest moment.” 

It’s always interesting to see how countries outside the U.S. report the news.  The coverage today on Osama’s death was non-stop most of the day. 

Both written and oral reports are mostly supportive of the U.S.  Kenya is very pro-Obama and many commentators are touting this as a personal victory over Bush.  One editorial, though, noted:

“As President Obama proclaimed victory in the war against terrorism from the safety of a televised White House address – and no doubt immeasurably boosted his re-election prospects – he blithely ignored the fact that his armed forces had turned prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner.”

Kenya has no great love lost for Bin Laden.  212 people were killed and an estimated 4000 wounded in a bomb attack at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998.  Terror attacks in November 2002 killed 15 people near Mombasa and seriously injured another 80.  

Nonetheless, there already are reported death threats against Obama’s grandmother, who lives in western Kenya, near Lake Victoria, and she has been given additional security.  There are general concerns about retaliation and warnings for U.S. citizens to be cautious.

Kenya's Muslim population is relatively small -- about 10%. 
Not unexpectedly, there are more negative reactions coming from the Middle East. 

I, for one, slept a bit easier last night.

Hopeful Visit to the Rift Valley

Last week I spent a few days in Kenya’s Rift Valley, where much of the post election violence occurred in 2007 and 2008.  Signs of the devastation are everywhere.

I spent my time, however, visiting youth groups determined that it will not happen again.

Kenya officially defines “youth” as people between 18 and 35, roughly 40% of Kenya’s population (less than 20% is over age 35).  Youth groups are relatively new.  President Moi, whose autocratic rule lasted 24 years, didn’t allow them to exist.

The local communities, with the support of the government and NGO’s such as Mercy Corps, use a variety of tools to involve the youth age group in their own future and to encourage integration and acceptance of ethnic/tribal heritages.  Those include registered youth self-help groups, trainings to develop life and economic skills, “cash for work” programs, and income generating activities. 

In Eldoret and Kericho, I attended a leadership program, toured income generating operations, and visited a youth center.  I came back to Nairobi with renewed hope that Kenya can and will become a better place for its people. 

There are about 180 youth groups in the Rift Valley, with total membership of about 3000.  Many of the members were involved in the violence in their community and view their participation as a way to pay back for the damage they helped cause.  The groups include members from the different tribes who participated in the mayhem. 

Although much in the minority, the groups actively seek to include women.  That is an ongoing challenge.  In addition to barriers caused by lack of education and tribal culture, many of them are married and mothers by the time they qualify to join (there is literally no family planning in the area).  Those who do participate, however, are very involved and quite capable of holding their own.

The leadership program included about 30 local youth leaders in Eldoret.  Well aware of the daunting problems and hurdles, they are determined to find answers and ways to move forward together, ranging from integrated local sports teams, a collective refusal to be used again by the politicians and creation of jobs where unemployment for their age group exceeds 40%.

One of the income generating groups in Eldoret is composed of carpenters and apprentices.  Under the auspices of a professional carpenter and two housing engineers, its ethnically diverse 27 members find the trees, cure the wood, and design, manufacture and upholster furniture, which the group sells from its single facility located in the Kaybosa slum.  The group also does local carpentry and roof work, and manufactures building bricks.   

With no electricity, everything is done with hand tools.  They have one treadle Singer sewing machine.  They are obviously proud of their work and looking for ways to expand their operations.

In Kericho, another youth group that varies between 25-50 members built and now operates a green house that grows tomatoes.  The group harvests 3 crops a year.

Kericho’s Jericho Youth Center is run by Dan, who was a high school teacher for a year and is now working on a masters in business.  The center was full of young men reading the newspapers, playing pool and watching the local news on TV. 

The center includes an HIV clinic.  Attracting women is, again, a challenge.  The Youth Center created a group called “Chick Flicks,” which is focused on ways to get them more involved.

This age group, once it discovers the power it has, can change Kenya’s future.  The people I met last week seem up to the challenge.  I pray they succeed.

Should Have Passed on the Meat Stew

I just got back from two days in Eldoret, Kericho and Kisumu, but have an awful case of food poisoning.  Fever, chills and every joint in my body aches.  I had to leave my meeting this morning at Mercy Corps to come back and get my Cipro and go to bed.

I'll be back.

Déjà vu All Over Again

Much of the dialogue regarding gender issues in Kenya focuses on the cultural, legal and political inequalities between men and women.  There is a growing understanding that they are inextricably linked.  The rhetoric is very reminiscent of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s in the U.S., when I was first entering the job market and starting my family.

Kenya is moving, slowly, away from a culture where women are marginalized by their government, culture, social class and lack of education.  Although there are many articles, discussions and seminars that focus on why women should be allowed access to the workplace, they almost always are still linked to accommodation issues and needs related to childbirth and motherhood.  The implicit message is “hire a woman, but be prepared for the hassle.”  They don’t have enough experience yet to rely on the easy message that women will do a really good job if given the chance.

Outside the urban setting, many tribal cultures still view education of women as a waste of time and energy.  Yet women are increasingly represented in Kenya’s universities and professional schools.  The label “feminist” results in the same kinds of negative reactions from men and women that women encountered at home, but there appears to be an increasing willingness to talk about “gender issues.”

The culture here is intensely male focused.  Fidelity is a scarce quality; child care is the mother’s problem.  The needs of the man come first and foremost.  But women are starting to push back, especially as they gain more economic and political power to give that push some strength.  A letter to the editor in the Daily Nation this morning was evocative of prevalent and popular attitudes in the U.S. not more than 20 years ago:

“Let’s face it; a woman is not a robot, yet society forces her to act like one.  She wakes up in the morning, prepares her children for school, serves her husband breakfast, sits through annoying traffic jam on her way to work, works eight hours, and then rushes home to clean and cook and attend to her husband’s needs.  The least you can do as her son, daughter, or husband is to help.  Your mother ‘did it all’ because she did not go to work.”

I was raised in a huge Irish Catholic family in the Midwest where my highest and best use was to marry well.  My mom was unofficially excommunicated when she was 28 years old because she started using birth control after her fifth child. 

My dad’s approach to marriage and parenthood would fit in well here in Kenya.  During one of my visits home during college, I was in the kitchen talking with my mom, whom I adore.  My dad yelled at her to come pour his coffee.  He was watching TV on the couch; the coffee pot was right in front of him.  My mom went in and poured the coffee.  When she came back to the kitchen and saw the look on my face, she said “just leave it alone; it works for us.”

A few years later, I sent her a copy of Susan Brownmiller’s book, Against Our Will:  Men, Women and Rape.  When she called me later to tell me what a great book it was, she talked about Brownmiller's conclusions that men essentially have terrorized and dominated women unfairly since forever.  After several minutes, I asked her why she was whispering.  She said “your father’s in the next room and I don’t want him to hear me.”

My husband treats me with respect and makes me feel valued.  We are equal partners.  He’s been fully involved as a parent since our daughters were infants.  Those daughters are strong and independent, each with a strong sense of self.  Who would of thought.

It can happen here in Kenya as well. 

The Politics of Betrayal

Kenya’s reeling right now over the revelations in a new autobiography, The Politics of Betrayal:  Diary of a Kenyan Legislator, by Joe Khamisi, a former Member of Parliament (“MP”) during Kibaki’s first term as president in the early 2000’s.  Amazon Link  I don’t imagine he will run for office again.    

The Daily Nation is publishing major sections of the book as a “serialisation.”  Here are 10 points from the most recent excerpt that illustrate more of the political corruption I described in my blog yesterday.  (I promise that my next entry will be more up-beat.)

1.         Within weeks after Kibaki became president in 2002, the Parliament increased MPs’ salaries from 395,000 kes per month ($4708 at today’s conversion rate) to 485,000 kes ($5781) per month, half of it tax free.  The rationale in an economy where the average daily wage was less than $1 a day, was that “the job of a Member of Parliament is a selfless job for which no amount of money would be enough to compensate for the inconvenience, the risks and the both the job entails . . ..”

2.         In addition to the monthly payment, MPs received a 3.3 million kes car grant (about $40,000), a “sitting allowance” for each day they actually appeared in Parliament to do their job, and a “winding up” allowance of 1.5 million kes ($18,000) when their 5 year term ended.  With those payments, Kenyan MPs became some of the most highly paid legislators in Africa.

3.         The attendance sheet used to calculate the sitting allowances is maintained manually.  An MP could claim the sitting allowance as long as he showed up for even 5 minutes.  Others made arrangements for their staff to mark them in as present when they were not even in Nairobi. 

4.         In mid 2007, before the infamous election, truancy was so serious that no business could be conducted because the necessary quorum of 30 members – out of 222 – was not present.

5.         Every single committee of Parliament authorized overseas travel allowances for its members and their entourage, including the Catering Committee.  The favorite destinations were the U.S. and Europe.   During the first eight months of 2008 alone, the related additional cost was close to $1,500,000.

6.         In 2004, the taxpayers learned that they had been ”ripped off of hundreds of millions of shillings” when the government purchased a new building for its MPs and administrative offices in 1995 – the “Continental House.”  On March 31, 1995, the building was purchased by a company called Archway Holdings for 225 million shillings; the government bought it three months later for 465 million shillings, more than twice the purchase price.  The government then spent another 300 million shillings to renovate the building with a gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, salons, conference facilities and a roof-top restaurant, as well as customized towels and gowns for all 222 MPs, complete with embossed name tags.

7.         The building subsequently fell into general disrepair.  The plumbing and sewage system didn’t work.  The MPs stopped using the gym built for them and preferred to use exercise rooms in five-star hotels in Nairobi.  The air-conditioning didn’t work.  Millions of shillings were spent to lay cables between the Parliament Buildings and the new administration building and to install equipment in the MP offices, but the only computers with internet facilities were in the library.

8.         Some MPs turned their government offices into lodging facilities and private business centers, where import and export enterprises thrived.

9.         Young women ostensibly hired as assistants “did more than just typing and filing.”  “The heavily made-up girls wore their ‘personal assistant’ badges in a way to be admired and walked the corridors of continental House without care.  There were indeed some respectful and decent works in the building, but those were highly outnumbered.”

10.       The tarnished reputations of the MPs were publicly aired after an MP was accused of raping a woman in his office.  (It should be no surprise that the matter never went to court).  At that same time, the press learned that the sewage system at Continental House continually clogged due to careless disposal of used condoms.